Florida Gators
Kentucky
Men's Tennis Downs Kentucky, 6-1
Saturday, March 15, 2003 | Men's Tennis
The second-ranked University of Florida men's tennis team became the final member of the Southeastern Conference to remain undefeated in league play with its 6-1 win over ninth-ranked Kentucky on Friday afternoon at the Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville. The Gators and Wildcats were the final two teams with spotless conference records until today's match, which lifted Florida's record to 14-2 and 5-0 in the SEC. With the loss, Kentucky slipped to 10-6 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
The win avenged last season's loss to Kentucky, where the situation was similar. In UF head coach Andy Jackson's first season, the Gators had raced out to a 4-0 league record before dropping a 4-3 decision in Lexington. This year's 5-0 league record marked the second time since 1986 the Gators have opened SEC play in such fashion. In addition, the Gators have reeled off 12 in a row on its home court, marking the first time the Gators have done so since the 2000 season when UF also won a dozen straight in Gainesville. UF also stretched its point margin against league teams combined to 31-4 this season. The month of March continued to be kind to Florida as they have outscored opponents 27-1 since March 1. This marks the best start to the month with the seven-point scoring system in the history of the program. The Gators also improved to 5-2 on the season against top ten opponents with both losses coming against Illinois, who is currently the nation's No. 1 ranked team.
"Obviously, we're excited about the 5-0 start because we play in the best league in the country," Jackson stated. "We are playing well right now and did well against Kentucky, which is a team that has a chance to win the conference. Vanderbilt, who we play on Sunday, is the other team in our conference people predicted had a shot prior to the season, so today's win was good for momentum heading into the match with them."
For the fourteenth time in sixteen matches this season, UF claimed the doubles point. Twenty-third-ranked Olivier Levant and Eleazar Magallan controlled their match against Rahim Esmail and Jesse Witten (No. 22) on court two, 8-3. Florida's Hamid Mirzadeh and Chris McDonald, who entered the ITA rankings this past week at No. 13, showed they belonged at the top of the line-up by securing the doubles point with an 8-4 victory over Karim Benmansour and Matt Emery to put the Gators up 1-0. The UF duo has now won a team-best six straight.
At the top of the singles line-up UF was given a challenge, however the four and five positions helped Florida grab a 3-0 lead before the Wildcats managed to get on the board. Senior Troy Hahn made a start at No. 4 for the first time since Feb. 7 and responded with a 6-2, 6-2 decision over Kentucky's Matt Emery. Senior Eleazar Magallan put UF within one of the victory with his 6-3, 6-1 win over 102nd-ranked Rahim Esmail. The win marked the 11th-straight set win for Magallan this season as just one of his 12 wins this season has needed a third set. Levant, Janne Holmia and Matt Behrmann added to UF's lead after Hamid Mirzadeh fell at the top of the order to 11th-ranked Jesse Witten, 1-6, 6-1, 6-2. Levant, who played on the third court for the second time this season, clinched the match with his 6-1, 2-6, 6-1 triumph over 70th-ranked Karim Benmansour. Janne Holmia, who shot up to fourth in the latest edition of the ITA rankings, pushed his team-best singles dual record to 14-2 with his play at No. 2 as he defeated Evan Austin, 7-5, 6-3. Behrmann ended the match as he outlasted 109th-ranked Alex Hume, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5).
Florida will complete the weekend as the Gators host No. 21 Vanderbilt at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 16. The Commodores come to Gainesville having received the highest ranking in the history of the program.
NCAA Men's Tennis
Florida 6, Kentucky 1
Doubles
No. 1 # 13 Hamid Mirzadeh/Chris McDonald (UF) def. Karim Benmansour/Matt Emery (UK), 8-4
No. 2 #23 Olivier Levant/Eleazar Magallan def. #22 Rahim Esmail/Jesse Witten (UK), 8-3
No. 3 Evan Austin/Alex Hume (UK) def. Matt Behrmann/Troy Hahn (UF) def. 9-7
Singles
No. 1 . #11 Jesse Witten (UK) def. #35 Hamid Mirzadeh (UF), 1-6, 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 #4 Janne Holmia (UF) def. Evan Austin (UK), 7-5, 6-3
No. 3 Olivier Levant (UF) def. #70 Karim Benmansour (UK), 6-1, 2-6, 6-1
No. 4 Troy Hahn (UF) def. Matt Emery (UK), 6-2, 6-2
No. 5 Eleazar Magallan (UF) def. # 102 Rahim Esmail (UK), 6-3, 6-1
No. 6 Matt Behrmann (UF) def. # 109 Alex Hume (UK), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5)
Numbers preceding names indicate current national rankings
