After taking the first set and dropping the second, Lucie Pawlak stands at 4-4 in the third. With her teammates cheering from the sidelines and the crowd intensely watching on Feb. 28, the freshman Florida tennis player carries the weight of the team’s result on her shoulders.
Most athletes would find the pressure overwhelming. But Pawlak craves intense competition.
“I love drama too much,” Pawlak said. “It makes me feel alive.”
She delivered the clutch performance against then-No. 11 Oklahoma, where the Florida freshman defeated the Sooners’ Salakthip Ounmuang in a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 contest to secure the overall victory for the Gators. The win earned Pawlak her first SEC co-freshman of the week honor of the season.
In her rookie year, Pawlak leads the team with a 21-9 record this season. The freshman said her favorite performances have been high-stakes matches.
“Why would I win an easy match with just two sets, when I can win with three?” Pawlak said.
Carrying an 8-1 record in three-set matches, Pawlak has done just that.
But Pawlak’s success as a Gator was once unimaginable, as she wasn't supposed to come to Florida.
A native of Montpellier, France, Pawlak was trained by her father since she was a child and planned to continue her career with him. But the line between coach and parent was often blurred.
Over time, Pawlak said the dynamic began to strain their relationship.
“Having my dad every day on the court and at home was a struggle,” she said.
To preserve the bond, Pawlak moved 4,673 miles to Gainesville.
Settling in as a Gator wasn't easy. Pawlak recalls facing various challenges when she first arrived.
“I remember the first week, I was sick,” Pawlak said. “I couldn't talk, and I couldn't hear anything.”
Sick and scared, the Gator freshman recalls struggling after going from her “bubble in France” to living on her own. That feeling quickly faded when Pawlak met her Florida teammates.
There were two in particular who stood out from the start.
“The first girls that I met were Gabia Paskauskas and Valery Gynina,” Pawlak said. “I loved them at first sight.”
Behind every match, win or loss, Pawlak said she has always felt her teammates' support. The freshman has especially fostered a friendship with her doubles partner, India Houghton.
With a 9-5 record on the season, the pair of Pawlak and Houghton has found success throughout. However, their partnership was short-lived, as Houghton is set to graduate this year and leave Florida.
“I'm so sad that she's going to leave,” Pawlak said. “How am I supposed to live after that?”
Pawlak’s friendships have eased the change to playing for a team, as she is motivated to clinch victories for her fellow Gators. Still, the coaching switch was difficult for Pawlak at first.
“It was weird because Per [Nilsson] wasn't my dad,” Pawlak said.
However, Pawlak overcame this feeling by seeing just how efficient the training was. By the middle of the season, the Gators had improved their overall record to more wins than the team had across last season.
Florida’s recent success proves how successful its training sessions are. Choosing tough exercises like the Swedish drill, Pawlak said, Nilsson makes the team sweat in their workouts.
“It could be the worst drill ever,” Pawlak said. “For Per, it's like a warmup.”
Even so, Pawlak believes the hard work will pay off. The Frenchwoman said she won't complain, because the dedication will help Florida improve.
Having found much success on the courts this season, Pawlak seems poised to remain a key player on the team. The freshman said she hopes to grow as a student-athlete and add more close wins to her resume.
“This is only my freshman year, and did you see what I did?” Pawlak said.
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.
