Florida Gators
LSU
No. 8 Men?s Tennis Edged by No. 19 LSU 4-3
Monday, March 27, 2006 | Men's Tennis
The No. 8-ranked University of Florida men's tennis team put forth a valiant effort, but it was not enough to overcome the No. 19 LSU Tigers on the road Sunday at the W. T. Robinson Tennis Center in Baton Rouge, La. The Bayou Bengals (11-6, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) secured the doubles point and won three singles matches en route to a 4-3 victory over the Gators (9-6, 3-3 SEC).
No. 32-ranked sophomore Greg Ouellette (Ormond Beach, Fla.), classmate Nestor Briceno (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), who currently holds an individual ranking of No. 38, and senior Ryan Sherry (Ft. Myers, Fla.) all secured singles wins for the Gators in the match.
“I am proud of the team's effort today, but we just came up a little short on the road,” UF head coach Andy Jackson said. “It's disappointing to lose, but I did not see any quit in our guys. It was a tough match, and we have to just put it behind us as we look to bounce back next weekend.”
In singles, Ouellette knocked off Colt Gaston in the No. 2 position by a final count of 6-3, 6-3. At the No. 3 spot, Briceno defeated Mark Growcott 6-3, 6-4, in straight sets. For the Gators' final point of the afternoon, Sherry knocked off Jose Moncada 6-2, 6-2, in No. 6 singles. LSU secured the team win with Danny Bryan's 7-6 (9), 6-2, win over senior Chris Brandi (Boca Raton, Fla.) at the No. 4 position.
The Tigers swept the doubles competition on the afternoon, with the No. 12-ranked tandem of Ken Skupski and Growcott defeating UF's duo of senior Stefan Tell (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and Briceno 8-3 in the No. 1 slot to open doubles play. LSU's 14th-ranked team of Danny Bryan and Gaston won 8-5 over Brandi and Ouellette in No. 2 doubles.
The Gators return to action Friday, March 31, against SEC foe Alabama. First serve from the Ring Tennis Complex is set for 3 p.m. EST. Live scoring can be found online at www.GatorZone.com, while admission to the match is free. UF stays at home and will face Auburn Sunday, April 2. The match with the Tigers is set to begin at 1 p.m. EST.
#19 LSU 4, #8 Florida 3
Singles
1. #22 Ken Skupski (LSU) def. #95 Vladimir Obradovic (UF) 7-6 (4), 7-5
2. #32 Greg Ouellette (UF) def. Colt Gaston (LSU) 6-3, 6-3
3. #38 Nestor Briceno (UF) def. Mark Growcott (LSU) 6-3, 6-4
4. Danny Bryan (LSU) def. Chris Brandi (UF) 7-6 (9), 6-2
5. James Cluskey (LSU) def. #100 Stefan Tell (UF) 6-4, 6-2
6. Ryan Sherry (UF) def. Jose Moncada (LSU) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
1. #12 Ken Skupski/Mark Growcott (LSU) def. Stefan Tell/Nestor Briceno (UF) 8-3
2. #14 Danny Bryan/Colt Gaston (LSU) def. Chris Brandi/Greg Ouellette (UF) 8-5
3. James Cluskey/Paul White (LSU) def. Vladimir Obradovic/Ryan Sherry (UF) 8-3
