The seventh-ranked University of Florida men's tennis team fell to number one ranked Baylor, 5-2, on Wednesday afternoon in Gainesville. With the loss, Florida's record slipped to 5-4 on the season while Baylor pushed its mark to 10-0.
The loss dropped the Gators to 39-3 all-time at home under fourth-year head coach Andy Jackson with two of the setbacks coming to a team ranked No. 1 at the time (March 23, 2004, UF defeated by No. 1 Illinois, 7-0).
The Gators were swept on the doubles court as they lost the point for the fourth time this season. UF's Ryan Sherry and Jordan Dolberg dropped an 8-3 decision on court three to Baylor's Benjamin Becker and Jon Reckeway in 42 minutes. The Florida tandem fell to 6-3 in dual matches on the season. Just over five minutes later the score was 1-0 in favor of the Bears when 44th-ranked Benedikt Dorsch and Matija Zgaga used the same score to beat UF's Greg Ouellette and Hamid Mirzadeh at the top of the order.
On court two, Florida's Chris Branid and Vladimir Obradovic put up a fight against 43rd-ranked Michal Kokta and Lars Poerschke, however, they were edged in a tiebreaker, 9-8 (3).
In singles play, Baylor's Poerschke (No. 19 nationally) defeated UF's 29th-ranked Greg Ouellette in straight sets (6-1, 6-3) to make it a 2-0 match. Kokta got the Bears to within one point of the victory with a straight set win of his own on court five over Brandi (No. 69), 7-5, 6-2.
Obradovic (No. 59) got UF on the board with his 7-5, 6-2 win over Becker (No. 44) who won the NCAA singles championship last a season ago.. The UF senior moved to 4-2 in dual match play as Becker was the highest ranked opponent Obradovic has defeated this season.
Vladimir Portnov solidified the win for Baylor by posting a 6-4, 6-2 win over Sherry on court six, which was only the second loss in the last seven outings for the UF redshirt junior.
Florida newcomer Nestor Briceno made it a 4-2 match when he overcame a 5-2 deficit in the second set on court four against Zgaga (No. 93) to win the match 6-4, 7-6 (2). The victory was Briceno's fifth in a dual match this season, which ties Brandi for the highest total of any Gator.
Dorsch (No. 9) rounded out the scoring for the Bears at the top of the order. After quickly taking a 6-2 first set, Mirzadeh became the first opponent to take the Baylor senior to a third set this season before coming up short (6-2, 3-6, 6-2).
Florida returns to the courts on Friday, March 4 at 4 p.m. as the Gators host ninth-ranked LSU to begin conference play. UF has won six straight matches to begin the SEC home slate. Florida won the SEC East a season ago after winning the eighth conference title in school history in 2003.
Florida vs. Baylor
Singles
9 Benedikt Dorsch (BU) def. Hamid Mirzadeh (UF), 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 2. 59 Vladimir Obradovic (UF) def. 44 Benjamin Becker (BU), 7-5, 6-2
3. 19 Lars Poerschke (BU) def. 29 Greg Ouellette (UF), 6-1, 6-3
4. Nestor Briceno (UF) def. 93 Matija Zgaga (BU), 6-4, 7-6 (2)
5. Michal Kokta (BU) def. 69 Chris Brandi (UF), 7-5, 6-2
6. Vladimir Portnov (BU) def. Ryan Sherry (UF), 6-4, 6-2
Order of Finish – 3, 5, 2, 6, 4, 1
Doubles
T44 Benedikt Dorsch/Matija Zgaga (BU) def. Hamid Mirzadeh/Greg Ouellette (UF), 8-3 43 Michal Kokta/Lars Poerschke (BU) def. Chris Brandi/Vladimir Obradovic (UF), 9-8 (3) Benjamin Becker/Jon Reckeway (BU) def. Jordan Dolberg/Ryan Sherry (UF), 8-3 Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
