Florida Gators
NCAA First Round - Western Michigan
Men?s Tennis Starts NCAA Draw With 4-0 Victory Over Western Michigan
Saturday, May 13, 2006 | Men's Tennis
For the fifth straight season, the No. 16 University of Florida men's tennis team advanced to the second round of the NCAA team championship draw with an 4-0 victory over Western Michigan in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday afternoon. With the victory, UF improved to 16-7 on the season, while the Broncos completed their year with a 25-5 mark.
Florida advanced to the second round where they will meet the winner of today's match between No. 15 Oklahoma State (16-5) and Drake (24-3). The winner of Sunday's second round match, which begins at 3 p.m. ET, will earn a trip to Stanford University which serves as this year's final site hosting the Round of 16 and beyond beginning on May 20.
“Western Michigan really pushed us particularly in the doubles,” said UF head coach Andy Jackson. “I think that says a lot about them. We will be better tomorrow because of today's match. I think either team can win (Drake or Oklahoma State). I know Drake is very good, and Oklahoma State is at home. I am very pleased to get through to the next round. It will be very hard to get through tomorrow. I think we will play a little bit better tomorrow than we did today.”
Florida advanced to the second round for the seventh time in the last eight years as the Gators have made it under Jackson in each of the five years he has been in Gainesville. Additionally, the Gators secured the program's 14th shutout in NCAA tournament play and fifth straight in the opening round of the event as no team has scored a point on the Gators in the first round under Jackson.
Florida worked to earn the doubles point for the 12th time this year picking up wins at the top and bottom of the order after a loss on two. On court three, UF's Stefan Tell and Nestor Briceno faced match point twice before coming back to defeat WMU's Tim Bradshaw and Jeff French, 9-8 (2). After falling behind 2-0 in the tiebreak, the UF tandem reeled off seven straight points to force the issue to court one. Florida's Vladimir Obradovic and Janne Holmia held off Brady Crosby and Bryan Norville, 8-6, to give the Gators the 1-0 lead in slightly over an hour.
Once in singles play, the story changed as UF wasted little time in closing out the match. UF players claimed the first set on all six courts and were in good shaped in the second when the match was clinched.
Sophomore Greg Ouellette (No. 52) gave the Gators a 2-0 advantage with his victory over Crosby on court two (6-1, 6-2). The victory was his eighth straight, which is the longest active streak by any Gator.
Obradovic (No. 38) got the Gators to within one of clinching the match when he took out Tim Bradshaw on the top court (6-2, 6-3). The win kept his record spotless in NCAA team play throughout his career (5-0).
Brandi (No. 82) provided the clincher as he defeated Kevin Hayward on court five (6-0, 6-3). Brandi's win was his team-leading 18th in dual match play this year.
On Sunday, Florida will look to advance to the final site for the NCAA Round of 16 for the 13th time in the past 16 years (UF missed 1996, 1998 and 2001).
No. 16 Florida vs. No. 56 Western Michigan
Debois Tennis Center – Stillwater, Okla.
NCAA First Round
Doubles
Janne Holmia/Vladimir Obradovic (UF) def. Brady Crosby/Bryan Norville (WMU), 8-6
Alex Birchmeier/Jose Orozco (WMU) def. Chris Brandi/Greg Ouellette (UF), 8-6
Nestor Bricen/Stefan Tell (UF) def. Tim Bradshaw/Jeff French (WMU), 9-8 (2)
Order of Finish – 2, 3, 1
Singles
No. 38 Vladimir Obradovic (UF) def. Tim Bradshaw (WMU), 6-2, 6-3
No. 52 Greg Ouellette (UF) def. Brady Crosby (WMU), 6-1, 6-2
No. 75 Nestor Briceno (UF) vs. Jose Orozco (WMU), 6-3, 3-3 (susp.)
Janne Holmia (UF) vs. Alex Birchmeier (WMU), 6-3, 4-3 (susp.)
No. 82 Chris Brandi (UF) def. Kevin Hayward (WMU), 6-0, 6-3
Ryan Sherry vs. Jeff French (WMU), 6-3, 3-3 (susp.)
Order of Finish – 2, 1, 5
Notes –
The Gators are 29-15 (.659) all-time in NCAA Tournament play since the event switched to a dual match format in 1977.
In the five years under head coach Andy Jackson the Gators are 9-0 in the first and second rounds combined and have outscored opponents 36-4.
Entering tomorrow's match Florida has won seven of its last eight matches.
Florida is now 12-1 this season when winning the doubles point and UF is 13-1 in 2006 when winning the match on the No. 3 doubles courts.
The Gators improved to 15-4 in 2006 when facing a lower ranked team.
UF hasn't given up a point in an NCAA first round match under Coach Jackson and has shutout seven opponents in the first and second rounds combined. Coach Jackson's teams have advanced to the NCAA final site in 14 of the last 15 years (10 at Mississippi State and four at UF).
