Florida Gators
vs. UCLA
Men's Tennis Comeback Bid Falls Short Against UCLA
Monday, May 19, 2003 | Men's Tennis
The third-seeded University of Florida men's tennis team was on the brink of elimination four times before sixth-seeded UCLA found a team match point to get past the Gators as the Bruins ended UF's 2003 season by a 4-1 margin in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Championship on Sunday in Athens, GA.
Florida ended one of the most successful campaigns in school history with a 25-5 record in addition to going a perfect 11-0 to claim the regular season SEC crown. The 2003 squad matched the 1975 team in terms of total wins as the two rank second on the program's all-time chart.
"I'm very proud of our team I thought it was one of the better matches of the year," stated UF head coach Andy Jackson. "UCLA was too good for us and they deserved to win. I'm proud of the way these guys played and I'm proud to be their coach."
For the second straight season the Bruins eliminated the Gators from the tournament after doing so in the 2002 Round of 16 (4-0). This time it would be a fight which saw the Gators get in trouble early when they dropped the doubles point for the sixth time on the season and the second time in as many outings. UF was able to overcome the setback in the 2003 Round of 16 against Texas on Saturday, however, this time the rally fell short.
After poor weather conditions delayed the match an hour and 45 minutes, UF found itself needing to win on courts one and three after 35th-ranked Olivier Levant and Eleazar Magallan were defeated by 51st-ranked Tobias Clemens and Lassi Ketola at the middle of the doubles lineup, 8-2. Two minutes later and the Gators forced the issued when 41st-ranked Matt Behrmann and Troy Hahn took out Erfan Djahangiri and Alberto Francis on court three, 8-4. With all eyes on the top of the order, UCLA's 24th-ranked Rodrigo Grilli and Marcin Matkowsi proved to be more than UF's 16th- ranked Hamid Mirzadeh and Chris McDonald could handle as the Bruin duo took the match and the point with an 8-4 decision.
In singles play, Hahn would even it at one when he knocked off 98th-ranked Grilli on court three, 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and 21 minutes. However, UCLA took the lead back in a matter of minutes as 88th-ranked Djahangiri held off Berhmann at the number five position, 6-1, 7-5. The Bruins would get to within one of the match when 37th-ranked Chris Lam used a 6-4, 6-4 decision over Levant one spot up the lineup.
With play remaining on three courts and the Gators needing to come away with wins on all, UF did not go down easily. At the time the score went to 3-1, two of the Florida players were trailing in the second set with only Magallan holding to a slim 5-4 second set lead only after dropping his first set. From that point, Mirzadeh would go on to lose his second set, 7-5, which would force a third. Holmia, who lost his first set, 6-3, would push things to a tiebreak in the second where he trailed 6-4 before turning things around for an 8-6 tie breaker win to go to a third set. Magallan's second set would prove to be the most dramatic though as he also went into a tiebreaker with Ketola before eventually taking an 11-9 break win.
All three matches were in third sets when Mirzadeh called for a judge's decision on suspending play due to slippery surface conditions. Play was stopped at 5:43 p.m. and moved indoors as the rain began to intensify. Mirzadeh was down 5-3 in the third set at the time the 26-minute delay occurred to shift things inside. UF appeared to be in good shape to get points on courts two and six when Mirzadeh was defeated by fifth-ranked Clemens, 3-6, 7-6, 6-3.
The move indoors after the match had began outdoors was similar to that of the SEC Tournament Championship where showers in the Oxford, MS, area made for a move inside. In fact, of the Gators five losses in the 2003 season four of them came when the match finished indoors with the only exception being a 4-3 loss at ninth-ranked Duke on Saturday, March 22.
The five members of the 2003 senior class included Behrmann, Hahn, Levant, Magallan and McDonald. Over the past four seasons, the Gators have posted an 80-33 record. In that stretch, UF won two SEC regular season titles, one SEC tournament and saw the season end at four different stages in the NCAA Tournament. In 2000, UF made its deepest postseason run ever by advancing to the semifinals. Following that was a trip to the first round and the Round of 16 before the 2003 campaign.
NCAA Men's Tennis
UCLA 4, FLORIDA 1
Doubles
No. 1 #24 Rodrigo Grilli/Marcin Matkowski (UCLA) def. #16 Hamid Mirzadeh/Chris McDonald (UF), 8-4
No. 2 #51 Tobias Clemens/Lassi Ketola (UCLA) def. #35 Olivier Levant/Eleazar Magallan (UF), 8-2
No. 3 #41 Matt Behrmann/Troy Hahn (UF) vs. Erfan Djahangiri/Alberto Francis (UCLA), 8-4
Singles
No. 1 #5 Tobias Clemens (UCLA) d. #15 Hamid Mirzadeh (UF), 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
No. 2 #6 Janne Holmia (UF) vs. #24 Marcin Matkowski (UCLA), Susp. 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 5-3
No. 3 Troy Hahn (UF) d. #98 Rodrigo Grilli (UCLA), 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 #37 Chris Lam (UCLA) d. Olivier Levant (UF), 6-4, 6-4
No. 5 . #88 Erfan Djahangiri (UCLA) d. Matt Behrmann (UF), 6-1, 7-5
No. 6 Eleazar Magallan (UF) vs. Lassi Ketola (UCLA), Susp. 3-6, 7-6 (11-9), 3-3
Numbers preceding names indicate current national rankings
