Florida Gators
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Mississippi State
No. 7 Florida Men?s Tennis Defeats No. 27 Mississippi State, 6-1
Sunday, March 5, 2006 | Men's Tennis
For the fourth time in five seasons under head coach Andy Jackson, the seventh-ranked University of Florida men's tennis team began the SEC schedule with back-to-back wins as the Gators defeated No. 27 Mississippi State, 6-1, Sunday afternoon at the Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville. With the win, UF improved to 8-2 overall and 2-0 in conference play. Mississippi State slipped to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the league.
Sunday's match was against Jackson's former school as he came to Gainesville from MSU where he coached the men's team from 1989-2001. With the win, Jackson moved to 5-0 all-time against the Bulldogs.
“The main thing is we are 2-0 in the conference right now,” said Jackson. “In doubles I feel the guys have done a superior job of investing themselves. We had lost the point three straight matches coming into the weekend and the team decided to do something about it.”
Florida had the doubles point in 33 minutes and went on to sweep the courts for the first time since the season opener on Jan. 26 (vs. UCF). For the second straight match, senior Vladimir Obradovic and junior Janne Holmia clinched the point as they defeated MSU's Phillip Frayssinoux and Pierre Mouillon, 8-1. Their victory came two minutes after redshirt senior Chris Brandi and sophomore Greg Ouellette made quick work out of Ryan Farlow and Eric Lim on court three, 8-0. Senior Stefan Tell and sophomore Nestor Briceno outlasted Ivan Bjelica and Jose-Carlos Pinto in a tiebreaker, 8-7 (2) for their first victory on the top court this season.
For the second straight match, UF jumped to a 4-0 lead before its opponent got on the board. Tell started the UF singles scoring when he defeated Farlow on five, 6-0, 6-1. Following the match against the Bulldogs, Tell was the only Gator to appear in a dual match this season to remain undefeated (5-0).
Obradovic got the Gators to within one of clinching with a straight set 6-2, 6-1 decision over Frayssinoux on two. The win was his third straight and second on the court this season. Ryan Sherry sealed the win for UF with a 6-2, 6-1 showing against Lim at the bottom of the order. Sherry has now five out of six matches this season and 29 of his last 32 appearances on court six.
Holmia and Briceno (No. 38) picked up wins on courts one and three, respectively. Briceno got his first when he outlasted Pinto in a super tiebreaker third set 6-3, 3-6, 10-6 match. Holmia, who was playing on the top court for the first time on the season and the fourth time in his career, held off Bjelica (7-6 (3), 7-6 (4)).
Florida is next in action at No. 28 Tennessee as the Gators head to Knoxville for a meeting with the Volunteers at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 10.
No. 7 Florida vs. No. 27 Mississippi State
Ring Tennis Complex
Gainesville, Florida
Singles
Janne Holmia (UF) def. Ivan Bjelica (MSU), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4)
Vladimir Obradovic (UF) def. Phillip Frayssinoux (MSU), 6-2, 6-1
No. 38 Nestor Briceno (UF) def. Jose-Carlos Pinto (MSU), 6-3, 3-6, 10-6
Pierre Mouillon (MSU) def. Chris Brandi (UF), 6-4, 6-4
Stefan Tell (UF) def. Ryan Farlow (MSU), 6-0, 6-1
Ryan Sherry (UF) def. Eric Lim (MSU), 6-2, 6-1
Order of Finish – 5, 2, 6, 4, 3, 1
Doubles
Stefan Tell/Nestor Briceno (UF) def. Ivan Bjelica/Jose-Carlos Pinto (MSU), 8-7 (2)
Janne Holmia/Vladimir Obradovic (UF) def. Phillip Frayssinoux/Pierre Mouillon (MSU), 8-1
Chris Brandi/Greg Ouellette (UF) def. Ryan Farlow/Eric Lim (MSU), 8-0
Order of Finish – 3, 2, 1
