Florida Gators
Virginia
No. 5 Men's Tennis Falls at No. 2 Virginia, 6-1
Saturday, February 4, 2012 | Men's Tennis
The fifth-ranked Florida men's tennis team suffered its first loss of the season on Saturday afternoon at No. 2 Virginia, 6-1, in Charlottesville. The Gators are now 3-1 on the season, while the Cavaliers remain unbeaten at 3-0.
“Virginia had a good match today and outplayed us,” said head coach Andy Jackson. “We fought hard in singles but couldn't get into the match early enough at some spots to give ourselves a chance. All the credit goes to them. They have a very experienced and talented team.”
Florida got off to a slow start by dropping the doubles point for the first time in dual-match play, losing at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. The duo of Frank Carleton (Naples, Fla.) and Spencer Newman (Miami, Fla.) remain unbeaten in dual play after beating the 13th-ranked pair of Justin Shane and Philippe Oudshoorn, 8-6.
Singles didn't start much better on Saturday, with the Gators dropping the first set on five of six courts. The Cavaliers earned straight-set wins on courts three and four, and Jarmere Jenkins, ranked No. 11 in the country, clinched the win at No. 1 singles with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Nassim Slilam. It was Slilam's first-ever dual-match playing in the top position.
The final three matches were all decided in three sets. After dropping the first set 4-6, Carleton came back to win the final two sets against Alex Domijan, 6-3, 6-4, to claim a win at No. 2 singles. Andrew Butz (Vero Beach, Fla.) took the first set at No. 6 singles, but fell to Oudshoorn, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Newman lost the first set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (2), but stormed back to win the second set 6-3. He couldn't hang on in the final set, losing to Julen Uriguen, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-5.
The Gators return to Gainesville for two non-conference matchups next weekend, hosting No. 35 Florida State on Saturday (Feb. 11) at 1 p.m. and No. 19 Illinois on Sunday (Feb. 12) at noon.
#5 Florida at #2 Virginia
Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar's Head Sports Club
Charlottesville, Va.
Feb. 4, 2012
Doubles
1 – *Courtney/Jenkins (UVA) def. #4 Slilam/Federhofer (UF) 8-3
2 – #41 Carleton/Newman (UF) def. #13 Oudshoorn/Shane (UVA) 8-6
3 – Domijan/Rooda (UVA) def. #25 Butz/van Overbeek (UF) 8-4
Order of Finish: 3-2-1
Singles
1 – *#11 Jarmere Jenkins (UVA) def. Nassim Slilam (UF) 6-2, 6-4
2 – Frank Carleton (UF) def. Alex Domijan (UVA) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
3 – Drew Courtney (UVA) def. Florent Diep (UF) 6-3, 6-2
4 – #57 Justin Shane (UVA) def. Billy Federhofer (UF) 7-6 (3), 6-0
5 – Julen Uriguen (UVA) def. #84 Spencer Newman (UF) 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-5
6 – Philippe Oudshoorn (UVA) def. Andrew Butz (UF) 3-6, 7-5, 6-2
Order of Finish: 3-4-1-6-2-5
*Clinching point
