Gainesville, Fla.– The Gators fell just short in a thrilling 4-3 battle against unranked Missouri on Friday night. Florida’s tough loss came on their home courts and snapped their three-match win streak.
 
Despite the loss, Florida had an incredible comeback effort after finding themselves in the trenches at 3-0. UF managed to get the score knotted at 3-3 with three straight singles victories coming from Bente Spee, Alicia Dudeney, and Rachel Gailis.
 
Doubles Action:
Florida started strong in doubles play, with the No. 60-ranked duo of Alicia Dudeney and Bente Spee delivering a dominant 6-1 victory over Missouri’s Mary Brumfield and Korina Roso on court one. However, the Tigers responded quickly, as Inah Canete and Andrea Artimedi defeated Reagan Parker and Rachel Gailis 6-0 on court two.
 
The deciding doubles point came down to court three, which was an ongoing battle between the Gators and Tigers. Ultimately, Lailaa Bashir and Zoe Lazar edged out Florida’s Noemie Oliveras and Talia Neilson-Gatenby 6-3, to give Missouri the early 1-0 lead.
 
Singles Play:
Missouri carried its momentum into singles play, quickly extending its lead as Artimedi overpowered Florida’s newest member, Parker, in a 6-0, 6-0 victory. Mizzou’s Roso followed up, defeating Oliveras 6-2, 6-3 on court five to push the Tigers ahead 3-0.
 
The Gators refused to back down, mounting an impressive comeback effort. Spee got Florida on the board with a commanding 6-0, 6-3 victory over Lazar at the No. 4 spot. Spee saw multiple match points at 5-0, but Lazar continued to pressure the Florida veteran and won three games straight to test the Gators. Spee finally closed out in straight sets, with a dominating net performance.
 
Dudeney kept the momentum going for UF, cruising to a 6-3, 6-1 win over Canete on court two. Gailis delivered under pressure on court one, battling to a hard-earned 7-5, 6-4 win against Brumfield, tying the match at 3-3.
 
With the match on the line, all eyes turned to court three, where Neilson-Gatenby faced off against Bashir. Despite a gritty performance, Neilson-Gatenby fell just short in two closely contested sets, 7-5, 7-6. Neilson-Gatenby gave it her all up to the very last point of the tiebreaker, but it was the Tigers who got it done to seal the upset over Florida.
 
FINAL RESULTS:
Final Singles Results:
1. #39 Rachel Gailis (UF) def. Mary Brumfield (MIZ) 7-5, 6-4
2. #91 Alicia Dudeney (UF) def. Inah Canete (MIZ) 6-3, 6-1
3. Lailaa Bashir (MIZ) def. Talia NeilsonGatenby (UF) 7-5, 7-6
4. Bente Spee (UF) def. Zoe Lazar (MIZ) 6-0, 6-3
5. Korina Roso (MIZ) def. Noemie Oliveras (UF) 6-2, 6-3
6. Andrea Artimedi (MIZ) def. Reagan Parker (UF) 6-0, 6-0
Order of finish: 6, 5, 4, 2, 1, 3

Final Doubles Results:

1. #60 Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee (UF) def. Mary Brumfield/Korina Roso (MIZ) 6-1

2. Inah Canete/Andrea Artimedi (MIZ) def. Reagan Parker/Rachel Gailis (UF) 6-0

3. Lailaa Bashir/Zoe Lazar (MIZ) def. Noemie Oliveras/Talia NeilsonGatenby (UF) 6-3Order of finish: 1, 2, 3

TEAM RECORDS:

No. 22 Florida: 7-7, (3-5 SEC)

Missouri: 11-7, (2-6 SEC)

 

UP NEXT:

Florida will stay on their home courts and face Vanderbilt on Sunday afternoon. The Commodores will travel to Gainesville after falling to No. 8 Auburn on Friday night. Play between UF and Vandy will start at noon with doubles going out first.

No. 15 Vanderbilt (12-4, 5-3 SEC):

 
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