GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida men's tennis team had strong showings at both events that they participated in on Friday. In their home event the Gators earned multiple victories in both singles and doubles while at the Ivy-Plus Invite it was senior leadership that paved the path to success.
 
Gator Ranked +1
Florida started strong in their only home event of the fall, earning three doubles victories to advance all five Gators to the semifinals.
 
Duarte Vale and Alfredo Perez teamed up for an 8-2 win to open the day. The win was Vale's first as a collegiate athlete. McClain Kessler and Chase Perez-Blanco earned an 8-4 victory and Johannes Ingildsen, who played with Brandon Lancaster of Louisville, won their opening round match 8-7(6).
 
In singles it was Vale who impressed in his collegiate debut with a 7-5, 6-4 win in round one and a 6-3,6-0 win in round two that put the freshman into the semifinals in his draw.
 
Kessler and Ingildsen earned first round wins before falling in the second round while Perez lost in the first round but turned it around in round two with a 6-1,6-1 win. Perez-Blanco battled in both of his singles matches, but fell just short losing in three sets both times.
 
Singles
Round One – Orange Draw
Duarte Vale def. Ewan Moore (Tulane) – 7-5, 6-4
McClain Kessler def. Brandon Lancaster (Louisville) – 6-4, 6-0
Alfredo Perez lost to Yuval Solomon (Wake Forest) - 6-7(4), 3-6
 

.@DuarteMVale advances to the semifinals in singles with a 6-3, 6-0 over Rakic of MSU! #GoGators pic.twitter.com/H8aYMrOnuM

— Gators Men's Tennis (@GatorsMTN) September 22, 2017

Quarterfinals
Vale def.  Strahinja Rakic (Mississippi State) – 6-3, 6-0
Kessler lost to Giovanni Oradini (Mississippi State) – 7-5, 4-6, 4-6
 
Consolation
Perez def. Paul Jubb (South Carolina) – 6-1, 6-1
 
Round One – Blue Draw
Chase Perez-Blanco lost to Scott Jones (Tennessee) – 4-6, 6-2, 6-7(1)
Johannes Ingildsen def. Luis Erlenbusch (Tulane) - 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
 
Quarterfinals
Johannes Ingildsen def. Nico Rouanet (Louisville) – 2-6, 6-0, 6-3
 
Consolation
Perez-Blanco def. Bar Botzer (Wake Forest) – 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
 
Doubles
Round One – Orange Draw
Kessler/Perez-Blanco def. Kecic/Muscheites (North Florida) – 8-4
Ingildsen/Brandon Lancaster (Louisville) def. Schmitz/ Moore (Tulane) – 8-7(6)
 

Chase Perez-Blanco & McClain Kessler defeat Kecic/Muscheites of UNF 8-2 in the 1st rd. of doubles! #GoGators pic.twitter.com/QOv931Qets

— Gators Men's Tennis (@GatorsMTN) September 22, 2017

Round One – Blue Draw
Vale/Perez def. Gomez/Rouanet (Louisville) – 8-2
 
Coach Shelton on Day One of the Gator Ranked +1
"We played a lot of tennis today and took a lot of positives from it and it was nice to see Duarte start his collegiate career as a Gator," said head coach Bryan Shelton. "Our doubles was really good this morning, and our guys combined well to beat some good teams. This tournament is exactly what we need. The competition today was incredible."
 

Ivy-Plus Invitational
The Gators were split up this weekend with Jordan Belga, Stephen Madonia and Andy Andrade going to New Jersey to compete in the Ivy-Plus Invitational that was hosted by Princeton University.
 
The Gators had a solid showing on the Lenz Tennis Center court on Friday as all three Gators earned at least one victory.
 
Belga showed the senior leadership with a first round win in singles and two wins in doubles. Belga advanced to the semifinals in doubles with his partner, Henry Patten of UNC Asheville.
 
Andrade and Madonia teamed up in doubles to earn a first round win and advance to the quarterfinals before falling 8-5. The first round victory was the first collegiate win for Andrade.
 
In singles Andrade was able to advance to the second round with a 6-3, 6-3 victory. Madonia fell in his first round match 6-7, 0-6
 
Singles
Round One – Nassau Draw
Jordan Belga def. Daniel Grunberger (Cornell) - 7-6, 6-1
Stephen Madonia lost to Jack Mingji Lin (Columbia) - 6-7, 0-6
 
Round One – Lenz Draw
Andy Andrade def. Jimmy Wasserman (Princeton) - 6-3, 6-3
 
Doubles
Round One – Orange Draw
Andrade/Madonia def. Seggerman/Vives (Princeton) – 8-5

Quarterfinals
Andrade/Madonia lost to Tao/Koello (Harvard) – 8-5
 
Round One – Pagoda Draw
Belga/Patten (UNC Asheville) def. Sandberg/Litsky – 8-2

Quarterfinals
Belga/Patten def. Sakalauskas/Bernstine (Virgina Tech) – 8-2
 
Coach Perelman on Day One of the Ivy-Plus Invite
"Jordan Belga had an excellent day as the Gators won three out of four doubles matches and two of the three singles matches," said assistant coach Scott Perelman. "Jordan is in the finals of his division in doubles and the semifinals in singles."
 
"We are looking forward to competing tomorrow with our focus being on getting better each and every day we are in New Jersey."
 
Up Next
The Gators will be back on the court tomorrow at 9 a.m. for the Gator Ranked +1 and 8:30 a.m. for the Ivy-Plus Invite. You can watch the live stream of the Ranked +1 by clicking HERE. Be sure to follow on twitter for updates on both tournaments.
 
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