FLORIDA MEN'S TENNIS ADVANCES TO NCAA SEMIFINALS FOR FIRST TIME IN SCHOOL HISTORY

Sunday, May 21

Athens, GA

2:00 PM

Florida Gators

Duke - NCAA Quarterfinals

FLORIDA MEN'S TENNIS ADVANCES TO NCAA SEMIFINALS FOR FIRST TIME IN SCHOOL HISTORY

Sunday, May 21, 2000 | Men's Tennis

By: Jeff Kamis

ATHENS, Ga. - The third-ranked and fourth-seeded University of Florida men's tennis team (28-3) advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Men's Tennis Championships for the first time in school history with a 4-2 victory over fifth-seeded and sixth-ranked Duke (25-6) Sunday afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

The Gators will meet top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Stanford (26-1), a 4-1 winner over TCU, in the second semifinal Monday at 4 p.m. Florida and Stanford have met one previous time, with UF posting a 7.5-1.5 win in 1969. Tennessee and Virginia Commonwealth will face each other in the first semifinal at noon.

The match began outdoors at the McWhorter Courts but had to be completed indoors at the Lindsey Hopkins Courts due to rain.

"It was a tough match," said Gator head coach Ian Duvenhage. "I am really proud of the guys. It did help us to go indoors because I think our team feels really comfortable inside. I really think we are the underdog tomorrow (against Stanford), but we'll be ready to play."

Junior Jeff Morrison, the nation's top-ranked player, clinched the Gator win for the second straight day with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory over 46^th-ranked Doug Root at number one for his 14^th consecutive victory. The win also improved Morrison's record in three-set matches to 9-0 this season.

"It was a huge win," said Morrison. "When we started this tournament there were 64 teams and now there are only four, and we're one of them. I think going indoors helped me out. It made me shorten my stroke and helped me to return the big serve."

For the sixth straight match Florida claimed the opening doubles point, winning at the number one and number three spots. The Gators' third-ranked team of juniors Morrison and Nathan Overholser ran their winning streak to 21 with an 8-6 victory over Duke's fifth-ranked team of Doug Root and Ramsey Smith. The win was also the 26^th of the year for the duo, breaking the UF single-season record of 25 held by David Blair and Mark Merklein in 1993. UF then closed out the opening point at number three as junior Marcos Asse and senior Dylan Mann rallied from a 7-5 deficit for a 9-8 (7-2) win over Pedro Escudero and Mike Yani. Asse and Mann are now 21-4 on the year, the sixth-best single-season mark in school history.

Florida carried the momentum into singles, winning the first set in four of the six matches. But Duke evened the match at number six singles as Marko Cerenko downed UF freshman Troy Hahn, 6-3, 6-3. Sophomore Olivier Levant gave Florida a 2-1 lead at number four singles with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over 48^th-ranked Andres Pedroso. Senior Justin O'Neal, who is ranked 10^th in singles, extended the Gator advantage with a 7-6 (4), 6-3 win over 34^th-ranked Ramsey Smith at number two for his 10^th consecutive singles win. The win was the 40^th this season for O'Neal and he joined Morrison (47 wins in 1999) as the only players in school history to reach the 40-win plateau. Shortly after O'Neal's win, the match was moved inside due to heavy rains. At the time, Morrison led Root 1-0 in the third set at number one, Overholser was tied at 4-4 in the second set with Escudero at number three after losing the first set and Mann trailed 5-0 in the third set to Joel Spicher at number five.

When play resumed indoors, Spicher quickly closed out Mann, cutting the Gator lead to 3-2 with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 victory. Overholser then forced a third set and led 3-1 in the third, but Morrison held serve to send UF into the semifinals.

NCAA Men's Tennis Championships
Quarterfinals - Sunday, May 21, 2000
Dan Magill Tennis Complex, Athens, Ga.

#3 Florida (28-3) d. #6 Duke (25-6), 4-2

DOUBLES
No. 1 – Jeff Morrison-Nathan Overholser (UF) d. Doug Root-Ramsey Smith (DU) 8-6
No. 2 – Olivier Levant-Justin O'Neal (UF) vs. Andres Pedroso-Ted Rueger (DU), not completed
No. 3 – Marcos Asse-Dylan Mann (UF) d. Pedro Escudero-Mike Yani (DU) 9-8 (2)

SINGLES
No. 1 – Jeff Morrison (UF) d. Doug Root (DU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
No. 2 – Justin O'Neal (UF) d. Ramsey Smith (DU) 7-6 (4), 6-3
No. 3 – Nathan Overholser (UF) vs. Pedro Escudero (DU), not completed
No. 4 – Olivier Levant (UF) d. Andres Pedroso (DU) 6-1, 6-3
No. 5 – Joel Spicher (DU) d. Dylan Mann (UF) 3-6, 6-2, 6-0
No. 6 – Marko Cerenko (DU) d. Troy Hahn (UF) 6-3, 6-3