Florida Gators
#10 Kentucky
No. 6 Men's Tennis Downs No. 10 Kentucky for 10th Consecutive Win
Sunday, April 4, 2010 | Men's Tennis
The sixth-ranked Florida men's tennis team posted a dramatic 4-3 victory over No. 10 Kentucky on Sunday at the Hillary J. Boone Tennis Center in Lexington, Ky. It marks Florida's third conference win on the road in the past eight days, including two against top-15 teams.
The Gators improve to 15-2 overall and 7-0 in the SEC and have won 10 consecutive matches. UF wrapped the road portion of its regular season schedule with a 5-1 mark in enemy territory, including 5-0 in the SEC.
Nassim Slilam (Paris, France) struck the decisive blow in a three-set match against Alberto Gonzalez, breaking serve at 6-5 in the third set to clinch the UF victory.
“It was a fantastic match and extremely close,” UF head coach Andy Jackson said. “We were very tough in crucial situations at the end. It was huge to have three first-year guys come through for us under pressure. It was our most complete team win of the season.”
The day got off to a slow start for the Gators, who dropped the doubles point for just the second time this spring. No. 12 Alexandre Lacroix (Paris, France) and Antoine Benneteau (Boulogne-Billancourt) were the lone Gator pair to score a doubles win.
Singles action was a seesaw battle from start to finish, as Sekou Bangoura Jr. (Bradenton, Fla.) slowed Kentucky's momentum with a straight-sets win over Graeme Dyce on court six to even the count at 1-1. But No. 13 Eric Quigley edged seventh-ranked Lacroix on the No. 1 court to put Kentucky back on top, 2-1.
Bob Van Overbeek (Boca Raton, Fla.) scored the next point for Florida, earning his eighth straight win with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Anthony Rossi that knotted the score again at 2-2.
After No. 44 Alex Musialek topped Joey Burkhardt (St. Augustine, Fla.) on court two, the final two matches on court three and five went to a third set with UF needing a win on both to emerge victorious.
Benneteau provided the first win of the two, defeating Brad Cox, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, and evening the score at 3-3.
Slilam took an early lead in the third set, but Gonzalez rallied to tie at 5-5 before Gonzalez took a five-minute injury timeout. Slilam, however, maintained composure under pressure and clamped down to secure the match for Florida.
“Nassim showed an enormous amount of toughness today,” Jackson said. “On the road, he was forced to wait several minutes and then was able to hold serve to go up 6-5 and had some fantastic passing shots at 6-5 to break serve.”
The Gators have won in a multitude of ways this season, but Sunday was particularly unique as the Gators weathered losing the doubles point and at the No. 1 singles position, two of their most consistent points this spring, to claim the victory with wins at the third through sixth singles positions.
“We've been winning a lot of different ways this spring,” Jackson said. “If you're going to win championships, you have to find different ways to win.”
The Gators return home next weekend to face two more top-10 opponents in a pair of matches crucial to the SEC race, facing Tennessee on Friday at 3 p.m. and Georgia at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.
“We're very eager to play Tennessee on Friday,” Jackson said. “It'll be two of the top teams in the country who are both undefeated in the SEC, so hopefully there is a big crowd there to support us.”
Admission to all regular season home matches is free.
With Sunday's loss, Kentucky drops to 16-7 overall and 5-3 in the SEC.
Florida vs. Kentucky
Doubles
No. 1 – (12) Benneteau/Lacroix (UF) def. Cox/Quigley (UK) – 9-8
No. 2 – Gonzalez/Lambropoulos (UK) def. (49) Bangoura/Burkhardt (UF) – 8-6
No. 3 – Musialek/Rossi (UK) def. Cash/Van Overbeek (UF) – 8-5*
Order of finish: 2, 3*, 1
Singles
No. 1 – (13) Eric Quigley (UK) def. (7) Alexandre Lacroix – 7-6 (5), 6-4
No. 2 – (44) Alex Musialek (UK) def. Joey Burkhardt – 7-6 (2), 6-3
No. 3 – Antoine Benneteau (UF) def. Brad Cox (UK) – 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
No. 4 – Bob Van Overbeek (UF) def. Anthony Rossi (UK) – 6-3, 6-4
No. 5 – Nassim Slilam (UF) def. Alberto Gonzalez (UK) – 6-3, 4-6, 7-5*
No. 6 – Sekou Bangoura Jr. (UF) def. Graeme Dyce (UF) – 6-3, 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 1, 4, 2, 3, 5*
*Clinched doubles point/dual match victory
-UF-
