Florida Gators
ITA Indoor Round of 64 (Arizona)
M-Tennis Defeats Arizona, 5-2, In ITA Kickoff Weekend Round of 64
Friday, January 30, 2009 | Men's Tennis
The University of Florida men's tennis team defeated No. 48 Arizona, 5-2, on Friday afternoon at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex to advance to the Round of 32 on Saturday. The victory comes just one day after UF jumped three spots to No. 7 in the ITA team rankings.
The Gators jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after winning two of its doubles matches. Sophomore Alex Lacroix (Paris, France) and freshman Carlos Cueto (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain) downed Arizona's Andres Arango and Jason Zafiros, 8-3, while sophomores Johnny Hamui (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) and Jeff Dadamo (Tampa, Fla.) defeated Jay Goldman and Ravid Hazi, 8-4, to clinch the doubles point for UF. The No. 1 doubles team of redshirt junior Antoine Benneteau (Boulogne-Billancourt, France) and freshman Joey Burkhardt (St. Augustine, Fla.) did not finish their match against 18th-ranked Francois Van der Merwe and Pat Metham, but owned a 7-5 advantage before the match was stopped.
No. 63 Burkhardt collected the first singles win for the Gators after he defeated Hazi in straight sets, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5). Also winning in straight sets was Benneteau, who took out Arango, 6-4, 6-2 on court two.
Dadamo clinched the match for the Gators in a close victory over Metham from the No. 5 spot. The sophomore claimed the first set, 7-5, dropped the second, 3-6, but rallied back to nab the victory with a commanding 6-1 third set. Less than one minute later, Lacroix closed the match at a 5-2 advantage. In his first dual match at the number one position, the sophomore collected a win over No. 88 Goldman (6-2, 2-6, 6-3).
With the win, the Gators advance to the Round of 32 and will face the winner of the N.C. State/Texas A&M on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Linder Stadium.
For live scoring and updated results, please visit www.GatorZone.com.
College Men's Tennis
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex
Gainesville, Fla.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Final Score: Florida 5, Arizona 2
Doubles
Benneteau/Burkhardt (UF) vs. No. 18 Van der Merwe/Metham, DNF – UF Led 7-5
Hamui/Dadamo (UF) def. Goldman/Hazi, 8-4
Lacroix/Cueto (UF) def. Arango/Zafiros, 8-3
Singles
No. 1 Alex Lacroix (UF) def. (88) Jay Goldman (Ariz.), 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
No. 2 Antoine Benneteau (UF) def. Andres Arango (Ariz.), 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 (63) Joey Burkhardt (UF) def. Ravid Hazi (Ariz.), 6-1, 7-6 (7-5)
No. 4 Andres Carrasco (Ariz.) def. Johnny Hamui (UF), 6-2, 6-4
No. 5 Jeff Dadamo (UF) def. Pat Metham (Ariz.), 7-5, 3-6, 6-1
No. 6 Jason Zafiros (Ariz.) def. Eric Corace (UF), 6-3, 6-3
Order of Finish: Doubles – 3, 2, 1 Singles – 6, 3, 2, 4, 5, 1
-UF-
