Florida Gators
Georgia
Men's Tennis Defeated By No. 1 Georgia, 6-1
Sunday, March 11, 2007 | Men's Tennis
The 26th-ranked University of Florida men's tennis team dropped a 6-1 decision to No. 1 Georgia Sunday afternoon in Gainesville. Freshman Jesse Levine provided the UF point by bringing UGA senior John Isner's (ranked No. 1 in singles nationally) 46-straight dual match win streak to a close at the top of the singles lineup.
“I thought Georgia was super prepared,” said UF head coach Andy Jackson. “They understood the trouble we can cause and did not allow us to do that. (John) Isner is the leader of the Georgia team. In the end, Georgia won the match and I honestly feel like a big part of that is John. Jesse (Levine) did a great job for us, but John is doing a superior job for Georgia and I've got an enormous amount of respect for him.”
With the loss, UF fell to 6-4 on the season and 2-2 in the Southeastern Conference, while Georgia improved to 14-0 overall and 4-0 in the league. The loss also moved UF to 62-5 overall in Gainesville under sixth-year Coach Jackson. Three of the losses have come to No. 1 ranked teams and two have been SEC contests.
Sunday's match featured eight players who currently are listed in the singles rankings by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, including five who appear in the Top 20.
Georgia took a 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point for the 15th-straight match. However, Florida's Dan Cash and Billy Mulligan defeated UGA's Travis Helgeson and Matic Omerzel (No. 9 nationally) on court two, 8-3. The win came against the highest ranked opponent any Gator duo has defeated this season.
In singles play, the Bulldogs took wins on courts two through five to secure the match. Levine continued the stellar beginning to his collegiate career though by outlasting Isner 6-7 (5), 6-0, 1-0 (9) in a match that was determined by a super tiebreaker in the third set.
Levine improved to 9-0 on the season (eight wins have been in straight sets). Isner was the sixth-ranked opponent Levine has defeated and the fourth who earned All-America honors in 2006. Isner, who was last defeated on April 3, 2005, ascended to the top of the ITA singles and doubles rankings last Tuesday.
Florida is back in action Tuesday, March 13, at 1 p.m. against No. 67 Miami in Gainesville. Admission is free.
College Men's Tennis
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex
Gainesville, Fla.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Final Score: Georgia 6, Florida 1
Doubles
No. 1 John Isner-Luis Flores (1), UGA def. Greg Ouellette-Jesse Levine, UF, 8-2
No. 2 Dan Cash-Billy Mulligan, UF def. Travis Helgeson-Matic Omerzel (9), UGA, 8-3
No. 3 Nate Schnugg-Jamie Hunt, UGA def. Nestor Briceno-Geoffrey Barton, UF, 8-4
Singles
No. 1 Jesse Levine (13), UF def. John Isner (1), UGA, 6-7 (5), 6-0, 1-0 (9)
No. 2 Luis Flores (10), UGA def. Greg Ouellette (20), UF, 6-2, 1-6, 1-0 (8)
No. 3 Travis Helgeson (9), UGA def. Nestor Briceno (106), UF, 7-5, 6-4
No. 4 Matic Omerzel (34), UGA def. Billy Mulligan, UF, 6-0, 6-3
No. 5 Nate Schnugg (46), UGA def. Jordan Dolberg, UF, 6-0, 6-3
No. 6 Jamie Hunt (51), UGA def. Shaun Young, UF, 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: Doubles – 1, 3, 2 Singles – 5, 4, 6, 1, 3, 2
END OF REPORT
