Florida Gators
Alabama
No. 7 Men's Tennis Cruises Past Alabama, 6-1
Sunday, March 14, 2010 | Men's Tennis
The University of Florida's seventh-ranked men's tennis team posted a 6-1 victory over Alabama on a windy Sunday afternoon at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.
The victory is Florida's seventh in a row and moves the Gators to 12-2 overall (4-0 SEC). With the loss, Alabama falls to 7-8 overall (1-3 SEC).
“It was great that we were able to get an SEC point without playing our best and in difficult conditions,” UF head coach Andy Jackson said. “Those windy conditions make it hard to play at a high level. We want to play well, but in those conditions you just have to get through.”
Florida's 16th-ranked pair of Antoine Benneteau (Boulogne-Billancourt, France) and Alexandre Lacroix (Paris, France) got the Gators rolling with an 8-3 victory at No. 1 doubles over Michael Davis and Saketh Myneni.
The Gators wrapped up the doubles point on Court 2 as Sekou Bangoura Jr. (Bradenton, Fla.) and Joey Burkhardt (St. Augustine, Fla.), currently ranked 43rd nationally, broke Alabama's serve at 7-7 and served out the match.
“We kept telling ourselves to make them play, make them volley and earn the point,” Bangoura said. “The pressure was on them since it was their serve, so we just had to keep putting it back to them.”
The 121st-ranked Benneteau provided UF with its first singles point of the afternoon, cruising to a 6-4, 6-2 win at the No. 3 position.
After Burkhardt fell on Court 2, Bob Van Overbeek (Boca Raton, Fla.) got Florida back on track with a straight-sets win over Michael Thompson at No. 4 singles to put the Gators ahead, 3-1.
Bangoura then clinched the match for Florida from the No. 5 position, breaking serve at 5-3 to give the Gators the victory.
With the victory in hand, two Gators played on into a third set. No. 6 Lacroix battled with the 38th-ranked Myneni until the Tide player was forced to retire with the third set tied at three games apiece. Lacriox now holds a seven-match winning streak that includes six ranked opponents and four top-50 foes.
Nassim Slilam (Paris, France) closed out the match for Florida, posting a 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3 win on Court 6 to extend his winning streak to 11.
Florida's 4-0 start in SEC play is its best since 2005, when the Gators won their first nine league games before finishing 10-1 and winning a share of the SEC crown.
“SEC matches take a lot of mental preparation,” Van Overbeek said. “Every one counts in the end, so you have to be focused.”
The Gators will be back in action at home on Wednesday, March 17, at 4 p.m., to make up their match with Florida State that was rained out on Feb. 24.
UF vs. Alabama
Doubles
No. 1 – (16) Benneteau/Lacroix (UF) def. Davis/Myneni (UA) – 8-3
No. 2 – (43) Bangoura/Burkhardt (UF) def. Doverspike/Thompson – 9-7*
No. 3 – Botha/Walston (UA) def. Cash/Van Overbeek (UF) – 9-7
Order of Finish: 1, 2*, 3
Singles
No. 1 – (6) Alexandre Lacroix (UF) def. (38) Saketh Myneni (UA) – 6-4, 4-6, 3-3 (ret.)
No. 2 – Ricky Doverspike (UA) def. Joey Burkhardt (UF) – 6-1, 6-4
No. 3 – (121) Antoine Benneteau (UF) def. Jarryd Botha – 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 – Bob Van Overbeek (UF) def. Michael Thompson (UA) – 6-2, 6-4
No. 5 – Sekou Bangoura Jr. (UF) def. Houssam Yassine (UA) – 6-3, 6-3*
No. 6 – Nassim Slilam (UF) def. Ian Chadwell (UA) – 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 4, 5*, 1, 6
*Clinched doubles point/match victory
-UF-
