Florida Gators
Arkansas
Men?s Tennis Concludes Regular Season With 4-3 Win At Ark.
Sunday, April 18, 2004 | Men's Tennis
The ninth-ranked University of Florida men's tennis team controlled what it could, but did not get the help it needed to get a share of the SEC title as the Gators slipped past No. 26 Arkansas on Sunday, 4-3. UF entered the day needing the victory and an Ole Miss loss at Kentucky to get a piece of the championship, however, the Rebels came away with a 5-2 win. The Gators concluded the regular season on a five match win streak to bring UF's overall record to 15-6. Florida finished 8-3 in league play, which was good for second in the SEC overall and the outright SEC Eastern Division Championship.
With the win, UF received a bye in the first round of the SEC Men's Tennis Tournament, which begins this Thursday in Nashville. The tournament draw is expected to be announced late Sunday or early Monday.
Against Arkansas, Florida took the critical doubles point in dramatic fashion with wins on the top two courts. UF's Hamid Mirzadeh and Chris Brandi (No. 29) put UF in position to clinch the point with their 8-5 win over 45th-ranked Nathan Price and Matt Simpson. An Arkansas win at the bottom of the lineup forced the issue to court two where UF's Vladimir Obradovic and Janne Holmia outlasted Arkansas' Matt Roberts and Imraan Ismail, 9-8 (6).
The bottom of the singles lineup came through big for the Gators as UF got the three wins it needed on courts four, five and six. After Arkansas evened the score with a win on court two, UF's Ryan Sherry took a straight set 6-2, 6-1 decision over Ismail on court six. The win was Sherry's fifth in his last six outings.
After a win on court three tied the match again, Florida's Jordan Dolberg put UF within one of getting the win with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Roberts on court six. The win was Dolberg's fourth straight since being edged in his first collegiate match as he was introduced to the lineup on April 2.
Brandi rallied back from dropping his first set to Simpson, 1-6, to get the win UF needed by taking 6-3, 6-2 victories in the second and third sets, respectively. In doing so, Brandi made it two straight on the weekend after entering last Friday's match with one win in his previous five matches.
With the win, the Gators have never finished below a tie for third in the league since UF head coach Andy Jackson took over the program in 2001. Jackson became the first head coach in Gator history to start his Florida career with top three conference finishes in each of his first three years.
Florida Men's Tennis at Arkansas
Sunday, April 18, 2004
Singles:
No.1 #83 Nathan Price(AR) def. #7 Hamid Mirzadeh(UF), 6-4,7-5
No.2 #19 Adrians Zguns(AR) def. Janne Holmia(UF), 6-2,6-0
No.3 Rohan Gajjar(AR) def. #59 Vladimir Obradovic(UF), 6-2,6-4
No.4 Chris Brandi(UF) def. Matt Simpson(AR), 1-6,6-3,6-2
No.5 Jordan Dolberg(UF) def. Matt Roberts(AR), 6-3,6-1
No.6 Ryan Sherry(UF) def. Imraan Ismail(AR), 6-2,6-1
order of finish: 2,6,3,5,4,1
clinched at 4
Doubles:
No.1 Hamid Mirzadeh/Chris Brandi(UF) def. #45Nathan Price/Matt Simpson(AR),
8-5
No.2 Vladimir Obradovic/Janne Holmia(UF) def. Matt Roberts/Imraan Ismail(AR),
9-8(6)
No.3 Adrians Zguns/Rohan Gajjar(AR) def. Martin Stiegwardt/Stefan Tell(UF),
8-4
clinched at 2
