The fifth-ranked University of Florida men's tennis team moved to 2-0 on the year Saturday with a 6-1 win over 71st-ranked Furman. The Gators began the season with back-to-back wins for the 15th straight season.
"I'm excited because I thought we played much better in this match against Furman than we did a season ago, and they are essentially the same team," said UF head coach Andy Jackson. " Our play also seemed like it was significantly better than it was on Thursday (vs. UCF). I was pleased with the way the bottom of the order played. Depth was one of our strengths a season ago, and it looks to be the case even more so this season.
After splitting the first two doubles matches, Florida came away with the point when Hamid Mirzadeh and Janne Holmia outlasted Greg Maarschalk and Allen Simmons. With the match tied at five, Mirzadeh and Holmia scored each of the next three points to give UF a 1-0 advantage.
In the singles, the bottom of the order proved to be effective with the Gators sweeping the No. 3 through six spots in straight set wins. Trey Johnson, playing at No. 6, received the biggest challenge as he trailed 5-3 in the first set before coming back for a 7-5, 6-1 victory to put UF ahead 3-0. Troy Hahn clinched the win with his 6-4, 6-4 win over Andrew Rogers.
The Gators will be back in action on Thursday, Jan. 30 as they host 21st-ranked South Florida with matches set to begin at 2 p.m. On Saturday, February 1 Florida will travel to Champaign, IL for an early season showdown with second-ranked Illinois.
"I think we are going to find out a lot about ourselves next week," said Jackson. "Next week will be a big work week for us. We want to key in on our doubles before taking on USF. The season is divided into three segments for us, and the first one is trying to win matches while getting ready for the National Team Indoors. Teams like USF and Illinois will prepare us for that. Right now Illinois is probably the toughest place to play in the country."
NCAA Men's Tennis
Florida 6, Furman, 1
Doubles
No. 1 James Cameron/Patrick Fillnow def. #13 Matt Behrmann/Troy Hahn, 8-5
No. 2 #37 Olivier Levant/Eleazar Magallan def. Andrew Rogers/Dasef Weems, 8-4
No. 3 Hamid Mirzadeh/Janne Holmia def. Greg Maarschalk/Allen Simmons, 8-4
Singles
No. 1 James Cameron def. Hamid Mirzadeh, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
No. 2 #29 Janne Holmia def. Patrick Fillnow, 7-6 (5), 0-6, 6-1
No. 3 Troy Hahn def. Andrew Rogers, 6-4, 6-4
No. 4 #68 Olivier Levant def. Allen Simmons, 6-1, 6-2
No. 5 #T78 Eleazar Magallan def. Ryan McCarthy, 7-6 (4), 6-3
No. 6 Trey Johnson def. Ben Pauluhn, 7-5, 6-1
Numbers preceding names indicate current national rankings
