With early momentum from a 6-2 win over the No. 7 Vanderbilt doubles team in the nation, Valery Gynina seemed ready to defeat anyone.
She began her singles match against No. 14 Celia-Bella Mohr down four games, but quickly readjusted and came back to win the set 7-5.
“I knew that at some point her serve would become weaker,” Gynina said. “Then I’d get a chance.”
After that, the Florida junior dominated. Gynina clinched a comeback 7-5, 6-4 win to inch the Gators closer to the overall victory.
Behind her efforts, the No. 17 Florida Gators (13-6, 8-5 SEC) swept the No. 13 Vanderbilt Commodores 4-0 (19-6, 9-4 SEC) in Thursday's matchup at home.
Everything went right for the Gators in doubles, as they secured the first doubles point since their last on March 26 against then-No. 38 Alabama.
The pair of junior Valery Gynina and freshman Brooke Black performed at their highest level yet against No. 10 Valeria Ray and Bridget Stammel. Defeating the Commodores 6-2, the Florida duo claimed its first victory against a ranked opponent in the season.
On court three, Lucie Pawlak and India Houghton were in the zone. The Gator duo dominated Erin Pearce and Mia Yamakita to secure a 6-3 win and snatch the doubles point for Florida.
Singles play proved again that Florida can outperform higher-ranked teams.
“Prrobaly the best match we played all year,” head coach Per Nilsson said. “We’re pretty tough to beat at home.”
On court four, Florida's Pawlak secured her second win of the day over Vanderbilt’s Pearce, going 7-5, 6-3 against the Commodore.
To seal the win for the Gators, No. 77 Houghton delivered a dominant 6-3, 6-4 performance against the No. 6 player in the nation, Vandy’s senior Stammel.
The Florida graduate student continues to impress in singles play, bringing her record against top-20 opponents to 3-1 in the season.
Up next, the Gators close out the regular season facing Missouri on Saturday. First serve is set for 1 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.
