Florida Gators
Alabama
No. 11 Florida Men's Tennis Upended By No. 24 Alabama, 5-2, In SEC Home Match
Monday, April 7, 2008 | Men's Tennis
The 11th-ranked University of Florida men's tennis team dropped its home Southeastern Conference match to No. 24 Alabama, 5-2, on Monday at Linder Stadium. The match was originally scheduled for Sunday, but inclement weather forced the postponement to today.
The Gators (12-6, 7-3 SEC) lost the doubles point in the third and final doubles match. Freshman Jeff Dadamo (Tampa, Fla.) and senior Greg Ouellette (Ormond Beach , Fla.), ranked 49th in the nation, were defeated by the Crimson Tide's 15th-ranked Daniel Buikema and Mathieu Thibaudeau in a convincing 8-2 fashion on court No. 1.
Senior Nestor Briceno (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and freshman Alex Lacroix (Paris, France) recorded UF's only doubles win, 8-4, on court two. The point was decided in the third match when Alabama's Javier Bes and Sammy Struyf defeated freshman Tyler Hochwalt (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and sophomore Geoffrey Barton (Boca Raton, Fla.), 8-4.
“We knew one of Alabama's strong points was in doubles,” UF head coach Andy Jackson said. “We didn't lose the match because of the doubles point, though. We'll play again Saturday and just try to put this one behind us.”
Florida rebounded and took control of four of the six singles matches with wins in the first set. Ouellette (No. 4) cruised to victory over Saketh Myneni (No. 120) in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1 on court one. However, the Crimson Tide (16-8, 6-4) put together a late charge that resulted in four matches going three sets.
After Lacroix (51) was downed by Struyf, 6-2, 6-3 in match No. 3, Bes bested Dadamo, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 after losing the first set. Hochwalt turned in a valiant effort with 6-4 win over Buikema in the second set after a tough 7-6 loss via a tiebreaker in the first set of the fifth match. Buikema gave Alabama the win when he pulled out a 6-3 win in the final set to seal the match.
Briceno (No. 89), who led for most of his match after a 6-1 first set win, was defeated by Thibaudeau (No. 98) in the following two sets, 7-6, 6-3 on court No. 2. The loss snapped Briceno's singles win streak at three straight. Freshman Erik Corace (Naples, Fla.) earned UF's other singles victory in three sets, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 on court six.
Florida finishes the regular season against South Carolina in Gainesville on Saturday, April 12. The match is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET.
College Men's Tennis
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex
Gainesville, Fla.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Final Score: Florida 2, Alabama 5
Doubles
No. 1 (15) Daniel Buikema-Mathieu Thibaudeau (UA) def. (49) Greg Ouellette-Jeff Dadamo (UF), 8-2
No. 2 Nestor Briceno-Alex Lacroix (UF) def. Andrew Felsenthal-Saketh Myneni (UA), 8-4
No. 3 Javier Bes-Sammy Struyf (UA) def. Tyler Hochwalt-Geoffrey Barton (UF), 8-4
Singles
No. 1 (4) Greg Ouellette (UF) def. (120) Saketh Myneni (UA), 6-3, 6-1
No. 2 (98) Mathieu Thibaudeau (UA) def. (89) Nestor Briceno (UF), 1-6, 7-6, 6-3
No. 3 Sammy Struyf (UA) def. (51) Alex Lacroix (UF), 6-2, 6-3
No. 4 Javier Bes (UA) def. Jeff Dadamo (UF), 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
No. 5 Daniel Buikema (UA) def. Tyler Hochwalt (UF), 7-6, 4-6, 6-3
No. 6 Erik Corace (UF) def. Michael Jung (UA), 6-3, 5-7, 7-6
Order of Finish: Doubles – 1,2,3 Singles – 1,3,4,5,2,6
