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No. 9 Women’s Tennis downed by No. 61 Florida, 4-3
03.07.2025 | Women's Tennis
The match came down to the third set of the final singles match, but the Longhorns came up just short in their first SEC road contest.
Gainesville, Fla. – No. 9 Texas Women's Tennis was downed by No. 61 Florida, 4-3, on Friday at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Center. The match came down to the third set of the final singles match, but the Longhorns came up just short in their first SEC road contest.
After Florida rallied for the last two doubles matches at Nos. 1 and 2 to take the point, Texas took the lead with singles wins by freshmen Salma Drugdova at No. 6, and No. 30 Carmen Herea at No. 3. The Gators came back with wins at Nos. 1 and 2, but the Longhorns again tied it with a win by freshman Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz at No. 5. The match at No. 4 then went to a third set to decide it, but Florida was able to emerge with the win. Texas was also once again without senior No. 38 Sabina Zeynalova, along with freshman No. 78 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo.
After the doubles point, Drugdova posted an efficient 6-2, 6-0 win over Noémie Oliveras. Outside of Oliveras holding serve for 1-1 and to trail 4-2, it was all Drugdova, who closed on an 8-0 run, sweeping the second set. Only three games during the match went to deuce with Drugdova winning all of them for a 2-1 lead in the first set and leads of 1-0 and 3-0 in the second.
Herea was almost as efficient with her 6-1, 6-2 win over Talia Neilson-Gatenby. Neilson-Gatenby held for her three games in the match, including to trail 3-1 in the first set, and 2-1 and 5-2 in the second. Much like Drugdova's match, only four games reached deuce with Herea winning them all, including the opening game and to lead 5-1 in both sets.
Florida answered the two singles wins with two of their own, starting with No. 1 where freshman No. 70 Ashton Bowers fell to No. 50 Rachel Gailis, 6-2, 6-2. The first set began with three-straight games going to deuce, all of which were won by Gailis as part of a 4-0 run. Bowers got one break back and held for 4-2, but Gailis held and then won the set on a deuce-point break. Bowers then started the second with a deuce-point break, but Gailis broke back to initiate a 5-0 run. Bowers kept the match going with one more break, but Gailis again broke back for the win and a 2-2 overall score.
The Gators then retook the lead as freshman No. 69 Eszter Meri was downed by Alicia Dudeney, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 2. Just like Bowers' first set, the first three games went to deuce with all being won by Dudeney as part of a 4-0 run. Meri then also broke and held, both on deuce points, for 4-2, but Dudeney held and broke to win. Meri also started the second set with a break, and Dudeney broke back on a deuce point. However, after both players held for 2-2, Meri broke for a 3-2 lead that started a stretch of four-straight breaks that was capped by a deuce-point win for Dudeney for 4-4. Meri had an opportunity on that deuce point to turn a 4-3 lead into 5-3, but after Dudeney broke, she held and broke again for the match.
The Longhorns evened it again with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 win by Kempenaers-Pocz over Bente Spee. In the first set, Kempenaers-Pocz broke first for a 3-1 lead, but Spee broke back and then held on a deuce point for 3-3. Kempenaers-Pocz took another a break lead for 5-3, but Spee again broke back and tied it on a deuce point. That was the first of three-straight deuce-point holds resulting in a tiebreaker. There Spee grabbed a mini-break and held for a 2-0 lead, but Kempenaers-Pocz answered with a 3-0 run. After Spee tied it on the next point, Kempenaers-Pocz took it from there with a 4-0 run for the set. Kempenaers-Pocz secured a break to open the second and did not look back as she got out to a 5-1 lead with Spee only garnering a hold to trail 2-1. Spee held one more time for 5-2, but Kempenaers-Pocz served out the match after that.
That turned all attention to court 4, where junior Vivian Ovrootsky fell just short in three sets to Nikola Daubnerova, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. After Daubnerova held on a deuce point to begin the match, Ovrootsky broke first for 2-1 lead. However, Daubnerova broke back and the set stayed on serve until she broke again for a 5-3 lead on deuce point and then held at deuce to win. In the second set, Daubnerova broke and secured another deuce point for a hold and a 2-0 lead. Ovrootsky got the set back on serve with a hold and a deuce-point break and later broke again for a 5-4 lead before serving it out. That sent it to a third set, which featured six deuce points, but despite four of those coming in the first six games, the match remained on serve to that point, 3-3. That's when Daubnerova grabbed the first break, and although Ovrootsky had a break point at deuce in the next game, Daubnerova held and then finished the match on a second-straight deuce point win.
Earlier in doubles, Texas was first off the court with a 6-3 win for Bowers and Ovrootsky over Gailis and Daubnerova at No. 3. The Longhorns broke first on a deuce point for a 2-0 lead, and although the Gators broke back, Texas broke again for a 3-1 lead that they consolidated for 4-1. The rest of the match was then on serve to the Longhorns' win.
The match at No. 1 was next where Kempenaers-Pocz and Drugdova fell to Dudeney and Spee, 6-3. Despite three of the first five games reaching deuce, the match stayed on serve all the way to a 4-3 lead for the Gators. They then secured consecutive deuce points for a break and a hold to win.
That left it to No. 3 where Herea and Meri were downed in a tight match by Neilson-Gatenby and Oliveras, 7-5. The Longhorns broke first in the second game and maintained that lead to 4-1. They then had an opportunity to extend it in the next game on a deuce point, but the Gators managed to hold to start a 3-0 run to even it. Florida was then the next to break, doing so themselves on a deuce point for 6-5 before serving out the match.
Texas (8-5, 2-2 SEC) will next travel straight to Auburn to face the No. 11 Tigers on Sunday, March 9, at 12 p.m. CT.
#61 Florida 4, #9 Texas 3
Singles – Order of Finish (6,3,1,2,5,4)
1. #50 Rachel Gailis (UF) def. #70 Ashton Bowers (TEX) 6-2, 6-2
2. Alicia Dudeney (UF) def. #69 Eszter Meri (TEX) 6-2, 6-4
3. #30 Carmen Herea (TEX) def. Talia Neilson-Gatenb (UF) 6-1, 6-2
4. Nikola Daubnerova (UF) def. Vivian Ovrootsky (TEX) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
5. Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz (TEX) def. Bente Spee (UF) 7-6 (3), 6-2
6. Salma Drugdova (TEX) def. Noémie Oliveras (UF) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles – Order of Finish (3,1,2)
1. Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee (UF) def. Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz/Salma Drugdova (TEX) 6-3
2. Talia Neilson-Gatenb/Noémie Oliveras (UF) def. Carmen Herea/Eszter Meri (TEX) 7-5
3. Ashton Bowers/Vivian Ovrootsky (TEX) def. Rachel Gailis/Nikola Daubnerova (UF) 6-3
Players Mentioned
