Huskies Fall Short Against No. 13 Florida
MADISON, Wisc. – The Huskies were not quite able to break through on the final day of play at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships at Wisconsin's Nielsen Tennis Center. As with each of the past two days, UW was fighting hard and leading or tied on several courts when its opponent clinched. Though closer than the score indicated, ultimately, it was a 4-0 loss for the 16th-ranked Huskies this morning against 13th-ranked Florida.
UW fell behind 0-1 after the doubles point. Zoey Weil and Tara Chilton teamed up at No. 3 but dropped a 6-3 match to Kessler/Shelton. Vanessa Wong and Hikaru Sato had a 4-3 lead over the 8th-ranked doubles team of Briggs and Zein, but the Gators won the final three games to win, 6-4, and clinch the point.
The big highlight for the Dawgs came in singles when three of the first sets went to tiebreakers, and Washington won all three. Moments later, Kelly Leung won her second set after dropping the first at No. 6 singles to give the Huskies a good path to four points. But Florida picked up wins at No. 1 singles, with McCartney Kessler beating Wong, 6-1, 6-3, in a rematch of their 2021 NCAA Singles Championship first round match, and then Sato fell in a close 6-4, 6-4 match at No. 4 singles to Carly Briggs.
Sarah-Maude Fortin, Nika Zupancic, and Tara Chilton all took their first sets in tiebreaks. Fortin was tied at 4-4 in her second set with Alicia Dudeney at No. 2 singles, while Zupancic and Chilton dropped their second sets and were about to start third sets. But Florida was able to clinch at No. 6, with Sara Dahlstrom outlasting Leung, 6-1, 2-6, 6-3.
Washington (6-3) will return to the Midwest next week, visiting Indiana to take on Purdue and Notre Dame.
Washington Women's Tennis
ITA National Team Indoor Championships – Consolation
February 13, 2022
Nielsen Tennis Center | Madison, Wisc.
No. 13 Florida – 4
No. 16 Washington – 0
Singles
1. McCartney Kessler (UF) def. Vanessa Wong (UW) - 6-1, 6-3
2. Sarah-Maude Fortin (UW) vs. Alicia Dudeney (UF) - 7-6 (3), 4-4, DNF
3. (#98) Nika Zupancic (UW) vs. (#61) Marlee Zein (UF) - 7-6 (2), 2-6, DNF
4. Carly Briggs (UF) def. Hikaru Sato (UW) - 6-4, 6-4
5. Tara Chilton (UW) vs. (#87) Emma Shelton (UF) - 7-6 (5), 1-6, DNF
6. Sara Dahlstrom (UF) def. Kelly Leung (UW) – 6-1, 2-6, 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 4, 6
Doubles
1. (#8) Briggs/Zein (UF) def. Wong/Sato (UW) - 6-4
2. Zupancic/Fortin (UW) vs. (#30) Dudeney/Spee (UF) - 3-5, DNF
3. Kessler/Shelton (UF) def. Chilton/Weil (UW) – 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 1