Gators Fall Short to No. 6 Buckeyes, 4-3

Sunday, February 21

Columbus, Ohio

12:00 PM

Florida Gators

Ohio State

Alfredo Perez grabbed a singles victory and the first match point for the Gators on Sunday in Columbus

Gators Fall Short to No. 6 Buckeyes, 4-3

Sunday, February 21, 2016 | Men's Tennis

By: Grace Duggan

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 23 University of Florida men's tennis team dropped a close contest to the No. 6-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday afternoon in Columbus. The Gators fell to the Buckeyes, 4-3.

Florida fell behind early against to Ohio State after dropping the doubles point on Sunday. The match would reach 2-0 in favor of the Ohio State team with a win on Court 5 in singles. The Gators would make a valiant comeback effort in the match.

Freshman Alfredo Perez upset #42 Chris Diaz in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5 to get the Gators on the board. Elliott Orkin would bring the match to two-all with a three set victory over #16 Hugo Di Feo, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4. Ohio State retook the lead with Martin Joyce's three set win over McClain Kessler on court six. Gator sophomore Chase Perez-Blanco showed a high level of resiliency in his match, forcing a third set against the No. 18-ranked Herkko Pollanen. After falling in the first set, 6-3, the Gator would win the next two and the match, 6-4, 6-3 to bring the match to three-all.

The match would come down to court one and a contest between #5 Mikael Torpegaard and #48 Diego Hidalgo. Torpegaard need a 7-4 tie breaker to take the first set from Hidalgo. The Gator would answer in the second set with a 6-2 win. In the end, the Buckeye would take the third set and the match for Ohio State, 6-2.

The Orange and Blue return to the Ring Tennis Complex for their annual match against in-state rival, Florida State. First serve is set for Saturday, February 27 at 1 p.m.

What Coach Shelton Says
On the match this afternoon…
"Ohio State is a very good team and have to credit the way Coach Tucker's guys were prepared to compete. It was a great environment there and I see why they have had so much success at home. Our guys fought hard and just came up one match shy of getting it done. Elliott and Chase showed great resolve fighting back and Alfredo did a nice job finishing against a tough competitor.

I really like my team and believe we are on our way. We are looking forward to getting after it in practice on Tuesday. The margins are small between winning and losing these matches, so we'll keep working to find that edge."

Final Results
#6 Ohio State 4 (11-1), #23 Florida 3 (4-3)
Doubles-Order of Finish: 1, 2*
1. #19 Mikael Torpegaard/Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. #1 Diego Hidalgo/Gordon Watson (UF) 6-3
2. #14 Ralf Steinbach/Martin Joyce (OSU) def. #54 Maxx Lipman/Elliott Orkin (UF) 6-4
3. Chris Diaz/Hugo Di Feo (OSU) vs. Chase Perez-Blanco/Josh Wardell (UF) 3-4, unfinished

Singles-Order of Finish: 5, 4, 2, 6, 3, 1*
1. #5 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. #48 Diego Hidalgo (UF) 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 6-2
2. #21 Elliott Orkin (UF) def. #16 Hugo Di Feo (OSU) 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
3. #88 Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) def. #18 Herkko Pollanen (OSU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
4. #54 Alfredo Perez (UF) def. #42 Chris Diaz (OSU) 6-2, 7-5
5. Ralf Steinbach (OSU) def. Gordon Watson (UF) 6-1, 6-4
6. Martin Joyce (OSU) def. McClain Kessler (UF) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
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