Florida Gators
Texas A&M
Gators Open SEC Play with Win against No. 11 Texas A&M
Sunday, March 3, 2013 | Men's Tennis
The 35th-ranked University of Florida men's tennis team (7-4, 1-0) opened conference play with a thrilling 4-3 victory against No. 11 Texas A&M (9-4, 1-0) on Sunday, March 3 at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex. It marked head coach Bryan Shelton's first victory in the SEC as the helm of the Gators' program.
“It feels great,” Shelton said. “I love it. This was great for our team, great for our program. This match today was the start of a new season, the SEC season. For me, it's the first time through. To start with a win after losing four in-a-row, we're feeling great about it.”
With the team score knotted up at 3-3, the final point came down to the fourth singles match. Junior Mike Alford clinched the match for the Gators in dramatic fashion. Alford rallied to defeat Texas A&M's Shane Vinsant, the 90th-ranked player in the country, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5).
“For Mike to be the one that clinched today after being in that position last week and not quite getting it, it's a beautiful thing,” commented Shelton. “It's a negative turned into a positive and now he feels like he is on top of the world.”
UF was in an early hole after the visiting Aggies won the hotly-contested doubles point. After splitting on Court 2 and 3, the point came down to the matchup at the first doubles position. Senior Bob van Overbeek and junior Stephane Piro came up just short, suffering a 9-8 (3) setback to Texas A&M's Junior Ore and Jackson Withrow, the 17th-ranked pair in the nation.
Alford and fellow junior Florent Diep were victorious at third doubles, defeating TAMU's Jeremy Efferding and Jordan Szabo 8-4. On Court 2, senior Billy Federhofer and redshirt freshman Gordon Watson suffered an 8-6 setback to TAMU's Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant, the 21st-ranked doubles tandem in collegiate tennis.
Texas A&M jumped out to a 2-0 lead after Ore defeated van Overbeek 6-4, 6-1 in first singles. UF was not down two points long and scored its first point of the day by virtue of winning the sixth singles match. Federhofer beat TAMU's Behzad Minavi, 6-0, 6-4 to cut the Aggies' hold to 2-1.
Diep tied the score at 2-2 when he defeated the Aggies' Adams 6-4, 6-3 on Court 2. It marked Diep's first victory in singles competition since the Florida State match.
After winning the first set without dropping a single game, Piro lost the remaining two sets in a tough 0-6, 6-4, 6-3 loss to Texas A&M's Efferding. The loss at third singles gave Texas A&M a 3-2 advantage with two matches remaining.
Watson kept the host team alive, defeating TAMU's Withrow, 7-5, 7-6 (6) in the fifth singles slot. It seemed all but certain that the match would go to a third set as Withrow was leading the second set tiebreaker 6-3. Watson won the next five points to take the set and match. His victory at fifth singles set the stage for Alford and the eventual UF win.
“Moments like that when the match is on the line, the person that steps us the most is usually the guy that comes out on top. To get your first win in the SEC, you have to take it. For us, this was our first opportunity and I wanted to go up there and have no regrets.”
Florida returns to action on Friday, March 8 when the team travels to Colombia, S.C. for its match against South Carolina.
| 2013 University of Florida Men's Tennis | ||||||
| Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex | ||||||
| Gainesville, Florida | ||||||
| Sunday, March 3, 2013 | ||||||
| Doubles | FLORIDA | vs | Texas A&M | Winner |
| Score (match length) |
| Stephane Piro | Junior Ore (17) | |||||
| No. 1 - | Bob van Overbeek | Jackson Withrow (17) | TAMU | 9-8 (3) (1:17) * | ||
| Billy Federhofer | Harrison Adams (21) | |||||
| No. 2 - | Gordon Watson | Shane Vinsant (21) | TAMU | 8-6 (:44) | ||
| Mike Alford | Jeremy Efferding | |||||
| No. 3 - | Florent Diep | Jordan Szabo | UF | 8-4 (:53) | ||
| Singles | FLORIDA | vs | Texas A&M | Winner |
| Score (match length) |
| No. 1 - | Bob van Overbeek (104) | Junior Ore | TAMU | 6-4, 6-1 (1:06) | ||
| No. 2 - | Florent Diep (62) | Harrison Adams | UF | 6-4, 6-3 (1:33) | ||
| No. 3 - | Stephane Piro | Jeremy Efferding | TAMU | 0-6, 6-4, 6-3 (1:47) | ||
| No. 4 - | Mike Alford | Shane Vinsant (90) | UF | 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5) (2:18) * | ||
| No. 5 - | Gordon Watson | Jackson Withrow (115) | UF | 7-5, 7-6 (6) (1:59) | ||
| No. 6 - | Billy Federhofer | Behzad Minavi | UF | 6-0, 6-4 (1:08) | ||
| FINAL SCORE: | Florida - 2 | Texas A&M – 3 | * Clinched victory | |||
| Records: | Florida 7-4 (1-0) | Texas A&M 9-5 (1-1) | ||||
| Order of Finish: | Doubles: 2, 3, 1 | Singles: 1, 6, 2, 3, 5, 4 | ||||
| Attendance: | 157 | |||||
