Hochwalt Earns SEC Men's Tennis Freshman of the Week Honors
Tuesday, March 25, 2008 | Men's Tennis
University of Florida men's tennis newcomer Tyler Hochwalt (Scottsdale, Ariz.) was named the Southeastern Conference Men's Tennis Freshman of the Week as announced by the league Tuesday.
Hochwalt did his part this past week to help the Gators to three wins, including two over top 15 opponents (4-3 vs. No. 13 Tennessee, 5-2 at No. 5 Ole Miss, 5-2 vs. No. 47 Mississippi State). For the effort, the team was elevated to No. 8 in the latest version of the ITA rankings.
Hochwalt had three straight set wins at the No. 5 spot in the singles lineup and teamed with Geoffrey Barton for a pair of wins on the doubles courts. Against Tennessee, Hochwalt claimed a 6-1, 7-6 victory over Davey Sandgren. On Friday, he started the weekend with a 6-3, 6-3 showing against Ole Miss' Kalle Norberg and he completed the weekend by taking out Mississippi State's Artem Kuznetsov (6-3, 6-4.
The UF newcomer leads all Gators with a 13-1 dual match record and is 6-0 against SEC opponents to date. He has won each of his last nine matches with eight of those victories coming in straight sets.
Florida continues its season this Friday, March 28, as the Gators travel to Fayetteville, Ark., for a meeting with the Razorbacks at 2 p.m.
