Gators Fall to Sooners in Final Day of National Indoors

Sunday, February 19

Charlottesville, VA

12 PM

Florida Gators

#14 University of Oklahoma

McClain Kessler earned the sole singles point for the Gators on Sunday (Photo: Madison Shultz / UAA Communications)

Gators Fall to Sooners in Final Day of National Indoors

Sunday, February 19, 2017 | Men's Tennis

By: Kelsey Bibik

Box Score (PDF)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – After a challenging weekend on the road, the No. 6 Florida men's tennis team lost their third and final match of the National Team Indoor Championships to the No. 16 Oklahoma Sooners on Sunday (Feb. 19)

The Gators won the doubles point with wins in the No. 1 and 2 positions. Maxx Lipman and Joshua Wardell defeated OU's Ghilea/Bragusi in a quick 6-3 match, but the Sooners came back to defeat Elliott Orkin and Chase Perez-Blanco on court 3. With the pressure of the split match, Alfredo Perez and Johannes Ingildsen on court 1 were able to pull out a 6-4 win and clinch the doubles point for Florida.

In singles play, Chase Perez-Blanco and Johannes Ingildsen surrendered two points to the Sooners in a pair of challenging matches in the No. 2 and 5 positions, respectively, to bring the Sooners up 2-1. McClain Kessler came in right after to earn a hard-fought 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 match to tie up the team score, but Oklahoma was able to earn another point on court 3 as OU's Florin Bragusi defeated Orkin in another tight three-set match.

Perez fought a close battle in the No. 1 position – a situation he's been in many times this season – but ultimately lost 7-6, 7-6 (7-4) to OU's Spencer Papa to clinch the match for the Sooners as they defeated the Gators 4-2.

Oklahoma marks the sixth ranked team that Florida will face in the month of February – four of which are in the top 10 and play in Gainesville. The Gators are now done traveling for a while, as the team will host No. 3 Ohio State, No. 25 Texas A&M and LSU all at home.

Quoting Head Coach Bryan Shelton:
"Congrats to Oklahoma. They played hard and physical tennis today and went for their shots and converted. Our guys fought extremely hard throughout this whole tournament. We have a high character group and that was evident in our two losses. That gives me confidence that we will continue to work the right way to keep getting better. We have plenty of great opportunities ahead."

No. 6 Florida Gators 2, No 14 Oklahoma Sooners 4
Sunday, February 19, 2017 | Charlottesville, Va.
ITA Division I National Team Indoor Championships

Singles (Order of finish: 2, 4, 5, 3, 1)
1. #29 Spencer Papa (OU) def. #9 Alfredo Perez (FLA) 7-6, 7-6 (7-4)
2. Alex Ghilea (OU) def. #24 Chase Perez-Blanco (FLA) 6-2, 6-2
3. Florin Bragusi (OU) def. #60 Elliott Orkin (FLA) 5-7, 6-3, 6-1
4. #105 Adrian Oetzbach (OU) def. #109 Johannes Ingildsen (FLA) 6-3, 6-2
5. #76 McClain Kessler (FLA) def. A.J. Chamdani (OU) 1-6, 6-2, 6-2
6. Jordan Belga (FLA) vs. Jochen Bertsch (OU) 6-2, 4-6, 4-5, unfinished

Doubles (Order of finish: 2, 3, 1)
1. #7 Alfredo Perez/Johannes Ingildsen (FLA) def. #42 Jochen Bertsch/Spencer Papa (OU) 6-4
2. Maxx Lipman/Josh Wardell (FLA) def. Alex Ghilea/Florin Bragusi (OU) 6-3
3. A.J. Chamdani/Adrian Oetzbach (OU) def. Elliott Orkin/Chase Perez-Blanco (FLA) 6-4

Up Next for the Gators
The Gators will host the third-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes on February 26 at noon. This will wrap up a tough month for Florida, as the team competes against seven nationally ranked opponents in the month of February.

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