The Gators looked to clinch a victory against a team they haven't defeated since 2014: Georgia. But faced with the No. 1 team in the country, Florida struggled in its toughest test of the season.
The No. 17 Florida Gators (10-3, 5-2 SEC) fell to the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs (10-3, 5-2 SEC) 0-4 in a Thursday matchup on the road.
In doubles, the Gators couldn't get the upper hand.
Florida’s No. 34 pair of Xinyi Nong and Nikola Daubnerova stumbled in their match against Anastasiia Lopata and Patricija Paukstyte. The Gator duo couldn't keep up and fell 6-2.
On court two, Valery Gynina and Brooke Black fought hard against the No. 7 duo of Deniz Dilek and Aysegul Mert but ultimately fell 6-4.
India Houghton and Lucie Pawlak provided Florida’s lone point in a 6-1 win over Georgia’s Anastasiia Gureva and Emma Dong. The Gator duo recorded its third straight victory.
Florida continued the struggle to gain momentum in singles.
No. 123 Black saw her seven-match winning streak break as she fell 6-1, 6-2 to No. 36 Anastasiia Gureva. The Gator struggled against the sophomore Bulldog, who towers over her at 6-foot-1.
Florida’s other freshman also struggled, as Pawlak couldn't clinch the victory over Dong and took a 6-3, 6-1 defeat.
On court six, No. 69 Daubnerova battled Georgia’s No. 97 Sofia Rojas. Ultimately the Florida sophomore couldn't find her rhythm and fell 6-1, 6-4. Daubnerova also lost her seven-match winning streak in singles.
With a 4-0 scoreboard, all other matches were retired and the Bulldogs took the win.
In some of the unfinished matches, the Gators dominated.
No. 39 Gabia Paskauskas put No. 68 Dilek to work as she led 6-3, 3-3. On court one, Houghton had the upper hand against No. 28 Lopata, who she finished in a clean 6-0 in the first set and was 3-4 in the second.
Next up, the Gators are on the road to face No. 24 South Carolina on Saturday. First serve against the Gamecocks 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.
