Saturday, May 20
Athens, GA
5:00 PM
Florida Gators
4
vs
1
Southern Cal-NCAA Third Round
FLORIDA ADVANCES TO NCAA QUARTERFINALS WITH 4-1 WIN OVER SOUTHERN CAL
Saturday, May 20, 2000 | Men's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. - The third-ranked and fourth-seeded University of Florida men's tennis team (27-3) reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Men's Tennis Championships for the second straight season with a 4-1 victory over 17th-ranked Southern California (18-9) Saturday evening at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Florida will face fifth-seeded Duke in Sunday's quarterfinals at 2 p.m. The two teams met earlier this year, with the Gators posting a 4-2 win on April 2 in Gainesville.
"That was not one of our best efforts from a playing standpoint, but from a competitive standpoint, we had a great effort," said head coach Ian Duvenhage. "I'm proud of the guys for not giving up."
The Gators and Trojans battled for more than an hour and a half to decide the doubles point. Senior Dylan Mann and junior Marcos Asse downed USC's Parker Collins and Andrew Park 8-2 at number three to give UF the early edge. But the Trojans fought back from a early service break at number two, coming back for a 9-7 victory by Patrick Gottesleben and Daniel Langre over UF sophomore Olivier Levant and senior Justin O'Neal. The point came down to the match at number one doubles between UF's third-ranked team of juniors Jeff Morrison and Nathan Overholser and Southern Cal's 11th-ranked duo of Ryan Moore and Nicholas Rainey. The score was even at 3-3 before USC gained the momentum by winning the next four games for a 7-3 lead. But Morrison and Overholser broke serve in the next two service games for USC and tied the match at 7-7 by holding serve twice. The Trojans then held serve for an 8-7 lead and Florida had to fight off two match points before sending the match to a tiebreaker at 8-8. The tiebreaker featured three match points for Florida and two for Southern Cal, with Moore double faulting at 9-10 to give Morrison and Overholser their 20th consecutive victory. The win was also the 25th of the year for the junior duo, tying the UF single-season record held by David Blair and Mark Merklein in 1993.
"We were pretty fortunate to win that doubles match," said Morrison. "That was a lot of relief and took the pressure off in singles. This team has been through a lot a tough spots this year. We've been here before, so I had a lot of confidence in knowing that our team was not going to go away."
In singles Southern California grabbed the advantage by winning the first set in four of the six matches. The Trojans tied the match at 1-1 as 79th-ranked Moore beat Overholser 6-2, 6-3 at number three. But the Gators fought back, especially at the bottom three spots in the lineup. Levant captured the second set after losing the first and freshman Troy Hahn did the same at number six. Mann lost the first set in a tiebreaker but remained on serve early in his second set. The Gators regained the lead at the top of the lineup, though, as 10th-ranked O'Neal rebounded from a slow start to knock off 87th-ranked Park. Park jumped out to a 4-1 lead, but O'Neal came back for a 7-5, 6-2 win for his ninth consecutive victory. Hahn then completed his rally to give UF a 3-1 lead, winning the final 10 games of the match for a 1-6, 6-2, 6-0 win over Collins at number six.
Morrison, the number one player in the nation, closed out the win with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 win at number one over Gottesleben for his 13th consecutive victory. The win improved Morrison to 8-0 in three-set matches this season and marked his fourth clinching win of the year.
NCAA Men's Tennis Championships
Third Round - Saturday, May 20, 2000
Dan Magill Tennis Complex, Athens, Ga.
Florida (27-3) 4
Southern Cal (18-9) 1
DOUBLES
No. 1 – Jeff Morrison-Nathan Overholser (UF) d. Ryan Moore-Nicholas Rainey (USC) 9-8 (9)
No. 2 – Patrick Gottesleben-Daniel Langre (USC) d. Olivier Levant-Justin O'Neal (UF) 9-7
No. 3 – Marcos Asse-Dylan Mann (UF) d. Parker Collins-Andrew Park (USC) 8-2
SINGLES
No. 1 – Jeff Morrison (UF) d. Patrick Gottesleben (USC) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
No. 2 – Justin O'Neal (UF) d. Andrew Park (USC) 7-5, 6-2
No. 3 – Ryan Moore (USC) d. Nathan Overholser (UF) 6-2, 6-3
No. 4 – Olivier Levant (UF) vs. Daniel Langre (USC), not completed
No. 5 – Dylan Mann (UF) vs. Nicholas Rainey (USC), not completed
No. 6 – Troy Hahn (UF) d. Parker Collins (USC) 1-6, 6-2, 6-0
Florida will face fifth-seeded Duke in Sunday's quarterfinals at 2 p.m. The two teams met earlier this year, with the Gators posting a 4-2 win on April 2 in Gainesville.
"That was not one of our best efforts from a playing standpoint, but from a competitive standpoint, we had a great effort," said head coach Ian Duvenhage. "I'm proud of the guys for not giving up."
The Gators and Trojans battled for more than an hour and a half to decide the doubles point. Senior Dylan Mann and junior Marcos Asse downed USC's Parker Collins and Andrew Park 8-2 at number three to give UF the early edge. But the Trojans fought back from a early service break at number two, coming back for a 9-7 victory by Patrick Gottesleben and Daniel Langre over UF sophomore Olivier Levant and senior Justin O'Neal. The point came down to the match at number one doubles between UF's third-ranked team of juniors Jeff Morrison and Nathan Overholser and Southern Cal's 11th-ranked duo of Ryan Moore and Nicholas Rainey. The score was even at 3-3 before USC gained the momentum by winning the next four games for a 7-3 lead. But Morrison and Overholser broke serve in the next two service games for USC and tied the match at 7-7 by holding serve twice. The Trojans then held serve for an 8-7 lead and Florida had to fight off two match points before sending the match to a tiebreaker at 8-8. The tiebreaker featured three match points for Florida and two for Southern Cal, with Moore double faulting at 9-10 to give Morrison and Overholser their 20th consecutive victory. The win was also the 25th of the year for the junior duo, tying the UF single-season record held by David Blair and Mark Merklein in 1993.
"We were pretty fortunate to win that doubles match," said Morrison. "That was a lot of relief and took the pressure off in singles. This team has been through a lot a tough spots this year. We've been here before, so I had a lot of confidence in knowing that our team was not going to go away."
In singles Southern California grabbed the advantage by winning the first set in four of the six matches. The Trojans tied the match at 1-1 as 79th-ranked Moore beat Overholser 6-2, 6-3 at number three. But the Gators fought back, especially at the bottom three spots in the lineup. Levant captured the second set after losing the first and freshman Troy Hahn did the same at number six. Mann lost the first set in a tiebreaker but remained on serve early in his second set. The Gators regained the lead at the top of the lineup, though, as 10th-ranked O'Neal rebounded from a slow start to knock off 87th-ranked Park. Park jumped out to a 4-1 lead, but O'Neal came back for a 7-5, 6-2 win for his ninth consecutive victory. Hahn then completed his rally to give UF a 3-1 lead, winning the final 10 games of the match for a 1-6, 6-2, 6-0 win over Collins at number six.
Morrison, the number one player in the nation, closed out the win with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 win at number one over Gottesleben for his 13th consecutive victory. The win improved Morrison to 8-0 in three-set matches this season and marked his fourth clinching win of the year.
NCAA Men's Tennis Championships
Third Round - Saturday, May 20, 2000
Dan Magill Tennis Complex, Athens, Ga.
Florida (27-3) 4
Southern Cal (18-9) 1
DOUBLES
No. 1 – Jeff Morrison-Nathan Overholser (UF) d. Ryan Moore-Nicholas Rainey (USC) 9-8 (9)
No. 2 – Patrick Gottesleben-Daniel Langre (USC) d. Olivier Levant-Justin O'Neal (UF) 9-7
No. 3 – Marcos Asse-Dylan Mann (UF) d. Parker Collins-Andrew Park (USC) 8-2
SINGLES
No. 1 – Jeff Morrison (UF) d. Patrick Gottesleben (USC) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
No. 2 – Justin O'Neal (UF) d. Andrew Park (USC) 7-5, 6-2
No. 3 – Ryan Moore (USC) d. Nathan Overholser (UF) 6-2, 6-3
No. 4 – Olivier Levant (UF) vs. Daniel Langre (USC), not completed
No. 5 – Dylan Mann (UF) vs. Nicholas Rainey (USC), not completed
No. 6 – Troy Hahn (UF) d. Parker Collins (USC) 1-6, 6-2, 6-0
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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