Friday, April 1
Gainesville, FL
5:00 PM
Florida Gators
5
vs
2
Vanderbilt
Senior Gordon Watson clinched the match for Florida over Vanderbilt on Friday night at the Ring Tennis Complex
Gators Down ‘Dores
Friday, April 1, 2016 | Men's Tennis
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No.11 University of Florida men's tennis team defeated the No. 43 Vanderbilt Commodores, 5-2 on Friday night at the Ring Tennis Complex. The Gators improved to 7-1 in SEC play this season and extended their current winning streak to six matches.
In doubles action, seniors Diego Hidalgo and Gordon Watson defeated No. 33 Johnson and Klinger, 6-3. At the same time, No. 52 Maxx Lipman and Elliott Orkin defeated Newman and Allwardt, 6-4 to clinch the doubles point and give the Gators' a 1-0 advantage.
Freshman Alfredo Perez was the first Gator off the court with a 6-2, 6-3 win on court three over No. 92 Cameron Klinger. Chase Perez-Blanco gave the Orange and Blue a 3-0 lead with a 6-3, 6-3 win on court four. Vanderbilt grabbed one point back with a victory on court two. Senior Gordon Watson clinched the match for UF on court five over Kris Yee, 6-4, 7-5.
Florida improves to 7-1 in SEC play and will host the reigning NCAA Champions, Virginia, on Wednesday night at 5 p.m. at the Ring Tennis Complex.
Head Coach Bryan Shelton
On tonight's match…
"It is great. Every win is a good win, especially in our conference. Vanderbilt had a win over Texas A&M last weekend and so they are plenty capable. If you just look at their results throughout the season, you know you are going to be in for a battle. They have some good players and good coaches. Our guys came ready to play and ready to compete. It wasn't our best tennis tonight but we are finding ways to win even when we are not on our game 100 percent.
Coach Merklein actually talked about trust and trusting the work that we are putting in, especially when we are asking them to do the extra things. They have been so good throughout the year. We just want them to continue to buy in because it is matches like this where you are not hitting the ball as well as you want that you have to rely on the fitness, conditioning and being able to hang in there. That is what conditioning does for you. We were able to dig deep tonight when we were missing shots and able to reign it in a little bit."
Final Results
#11 Florida 5, #43 Vanderbilt 2
Doubles-Order of Finish: 1, 2*
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In doubles action, seniors Diego Hidalgo and Gordon Watson defeated No. 33 Johnson and Klinger, 6-3. At the same time, No. 52 Maxx Lipman and Elliott Orkin defeated Newman and Allwardt, 6-4 to clinch the doubles point and give the Gators' a 1-0 advantage.
Freshman Alfredo Perez was the first Gator off the court with a 6-2, 6-3 win on court three over No. 92 Cameron Klinger. Chase Perez-Blanco gave the Orange and Blue a 3-0 lead with a 6-3, 6-3 win on court four. Vanderbilt grabbed one point back with a victory on court two. Senior Gordon Watson clinched the match for UF on court five over Kris Yee, 6-4, 7-5.
Florida improves to 7-1 in SEC play and will host the reigning NCAA Champions, Virginia, on Wednesday night at 5 p.m. at the Ring Tennis Complex.
Head Coach Bryan Shelton
On tonight's match…
"It is great. Every win is a good win, especially in our conference. Vanderbilt had a win over Texas A&M last weekend and so they are plenty capable. If you just look at their results throughout the season, you know you are going to be in for a battle. They have some good players and good coaches. Our guys came ready to play and ready to compete. It wasn't our best tennis tonight but we are finding ways to win even when we are not on our game 100 percent.
Coach Merklein actually talked about trust and trusting the work that we are putting in, especially when we are asking them to do the extra things. They have been so good throughout the year. We just want them to continue to buy in because it is matches like this where you are not hitting the ball as well as you want that you have to rely on the fitness, conditioning and being able to hang in there. That is what conditioning does for you. We were able to dig deep tonight when we were missing shots and able to reign it in a little bit."
Final Results
#11 Florida 5, #43 Vanderbilt 2
Doubles-Order of Finish: 1, 2*
- #1 Hidalgo/Watson (UF) def. #33 Johnson/Klinger (VU) 6-3
- #52 Lipman/Orkin (UF) def. Newman/Allwardt (VU) 6-4
- Perez/Perez-Blanco (UF) vs. Binet/Yee (VU) 5-3, susp.
- #67 Danny Valent (VU) def. #24 Diego Hidalgo (UF) 3-6, 6-2, 7-5
- Rhys Johnson (VU) def. #29 Elliott Orkin (UF) 6-2, 1-6, 6-1
- #122 Alfredo Perez (UF) def. #92 Cameron Klinger (VU) 6-2, 6-3
- #71 Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) def. Baker Newman (VU) 6-3, 6-3
- Gordon Watson (UF) def. Kris Yee (VU) 6-4, 7-5
- McClain Kessler (UF) def. Tate Allwardt (VU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
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FloridaGators.com
Players Mentioned
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