Florida Gators
Florida State
Men’s Tennis Downs Florida State, 6-1
Sunday, February 9, 2003 | Men's Tennis
The sixth-ranked University of Florida men's tennis team picked up its first road win of the dual season Sunday afternoon as it took a 6-1 decision over in state rival Florida State (No. 41) at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center in Tallahassee. With the victory, the Gators moved their record to 5-1 on the season, while FSU suffered its first loss of the season in falling to 4-1.
"We were able to go on the road and get a win against a solid team," said UF head coach Andy Jackson. "Florida State is also a huge rival, so that made even more difficult. I thought the number one singles match provided us with some momentum and Olivier (Levant) performed well for us in the singles. This coming week will also be a rivalry week for us with Miami coming to Gainesville on Friday, so the feel of the week will be very similar to what we just had. The match with the Hurricanes will be a toss up."
The Gators won the doubles point for the fifth time in six matches this season when Chris McDonald and Hamid Mirzadeh teamed to defeat Mat Cloer and Rodrigo Laub, 8-6, at the number one position. The win marked the first of the dual season for the duo. UF's 37th-ranked Olivier Levant and Eleazar Magallan put the Gators in position to seize the doubles point with their 8-4 victory over 38th-ranked Romain Jurd and Alex Herrera at No. 2.
In the singles, the Gators picked up all but one match. Levant, ranked 68th, continued to be reliable for the Gators at the No. 4 position in the singles matches as he picked up his fifth straight set victory of the season with a 6-2, 6-3 decision over No. 115 Alex Herrera. Florida's Troy Hahn defeated Heiner Tadauly, 6-4, 6-4 at No. 3, while Magallan used a 6-1, 6-4 score for his win over Chris Westerhoff. Behrmann, ranked 117th, rounded out the list of UF winners with a 6-3, 6-4, victory over Chip Webb.
With the win, Jackson continued his dominance of the state of Florida, as UF is 7-0 against teams in the Sunshine State with during Jackson's time in Gainesville. In addition, Florida has not lost a match on the road but within the state of Florida since falling, 8-1, at Miami on March 5, 1989. UF is 274-99-2 (.730) all-time against teams from within the state of Florida.
Florida will return home on Friday, Feb. 14, as the Gators host Miami at 2 p.m. Miami is ranked 42nd in the latest edition of the ITA rankings.
Final Box Score:
#6 Florida 6
#41 Florida State 1
Singles:
No. 1 Mat Cloer (FSU) d. Hamid Mirzadeh (UF) 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 #29 Janne Holmia (UF) d. Romain Jurd (FSU) 6-4, 6-3
No. 3 Troy Hahn (UF) d. Heiner Tadault (FSU) 6-4, 6-4
No. 4 #68 Olivier Levant (UF) d. #115 Alex Herrera (FSU) 6-2, 6-3
No. 5 #T78 Eleazar Magallan (UF) d. Chris Westerhoff (FSU) 6-1, 6-4
No. 6 #117 Matt Behrmann (UF) d. Chip Webb (FSU) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles:
No. 1 Chris McDonald/Mirzadeh (UF) d. Cloer/Rodrigo Laub (FSU) 8-6
No. 2 #37 Levant/Magallan (UF) d. #38 Jurd/Herrera (FSU) 8-4
No. 3 Westerhoff/Jeff Groslimond (FSU) d. #13 Hahn/Behrmann (UF) 8-5
Numbers preceding names indicate current national rankings
