Florida Gators
Furman
No. 14 Men's Tennis Wins Season Opener Against Furman, 7-0
Sunday, January 27, 2008 | Men's Tennis
The No. 14 University of Florida men's tennis team started the year with a 7-0 victory over No. 64 Furman on Sunday afternoon at the Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville. The victory was the 20th-straight for the Gators in their season-opening match. In addition, the shutout was the fifth in seven years for an Andy Jackson-coached Florida team in an opener. With the loss, Furman fell to 0-2 overall.
Florida's lineup consisted of five players who were making their first appearance in a collegiate dual match: Jeff Dadamo (Tampa), Tyler Hochwalt (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Johnny Hamui (Wesley Chapel), Alex Lacroix (Paris, France) and Erik Corace (Naples).
“I like that we had five players in their first collegiate dual match who performed well against a well coached team,” said Jackson. “We had a good showing, but I'm well aware that there will be a huge step up in the level of competition at Miami. It was good to see everyone have success. It has been three or four years since I thought we were deep enough to defeat a team 7-0. We are much different than we were last year in that, but the players we have giving us the depth are freshmen.”
Florida won the doubles point in just under an hour with 8-4 wins on courts two and three. Greg Ouellette (Sr., Ormond Beach) and Hamui jumped to a 5-1 lead before going on to defeat Chris Motes and Andrei Chvetsov on court two. Nestor Briceno (Sr., Pembroke Pines) and Lacroix were even at three with Jason Basile and Daniel Krause before going on to win five of the next six games.
In singles play, each of the Gator wins came in straight sets. Corace and Hochwalt finished within minutes of each other to build the Gator lead to 3-0. Corace took out Furman's Sawyer Duncan, 6-1, 6-4 on court six. Hochwalt won each of his first seven games against Jordan Walters on court five before giving up one and going on to a 6-0, 6-4 victory.
Briceno (No. 62) provided the clincher 10 minutes later when he defeated Knause on court three, 6-1, 6-3. The effort marked the second-straight season that Briceno clinched UF's season opening match as he did so in UF's 5-2 win over UCF to begin 2007.
On court two, Lacroix (No. 57) defeated Bo Ladyman, 6-4, 6-4. The win was the seventh in the last eight outings for Lacroix, dating back to the fall season.
Dadamo got the Gators to within one of the shutout with a 6-4, 6-2 showing over Motes, while Ouellette (No. 8) held off Andy Juc, 7-6 (4), 7-5 at the top of the order.
“I've played him before and I know he could play at the top of the lineup for most any team in the country,” said Ouellette. “He is such a solid player and you have to beat him because he's not going to beat himself. I felt I didn't do some things as well as I could, but the main thing was getting the win. It is the first dual match of the season and it is always tough. It has been that way the last three years for me.”
Florida continues with its first road match of the year at No. 36 Miami on Tuesday, Jan. 29, at 2 p.m. UF completes the week by returning to Gainesville to take on UCF on Friday, Feb. 1 at 3 p.m.
“Miami will be a huge challenge for us,” said Jackson. “Regardless of the outcome, we will get better either way.”
College Men's Tennis
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex
Gainesville, Fla.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Final Score: UF 7, Furman 0
Doubles
No. 1 Andy Juc-Bo Ladyman (Furman) def. Jeff Dadamo-Tyler Hochwalt (UF), 8-7 (6)
No. 2 Greg Ouellette-Johnny Hamui (UF) def. Chris Motes-Andrei Chvetsov (Furman), 8-4
No. 3 Nestor Briceno-Alex Lacroix (UF) def. Jason Basile-Daniel Knause (Furman), 8-4
Singles
No. 1 (8) Greg Ouellette (UF) def. Andy Juc (Furman), 7-6 (4), 7-5
No. 2(57) Alex Lacroix (UF) def. Bo Ladyman (Furman), 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 (62) Nestor Briceno (UF) def. Daniel Knause (Furman), 6-1, 6-3
No. 4 Jeff Dadamo (UF) def. Chris Motes (Furman), 6-4, 6-2
No. 5 Tyler Hochwalt (UF) def. Jordan Walters (Furman), 6-0, 6-4
No. 6 Erik Corace (UF) def. Sawyer Duncan (Furman), 6-1, 6-4
Order of Finish: Doubles – 2, 3, 1 Singles – 6, 5, 3, 2, 4, 1
END OF REPORT
