Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 9-ranked University of Florida men's tennis team defeated the University of North Florida Ospreys, 4-0 on Saturday afternoon in the NCAA First Round at the Ring Tennis Complex. The Gators will now take on the No. 17 University of South Florida Bulls on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET in Gainesville.

The Gators jumped out to an early lead by clinching the doubles point. The No. 1-ranked doubles tandem in the nation, Diego Hidalgo and Gordon Watson, were the first off the doubles court with a 6-2 win over the No. 34-ranked tandem of Findel-Hawkins and Zuern. No. 80-ranked Maxx Lipman and Elliott Orkin clinched the point for UF with a 6-3 win on two over Goldberg and Muscheites.

In singles action, freshman McClain Kessler made quick work of Jonathan Deautriell on court six, 6-1, 6-3 to extend the Gators' lead to 2-0. Senior Watson defeated Sahil Deshmukh 6-2, 6-1 on court five to put the Ospreys on the brink of defeat only to have freshman Alfredo Perez clinch the first match of his career in the Orange and Blue. Perez won 6-4, 6-1 over Lasse Muscheites to punch Florida's ticket to the NCAA Second Round.

First serve between the Gators and Bulls tomorrow afternoon at the Ring Tennis Complex is slated for 1 p.m. ET.

Assistant Coach Scott Perelman
On Florida's victory this afternoon…
"The Gators came out to play today. It has been three weeks since the SEC Tournament and anytime we faced diversity today, we faced it head on. It was a really sharp showing on behalf of Florida. North Florida played well and are well-coached and well-prepared. They came at us with some spirit when they thought they had a chance, but our guys met the challenge today and we are looking forward to tomorrow."
 
Final Results
#9 Florida 4, UNF 0
Doubles-Order of Finish: 1, 2*

1. #1 Hidalgo/Watson (UF) def. #34 Findel-Hawkins/Zuern (UNF) 6-2
2. #80 Lipman/Orkin (UF) def. Goldberg/Muscheites (UNF) 6-3
3. Perez/Perez-Blanco (UF) vs. Bradley/Deshmukh (UNF) 5-3, susp.

Singles-Order of Finish: 6, 5, 2*

1. #10 Diego Hidalgo (UF) vs. #109 Jack Findel-Hawkins (UNF) 6-4, 4-2, susp.
2. #53 Alfredo Perez (UF) def. Lasse Muscheites (UNF) 6-4, 6-1
3. #37 Elliott Orkin (UF) vs. Yannick Zuern (UNF) 3-6, 5-3, susp.
4. #120 Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) vs. Julian Bradley (UNF) 6-3, 3-1, susp.
5. Gordon Watson (UF) def. Sahil Deshmukh 6-2, 6-1
6. McClain Kessler (UF) def. Jonathan Deautriell (UNF) 6-1, 6-3

Records: UF (19-6) | UNF (11-12)

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