Noah White is a sophomore majoring in journalism and public relations and The Alligator's Women's Tennis Reporter. In his free time, Noah writes some more and plays soccer and volleyball. He also knows more about Liberty League women's soccer than you do.
Florida football lost its first player of the offseason to the NFL Draft in the form of senior defensive lineman Cam Jackson. The two-year starter announced his intent to pursue a jump to the professional ranks on Saturday afternoon.
When tennis players take the court for their first collegiate action, that moment often comes after over a decade of relentless training and, frequently, years of professional play. Those that have survived the rounds of cuts, sacrifice normalcy for that opportunity. Their commitment is unparalleled but at a cost. For Talia Neilson-Gatenby, that was her childhood.
Throughout Saturday afternoon, Florida junior Rachel Gailis and senior Alicia Dudeney traded points against the No. 3 Virginia senior pair of Elaine Chervinsky and Melodie Collard.
Per Nilsson coached two Gators, freshman Talia Neilson-Gatenby and senior Alicia Dudeney, at the 17-team ITA South Sectional Championship event in Athens, Georgia. The duo combined for a 2-2 record in singles play on Thursday and Friday, concluding the tournament with a quarterfinal appearance by Dudeney.
Florida women’s tennis sent two players to the University of North Florida for the UNF Fall Invite. The 10-team event was UF’s first tournament of November.
When discussing the history of Florida and Georgia athletics programs, it would be impermissible not to mention one of both schools’ most successful sports: women’s tennis. While not the most conventionally crowd-generating, the Florida-Georgia women’s tennis rivalry remains one of the fiercest in the collegiate tennis world, and for good reason.
Twenty-two days ago, Florida women’s tennis was tasked with finding a head coach after Roland Thornqvist’s retirement. The Gators did that today, selecting Pepperdine’s Per Nilsson to guide their program.
The crestfallen contest wasn’t a first for Florida (4-6-6, 1-5-2 SEC) this season. The Gators entered the contest against Alabama (9-4-5, 2-2-5 SEC) in need of a critical win with UF’s conference tournament bid hanging in the balance. However, UF was unable to come away with a victory on the road in Tuscaloosa on Thursday in a 3-1 loss to the Crimson Tide.
The Florida women’s tennis team turned in its strongest Fall season performance, winning the doubles tournament at the ITA Regional Championships. Six Gators competed over the weekend, with Rachel Dudeney and Alecia Gailis earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Doubles Championship.
Florida volleyball announced that its Wednesday evening home contest with Mississippi State has been moved to Friday as Hurricane Milton approaches.
Solutions by The State News
