Florida Gators
#66 Alabama
Gators Complete Perfect Home Weekend with 4-2 Win Over Alabama
Sunday, March 15, 2015 | Men's Tennis
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Freshman Chase Perez-Blanco remains undefeated in Southeastern Conference singles following his match-clinching victory to lift the No. 18 Florida Gators to a 4-2 win over the No. 66 Alabama Crimson Tide on Sunday afternoon at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
Perez-Blanco and junior Diego Hidalgo were both forced into a third set, and as a result were the last Gators standing, as UF led Alabama, 3-2. Perez-Blanco just barely dropped his first set, 6-4, after battling back from a 4-1 deficit to tie the set at four games apiece. The Miami, Fla., native continued to progress in sets two and three and claimed the overall match win for the home team, as he defeated Stuart Kenyon, 4-6, 6-0, 6-1.
Sophomore Elliott Orkin wasted no time winning his singles match to kick off the individual event strongly for the Gators, as he blanked Danny Kerznerman, 6-0, 6-0, in just 40 minutes. Junior Gordon Watson earned a singles point for Florida in straight sets as well, when he topped Nikko Madregallejo, 6-2, 6-1.
UF earned its second consecutive doubles point with the help of Maxx Lipman and Orkin at No. 1, and No. 72 Oliver Landert and Joshua Wardell with the point-clinching winner on Court 3.
The Gators compete in their next three matches on the road, starting with No. 57 Arkansas on Friday, March 20 at 3 p.m. at the Billingsley Tennis Center in Fayetteville, Ark.
| 2015 University of Florida Men's Tennis | ||||||
| Scott Linder Stadium at Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex | ||||||
| Gainesville, Fla. | ||||||
| Sunday, March 15, 2015 | ||||||
| Doubles | FLORIDA | vs | ALABAMA | Winner |
| Score/match length |
| Maxx Lipman | Korey Lovett (32) | |||||
| No. 1 - | Elliott Orkin | Becker O'Shaugnessey (32) | UF | 6-4 (:35) | ||
| Diego Hidalgo (33) | Sean Donohue | |||||
| No. 2 - | Gordon Watson (33) | Stuart Kenyon | DNF | 5-4 | ||
| Oliver Landert (72) | Danny Kerznerman | |||||
| No. 3 - | Joshua Wardell (72) | Nikko Madregallejo | UF* | 6-4 (:38) | ||
| Singles | FLORIDA | vs | ALABAMA | Winner |
| Score/match length |
| No. 1 - | Diego Hidalgo (64) | Korey Lovett | DNF | 2-6, 6-1, 3-5, DNF | ||
| No. 2 - | Maxx Lipman (78) | Becker O'Shaugnessey | AU | 6-3, 7-5 (1:25) | ||
| No. 3 - | Elliott Orkin (99) | Danny Kerznerman | UF | 6-0, 6-0 (:40) | ||
| No. 4 - | Gordon Watson | Nikko Madregallejo | UF | 6-2, 6-1 (1:01) | ||
| No. 5 - | Chase Perez-Blanco | Stuart Kenyon | UF | 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 (1:36) | ||
| No. 6 - | Oliver Landert | Sam Edwards | AU | 6-2, 6-3 (1:15) | ||
| FINAL SCORE: | Florida – 4 | Alabama – 2 | * Clinched victory | |||
| Records: | Florida 8-5, 3-2 | Alabama 12-10, 2-3 | ||||
| Order of Finish: | Doubles: 1, 3* | Singles: 3, 4, 6, 2, 5* | ||||
| Attendance: 255 | ||||||
Quotes from the Match
Shelton's Notes – Head Coach Bryan Shelton
On Chase Perez-Blanco's fight after dropping his first set…
He's got a fighting spirit and we love that. We always say we get better as the match progresses and Chase is certainly doing that, finishing so strong in these matches. We'd like to see Chase get off to a faster start and I think as he gets more matches under his belt, some of that anxiety will go away and I think we'll see him come out there with a better start. But that's not the most important thing. It's how you finish. And he's finishing well for us right now. He's working hard. He really is kind of what we're all about. Just grinding it out and digging deep and showing great character out on the court and loving playing for the Gators. This guy wears it proudly.
On what needs to improve with the SEC Tournament just about a month away…
Well I think in order to win a championship we've got to get better in every single spot. We've got to improve. We've got to get everybody playing well at the same time. I think physically we've just got to keep getting stronger and fitter. Now that the weather is heating up, that's going to be a factor, especially when you get to the SEC Tournament and you play back-to-back-to-back, possibly three or four matches in a row. Then it becomes a little bit of a war of attrition and I think that is where we should have an edge if we continue to work hard and push through the heat here. When we get to College Station, if we can find ourselves still in the race on Saturday and Sunday, I like our chances because I think we'll be the fittest guys there.
Freshman Chase Perez-Blanco
On his confidence level…
I definitely have some confidence, but there's always room for improvement. This week we're going to get back to work and hopefully I'll be even better for next week.
On clinching his second match for the Gators…
It's a really great feeling. Any time you can clinch a match is great, but anything I can do to help the team is what I'm trying to do. By winning my matches, that's the best thing I can do.
Post-Match Videos:
Head Coach Bryan Shelton on Oliver Landert and Joshua Wardell at No. 3 doubles
Freshman Chase Perez-Blanco about his team-best singles record and today's performance
Florida vs. Alabama:
Today's win boosted Florida's all-time series lead versus Alabama to 36-20.
Fast Start for the Freshman:
Freshman Chase Perez-Blanco has posted a singles point for the Gators in five of his last six outings. He is undefeated in conference singles (4-0) and with today's win, owns the team's best dual singles record on the season (9-1). Perez-Blanco has clinched two matches for the Gators and improved to 2-0 in three-set matches.
Getting It Done In Doubles:
The Gators have won the doubles point in their last two matches and are 6-1 when winning the early tally. Maxx Lipman and Elliot Orkin lead UF with a 3-1 record in SEC doubles, while Oliver Landert and Joshua Wardell are not far behind with a 2-1 conference record in the No. 3 position.
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