After bypassing Ole Miss in the first round of the ITA Kickoff Weekend, it was only the Wolfpack who stood in the way of Florida clinching a spot in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
The Gators had opened their 2026 season without defeat, overtaking Charleston Southern and Ole Miss. However, that streak and their hopes of punching their ticket to the championship fell short against the only other ranked opponent at the ITA Kickoff Weekend, No. 11 North Carolina State.
Despite a strong showing in doubles, the Gators fell 4-3 to NC State in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Tuesday after the Wolfpack delivered a dominating late singles performance.
In doubles, the Gators came out hot. They claimed the first match with a decisive 6-3 win from junior Valery Gynina and freshman Brooke Black.
Graduate students India Houghton and Emily Seibold kept it going, securing a 6-3 win over No. 40 Jasmine Conway and Anna Zyryanova. The victory helped the pair redeem themselves after struggling in yesterday's contest against Ole Miss.
Back on the court after missing matchplay against the Rebels, No. 17 Nikola Daubnerova, a key piece of Florida’s squad, rejoined doubles partner Xinyi Nong. However, the highly touted pair met its match and fell to No. 4 Gabriella Broadfoot and Victoria Osuigwe.
In singles, Florida’s Gynina was first off the court, notching a 7-5, 6-4 win over No. 31 Mia Slama. The Gator has won every match she’s played this spring season.
The Gators fell short on court four, where No. 17 Gabia Paskauskas faced No. 38 Lavinia Tanasie. Despite winning yesterday’s match in three sets, the sophomore Gator couldn't take the victory in this one, ending 7-5, 6-3, 6-1.
But when needed most, graduate student Seibold extended Florida’s lead, defeating NC State’s No. 29 Broadfoot in a three-set match.
However, on court three, Houghton struggled against No. 60 Anna Zyryanova. After falling in the first set 3-6, she managed to make a 6-4 comeback in the second set. But she couldn’t maintain the momentum from her second-set surge and fell 7-5, ceding the set.
With the score at 3-2 in favor of Florida, all attention was on court six, where Pawlak and Conway battled. Ultimately, NC State’s Conway defeated Gator freshman Pawlak, evening the tallies.
Black had the last match to bring home the win for Florida while the teams were 3-3. Despite putting up a fight and winning the second set, the freshman fell to NC State’s Osuigwe, ending 6-7(7), 6-4, 5-7.
This is the second year in a row Florida has failed to enter the ITA Indoor Championship after falling last year to the LSU Tigers, 4-1.
Florida will host Troy and Louisiana Feb. 13 at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex. First serve against the Trojans is set for 10 a.m. EST, while they play the Raging Cajuns at 4 p.m.
Contact Sofia Alamo at salamo@alligator.org. Follow her on X @alamosofiaa.
Sofia Alamo is a Sports Journalism freshman at UF and the university’s Women’s Tennis beat reporter. Her favorite sports are soccer and tennis, and she aspires to be a sports broadcaster in the future.
