Florida Gators
NCAA Regional Final vs. Oklahoma State
Men?s Tennis Defeats No. 15 Oklahoma State To Advance To NCAA Round of 16
Monday, May 15, 2006 | Men's Tennis
For the fifth straight-year and the 13th time in the last 16 seasons, the No. 16 University of Florida men's tennis team advanced to the final site of the NCAA Championship with a 4-0 victory over No. 15 Oklahoma State Sunday afternoon in windy conditions in Stillwater, Okla. With the win, Florida ran its record to 17-7 as the Gators have won eight of their last nine matches. Oklahoma State completed its season with a 17-6 mark.
Florida is one of 16 teams that made it through first and second round play to punch its ticket to Palo Alto, Calif., where Round of 16 play begins on Saturday, May 20. The Gators advanced to take on No. 2 Pepperdine on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.
“I feel like Oklahoma State is really good,” said UF head coach Andy Jackson. “It is the best match we played all year at the biggest moment. I feel for Oklahoma State because we played well. We are very excited to go to the Round of 16 and get the monkey off of our back. We will see if we can play a little better out there.”
The Gators have advanced to the finals site every year under Jackson who is now in his fifth season in Gainesville. During his helm, the Gators are 10-0 in NCAA first and second round matches where they have combined to outscore opponents, 40-4.
Florida got behind early on the three doubles courts including 3-0 deficits on courts two and three before gaining control on each. UF's Nestor Briceno and Stefan Tell took out OSU's Ivan Puchkarov and Olexsander Kotsiuk on court five in 45 minutes to get the Gators to within one of clinching to point. The pair won each of their two matches at the regional after entering NCAA play having dropped five straight. Five minutes later, UF's Chris Brandi and Greg Ouellette made it a 1-0 Gator lead with their 8-4 decision against Tomas Buhunicky and Artie Burmistrau on two.
In singles Briceno (No. 75 ) worked to build the lead to 2-0 as he defeated Puchkarov (No. 77) on court three (6-1, 6-2). His win increased his record against ranked opponents this season to 8-4. Overall, the UF sophomore has won 12 of his last 14 outings.
Brandi (No. 82) got the Gators to within one of advancing when he defeated Kotsiuk on court five (6-1, 6-1). This season, Brandi leads all Gators with 19 victories in dual match play.
Obradovic (No. 38) got the win the Gators were looking for by slipping past No. 13 Daniel Byrnes at the top of the order (6-3, 7-5). The victory matched the highest ranked opponent Obradovic had defeated this year. Additionally, the UF senior moved his record in NCAA team play to 6-0 on his career.
No. 16 Florida vs. No. 15 Oklahoma State
Debois Tennis Center – Stillwater, Okla.
NCAA First Round
Doubles
Janne Holmia/Vladimir Obradovic (UF) vs. No. 41 Daniel Byrnes/Nathan Byrnes (OSU), 7-5 DNF
Chris Brandi/Greg Ouellette (UF) def. Tomas Buhunicky/Artie Burmistrau (OSU), 8-4
Nestor Briceno/Stefan Tell (UF) def. Ivan Puchkarov/Olexsander Kotsiuk (OSU), 8-5
Order of Finish – 3, 2
Singles
No. 38 Vladimir Obradovic (UF) def. No. 13 Daniel Byrnes (OSU), 6-3, 7-5
No. 52 Greg Ouellette (UF) vs. Tomas Bohunicky (OSU), 3-6, 3-5 DNF
No. 75 Nestor Briceno (UF) def. No. 77 Ivan Puchkarov (OSU), 6-1, 6-2
Janne Holmia (UF) vs. Artie Burmistrau (OSU), 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 DNF
No. 82 Chris Brandi (UF) def. Olexsander Kotsiuk (OSU), 6-1, 6-1
Ryan Sherry vs. Nathan Byrnes (OSU) 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 DNF
Order of Finish – 3, 5, 1
Notes –
The Gators are 30-15 (.666) 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 10-0 in the first and second rounds combined and have outscored opponents 40-4.
Sunday's shutout was the 17th for the Gators all-time in NCAA tournament play. Ten of the shutouts have come under fifth-year head coach Andy Jackson. In addition, UF has shutout four of the last five teams it has matched up against in NCAA tournament action.
Since the NCAA field expanded to 64 in 1999 the Gators are 7-0 all-time in second round play.
Since the NCAA field expanded to 64 in 1999 the Gators have shutout their opponents in the first and second rounds four times (three under Coach Jackson).
Florida enters NCAA Round of 16 play having won eight of its last nine matches.
Florida is now 13-1 this season when winning the doubles point and UF is 14-1 in 2006 when winning the match on the No. 3 doubles courts.
UF hasn't given up a point in an NCAA first round match under Coach Jackson and has shutout eight opponents in the first and second rounds combined. Coach Jackson's teams have advanced to the NCAA final site in 15 of the last 16 years (10 at Mississippi State and five at UF).
UF picked up its second win over a higher ranked opponent this season. The Gators also defeated then-No. 5 Ole Miss in Gainesville on March 3, 5-2.
Florida has now defeated five teams ranked inside the top 25 this season (based on ranking at time of the match).
