Despite a severe weather warning in North Carolina, the No. 23 Florida women’s tennis team stayed hot on the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center court.
Florida stunned Ole Miss to clinch a 4-2 victory. Strong performances from No.11 Gabia Paskauskas and freshman Brooke Black helped the Gators get one step closer to punching a ticket to the ITA Division I National Team Indoor Championship.
Florida entered the weekend with momentum after a 6-1 win over Charleston Southern Jan. 17, as junior Valery Gynina and freshman Brooke Black got the Gators off to a strong start. The duo took court three from Rebels Riley Crowder and Alice Soulie, going 6-4.
Senior Xinyi Nong and freshman Lucie Pawlak followed, snagging a 7-6 (6-4)win over Ichino Horikawa and Brooklyn Olson, securing Florida’s second doubles point.
On court one, doubles play ended early at 2-0 as Gators India Houghton and Emily Seibold’s match was unfinished in the first set.
With the Gators winning on the doubles side, they came into singles play with confidence.
Gynina extended her personal victories, defeating Brooklyn Olson in two straight sets. However, Ole Miss responded as Emily Welker, the sixth-ranked player in the country, defeated Seibold.
The most competitive match of the day happened on court four, where No.11 Paskauskas defeated Andrea Nova in close fashion.
The sophomore fell in the opening set 6-2, but returned the favor with a 6-2 win of her own in the second set before clinching the victory in set three 6-4. The win set her up nicely to face her former alma mater, North Carolina State, Tuesday.
The day was not the same for Houghton, as the graduate student lost her singles match against Soulie. The game ended in a close 7-6(13), 7-6(2). This was Houghton’s debut match for the Gators, having played professionally last season and her three previous seasons at Stanford University.
With Florida needing one more point to clinch the match, Black delivered, defeating Crowder 6-4, 6-2 to seal the victory. On court six, Pawlak and Horikawa agreed to finish play, and Florida extended its lead in the tournament.
Florida returns to action Tuesday against NC State at 2 p.m. as it looks to continue its strong start to the spring season.
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.
