Florida Gators
Georgia
Men's Tennis Wins SEC Outright
Sunday, April 6, 2003 | Men's Tennis
For the first time since 1994, the University of Florida men's tennis team (No. 2) captured an outright SEC title with a 6-1 win over No. 18 Georgia on Sunday, April 6 at the Ring Tennis Complex. The crown, which was the eighth the Gators have either earned on their own or shared, was the highlight of Senior Day festivities for the five members of the Florida squad who played in their final regular season home match.
With the win, the Gators improved to 19-3 on the season and remained kept perfect in SEC play with a 10-0 record. Georgia slipped to 7-13 overall and 3-7 in the league. The win also closed out Florida's regular season home slate with a perfect record marking the sixth time a UF squad has done so (1961, 1967, 1968, 1969, and 1978).
"This was one of our better matches of the season," said UF head coach Andy Jackson. "The pressure was on us and Georgia had us under the gun. Georgia showed that it is a very classy program, which it has been for years. This was a very big win for us though. I felt like I came in here and had some really great players who believed in winning. I'm just lucky to be a part of this."
Florida first claimed the title in 1950 and went on to do so again in 1961, 68, 69, 75, 94 and 2000. In his second season, Jackson became the quickest coach to accomplish the feat. Bill Potter, who won four, brought his first to Gainesville ten years into his Gator career. Ian Duvenhage took six seasons to win his first of two.
The Gators captured the doubles point with wins on courts two and three. UF's 38th-ranked Eleazar Magallan and Olivier Levant put their team in position with an 8-3 win over Georgia's Stephan Timu and Will Glenn in a match that lasted 53 minutes. Five minutes later and Florida had the 1-0 advantage when Matt Behrmann and Troy Hahn (No. 22) teamed for an 8-5 decision against UGA's Strahinja Bobusic and Raian Luchici.
Magallan, who was playing at the bottom of the singles line up, carried the momentum into the singles as he defeated Will Glenn on the six court in straight sets 6-3, 6-1. Freshman Janne Holmia (No. 5) put UF within one of an outright SEC title with his 6-3, 6-4 win over 39th-ranked Nicolas Boecker. (6-3, 6-4). Florida's 28th-ranked Hamid Mirzadeh came up with his biggest win of the season at the top of the lineup for the clincher as he outlasted third-ranked Bo Hodge 7-6 (9), 6-2. With the issue no longer in doubt, Hahn, Levant added to the UF point column. Hahn knocked off Bobusic 7-5, 6-3 on court three. Levant took three sets to defeat Raian Luchici, 5-7, 7-6 (1), 10-5.
UF will close out its regular season with a trip to No. 20 South Carolina on Friday, April 11 at 2:30 p.m. With a win over the Gamecocks, the Gators will have gone perfect in SEC play for the first time since 1975.
Florida 6, Georgia 1
Singles
1. #28 Hamid Mirzadeh (UF) vs. #3 Bo Hodge (UGA), 7-6 (9), 6-2
2. #5 Janne Holmia (UF) def. #39 Nicolas Boecker (UGA), 6-3, 6-4
3. Troy Hahn (UF) def . Strahinja Bobusic (UGA), 7-5, 6-3
4. #107 Olivier Levant (UF) def. Raian Luchici (UGA) 5-7, 7-6 (1), 10-5
5. Jason Varela (UGA) def. Matt Behrmann (UF) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
6. Eleazar Magallan (UF) def. Will Glenn (UGA), 6-3, 6-1
Doubles
1. #28 Nicolas Boecker/Bo Hodge (UGA) def. #12 Hamid Mirzadeh/Chris McDonald (UF), 8-5
2. #38 Eleazar Magallan/Olivier Levant (UF) def. Stephan Timu/Will Glenn (UGA), 8-3
3. # 22 Matt Behrmann/Troy Hahn (UF) def. Strahinja Bobusic/Raian Luchici (UGA), 8-5
