The seventh-ranked University of Florida men's tennis team downed Auburn, 5-2, in the Gators' first home SEC match of the season on Friday at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.
“I thought we played really well today,” UF head coach Andy Jackson said. “Auburn showed that they're making a lot of progress, and I think this will help us going into Sunday's match against Alabama.”
The Gators started well on doubles, with the 43rd-ranked pair of Joey Burkhardt (St. Augustine, Fla.) and Sekou Bangoura Jr. (Bradenton, Fla.) winning five consecutive games to close out the match, 8-3. Florida's No. 16 duo of Antoine Benneteau (Boulogne-Billancourt, France) and Alexandre Lacroix (Paris, France) secured the doubles point for UF with an 8-4 victory over No. 7 Tim Puetz and Alex Stamchev on Court 1.
Bangoura was the first off the court in singles, notching a 6-3, 6-2 victory at the No. 5 position over Oliver Strecker in one hour and 13 minutes.
Not far behind was Nassim Slilam (Paris, France) on Court 6 with a straight-sets victory of his own to give Florida the 3-0 edge. Bangoura and Slilam bring the Gators to a combined 23-2 on the Nos. 5 and 6 singles courts in dual match play, and Slilam has posted 10 consecutive singles victories.
“In my opinion, Nassim is an extremely high-level player,” Jackson said. “We've taken it slow with him. That he's had a lot of success doesn't surprise me, but it's going to be difficult to keep that going because we'll continue to play some very good teams.”
After a rare singles loss by Benneteau, just his second in dual match play, the sixth-ranked Lacroix put together the clinching point for the Gators.
The second set played on serve until the final game when Lacroix broke the serve of No. 26 Puetz to take the match, 7-5, 7-5, and give Florida the victory. Lacroix had a match point on Puetz's serve at 5-4 and couldn't get the break, but was able to take advantage of the same situation with the set at 6-5.
“He had some great serves,” Lacroix said. “I knew if I could put pressure on him, he might make a little mistake. From the first to the last point, that was a tough match.”
Lacroix said he drew on previous matches where the clinching point fell on his shoulders.
“I've been in that situation before, so I had to use that experience and be aggressive to get the point.”
It marked Lacroix's 15th victory over a ranked opponent in the 2009-10 season, including his eighth over a top-50 foe.
“Alex is a guy who can play that top spot and come through when you need him,” Jackson said. “I believe he's a top-10 player in singles and doubles.”
In a pair of three-setters that concluded after UF had clinched the victory, Burkhardt fell to Tim Hewitt on Court 2 and Bob Van Overbeek (Boca Raton, Fla.) outlasted Lucas Lopasso in a tiebreaker at the No. 4 position to wrap up the match.
The win boosts the Gators to 11-2 (3-0 SEC) this spring, while the Tigers drop to 3-7 (0-3 SEC).
Florida will be back in action at 1 p.m. on Sunday, hosting Alabama. Admission to the match is free.
UF vs. Auburn
Doubles
No. 1 – (16) Benneteau/Lacroix (UF) def. (7) Puetz/Stamchev (AU) – 8-4*
No. 2 – (43) Bangoura/Burkhardt (UF) def. Mies/Montiero (AU) – 8-3
No. 3 – Hewitt/Lopasso (AU) def. Cash/Van Overbeek (UF) – 9-8 (5)
Order of Finish: 2, 1*, 3
Singles
No. 1 – (6) Alexandre Lacroix (UF) def. (26) Tim Puetz (AU) – 7-5, 7-5*
No. 2 – Tim Hewitt (AU) def. Joey Burkhardt (UF) – 1-6, 7-5, 6-1
No. 3 – (89) Alex Stamchev (AU) def. (121) Antoine Benneteau (UF) – 7-5, 6-3
No. 4 – Bob Van Overbeek (UF) def. Lucas Lopasso (AU) – 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5)
No. 5 – Sekou Bangoura Jr. (UF) def. Oliver Strecker (AU) – 6-3, 6-2
No. 6 – Nassim Slilam (UF) def. Michael Wardell (AU) – 6-3, 6-3
Order of Finish: 5, 6, 3, 1*, 2, 4
*Clinched doubles point/match victory
-UF-
