Johannes Ingildsen fought hard throughout the entire match against rival FSU.
No. 15 Gators Fall to Seminoles 4-2 in the Sunshine Showdown
Friday, March 10, 2017 | Men's Tennis
ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 15 Florida Gators fell to the Florida State Seminoles on Friday night, losing in a 4-2 fight to the end in the Sunshine Showdown. Elliott Orkin and Chase Perez-Blanco won two of the six singles matches.
In doubles play, Florida's Maxx Lipman and Orkin fell to Lucas Poullain and Jose Gracia 6-3. Joshua Wardell and Perez-Blanco fought to regain Gator momentum but could not pull out a win against twin Seminole duo, Terrell Whitehurst and Terrence Whitehurst. The Gators moved on to singles play in search of a comeback victory.
In singles play, every court fought hard. Perez-Blanco swept his rival opponent, Poullain, 6-3, 6-3.Orkin also pulled out a tough fought victory against Guy Iradukunda 7-6, 6-2. The Seminoles retaliated, earning three wins against Alfredo Perez, Jordan Belga and Johannes Ingildsen to take the match 4-2.
With the match save reliant on the battle on court 4, Ingildsen fought to the very end to help give the Gators gain their tenth victory in a row over rival Florida State. Tied at 5-5 Ingildsen eventually dropped to Gracia in the third set 7-5.
Quoting Head Coach Bryan Shelton
On overall match experience….
"I thought Florida State played extremely well. Gotta give them a lot of credit tonight because in every big moment they came up with big shots. Our guys were fighting hard from top to bottom and they out-played us on the big points tonight. It is hard to see every court and see what is going on at every court but everywhere I looked I kept seeing them coming up with great shots just time after time. I give them a lot of credit. It won't be until we can look at the video and see what happened, I don't know all the courts to be able to fully assess it but, like I said, it was a great night, great atmosphere for tennis. To see stands filled the way they were tonight with so many Gators and Seminoles too. It was just a great college atmosphere and it was great to be a part of it. Unfortunately, we came up on the losing end but that's sports. Sometimes you put your best effort in and you come up a little short. We just have to bounce back and be ready to go again on Sunday. We got a good South Carolina Team that will come and play us at home and we will bounce back and be ready for South Carolina.
On how to regroup for SEC play…
"We just need to get back on the court and practice tomorrow, get the guys back out there, get a good sweat and know that the most important part of our season is ahead of us in SEC. That's where it's at. It was great to play another nonconference match, in-state rival. They played well tonight, they got the job done and I give them credit and for us, it is just on to SEC from here on out."
On main match takeaway…
"Tennis really was served tonight. I think that USTA did a fantastic job hosting this event. I thought that the turnout was just phenomenal, I saw so many familiar Gator faces up there in the crowd and to have that type of support was pretty special. Even in a loss, certainly a lot of positives out there. "
Up Next for the Gators
Florida will host the South Carolina Gamecocks in their third SEC match of the season on Sunday, March 12th at 1:00 pm.
Follow the Gators
Join the conversation: Tweet #GoGators
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
FloridaGators.com
In doubles play, Florida's Maxx Lipman and Orkin fell to Lucas Poullain and Jose Gracia 6-3. Joshua Wardell and Perez-Blanco fought to regain Gator momentum but could not pull out a win against twin Seminole duo, Terrell Whitehurst and Terrence Whitehurst. The Gators moved on to singles play in search of a comeback victory.
In singles play, every court fought hard. Perez-Blanco swept his rival opponent, Poullain, 6-3, 6-3.Orkin also pulled out a tough fought victory against Guy Iradukunda 7-6, 6-2. The Seminoles retaliated, earning three wins against Alfredo Perez, Jordan Belga and Johannes Ingildsen to take the match 4-2.
With the match save reliant on the battle on court 4, Ingildsen fought to the very end to help give the Gators gain their tenth victory in a row over rival Florida State. Tied at 5-5 Ingildsen eventually dropped to Gracia in the third set 7-5.
Quoting Head Coach Bryan Shelton
On overall match experience….
"I thought Florida State played extremely well. Gotta give them a lot of credit tonight because in every big moment they came up with big shots. Our guys were fighting hard from top to bottom and they out-played us on the big points tonight. It is hard to see every court and see what is going on at every court but everywhere I looked I kept seeing them coming up with great shots just time after time. I give them a lot of credit. It won't be until we can look at the video and see what happened, I don't know all the courts to be able to fully assess it but, like I said, it was a great night, great atmosphere for tennis. To see stands filled the way they were tonight with so many Gators and Seminoles too. It was just a great college atmosphere and it was great to be a part of it. Unfortunately, we came up on the losing end but that's sports. Sometimes you put your best effort in and you come up a little short. We just have to bounce back and be ready to go again on Sunday. We got a good South Carolina Team that will come and play us at home and we will bounce back and be ready for South Carolina.
On how to regroup for SEC play…
"We just need to get back on the court and practice tomorrow, get the guys back out there, get a good sweat and know that the most important part of our season is ahead of us in SEC. That's where it's at. It was great to play another nonconference match, in-state rival. They played well tonight, they got the job done and I give them credit and for us, it is just on to SEC from here on out."
On main match takeaway…
"Tennis really was served tonight. I think that USTA did a fantastic job hosting this event. I thought that the turnout was just phenomenal, I saw so many familiar Gator faces up there in the crowd and to have that type of support was pretty special. Even in a loss, certainly a lot of positives out there. "
Up Next for the Gators
Florida will host the South Carolina Gamecocks in their third SEC match of the season on Sunday, March 12th at 1:00 pm.
Follow the Gators
Join the conversation: Tweet #GoGators
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
FloridaGators.com
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
Inside Florida Gators Men's Tennis
Wednesday, July 17
One-on-One with Coach Steinberg 3-7-24
Thursday, March 07
Bryan Shelton Postmatch 2-2-23
Saturday, February 04
Jonah Braswell Postmatch 2-2-23
Saturday, February 04
