GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida men's tennis team opened the 2018 campaign on the right foot Monday night with a 6-1 victory to begin the season.
 
Alfredo Perez and Johannes Ingildsen entered the night as the No. 1-ranked duo in the country but fell into an early 4-0 hole to UCF's Korey Lovett and Ero Vasa. Perez and Ingildsen battled back to earn the next three points but lost two of the next three to drop their first match of the season 6-4.
 
Needing victories at both No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to earn the doubles point, the duos of McClain Kessler and Duarte Vale as well as Oliver Crawford and Chase Perez-Blanco faced must-win situations. After Kessler and Vale lost the first point and then trailed 2-1 to Mikhail Sokoloviskiy and Gabriel Decamps, Kessler and Vale took their first lead at 3-2 and then made it 4-2 before eventually taking the match 6-4.
 
At No. 3 doubles, Crawford and Perez-Blanco were evenly matched against Alan Rubio and Danny Kerznerman as neither team was able to take a lead larger than two points. On two different occasions the Gator pair led by two but after leading 5-3, UCF's duo tied the match at 5-all. After being tied at 6-6, the match went to the tiebreak where they played to a 3-3 tie before switching sides. After swapping sides with Crawford and Perez-Blanco facing the crowd, the duo won the final four points of the tiebreak to win the match and give UF the doubles point.
 
Following a brief rain delay, the singles action got underway and Crawford used the momentum he gained from his doubles match to make quick work of Vasa at No. 4 singles. Crawford got an early lead in the first set before winning 6-2 and then cruising in the second set to a 6-0 win to earn his first career singles victory in dual-match play.
 
Fellow freshman Andy Andrade got the start at No. 5 singles and put on a show. He fought for an early lead in the first before winning the set 6-2. Like Crawford, Andrade found a groove in the second set, winning 6-1, giving the Gators a 3-0 advantage in the match.
 
At No. 2 singles Ingildsen was able to brush off the defeat he suffered in doubles and just focus on his singles match. With his calm demeanor on display, Ingildsen took the first set over Decamps 6-3 before clinching the match for Florida with a 6-2 victory in the second set.
 
With the match already won by a score of 4-0, the Gators kept battling in the final three matches. Perez and Vale's matches both entered the third set and both were switched to a third set tiebreak since they started after Ingildsen had clinched the match. Perez was able to defeat Lovett in the third set tiebreak 6-3, 3-6, 10-2 while Vale fell to Rubio 6-4, 2-6, 10-4.
 
Kessler's match had already entered the third set prior to the match being clinched so he played a normal third set. After dropping the first Kessler starting feeding off the energy of the crowd and took the second set 6-2 before dominating the third set by a score of 6-1.
 
Quoting Coach Shelton
"I think both sides had nerves early and that's fine. We work through it early in the season so that by the time we get into the SEC season, we're hitting on all cylinders. We certainly didn't play our best tonight but it's great when you cannot play your best and still get a win. We have the video that [we] can go over and learn from this match and then get to come back and play again on Saturday."
 
On chemistry of doubles teams
"I think it's huge. The more you can find that chemistry on the big points in important moments you can trust one another because you've been through it before. It's not something new where you're not sure what to expect. And we had confidence in those guys that in the big moments they would come through."
 
On the great crowd
"It makes it more fun for everybody. Even the visitors. To play in front of a crowd like ours tonight, we had a lot of students here tonight which was a nice addition. We've had the local support but to see some of our sororities and fraternities out was fantastic."
 
Quoting Oliver Crawford
On his Gator debut
"It was great. One of my favorite matches I've ever played honestly. Never had that type of atmosphere at a tennis match. I guess I've played at a few big places, but that was different, I've never been that excited to step onto a tennis court to play a match so it was awesome."
 
Quoting Johannes Ingildsen
On clinching the match
"It's always great to clinch for the team. I thought we all worked so hard today and everyone was bringing so much energy so it could have been anyone that clinched that match."
 
On the crowd helping them to victory
"It was huge, so intense, especially at the end of doubles. Everyone was fired up and I think that is one of the reasons we pushed through and got the win."
 
Gator Notables
• Florida improved to 17-0 all-time against UCF
• This was the fifth time in Ingildsen's career that he clinched the match for UF
• Both Crawford and Andrade earned their first career singles victories
• Crawford and Vale earned their first career doubles wins
• Florida was 4-0 in tiebreakers and three-setters against UCF
• This is the Gators sixth opening day win under Bryan Shelton
 
Match Results
Doubles
#1 – Korey Lovett / Ero Vasa (UCF) def. #1 Alfredo Perez / Johannes Ingildsen (UF) – 6-4
#2 – #10 McClain Kessler / Duarte Vale (UF) def. Mikhail Sokolovskiy / Gabriel Decamps (UCF) – 6-4
#3 – #11 Oliver Crawford / Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) def. Alan Rubio / Danny Kerznerman (UCF) – 7-6 (3)
Florida won Doubles Point
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
#1 – #8 Alfredo Perez (UF) def. Korey Lovett (UCF) – 6-3, 3-6, 10-2
#2 – #7 Johannes Ingildsen (UF) def. Gabriel Decamps (UCF) – 6-3, 6-2*
#3 –Alan Rubio UCF def. #39 Duarte Vale (UF) – 6-4, 2-6, 10-4
#4 – Oliver Crawford (UF) def. Ero Vasa (UCF) – 6-2, 6-0
#5 – Andy Andrade (UF) def. Danny Kerznerman (UCF) – 6-2, 6-1
#6 – McClain Kessler (UF) def. Mikhail Sokoloviskiy (UCF) – 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 2*, 1, 3, 6
*Clincher
 
Up Next
The Gators will be back at home this weekend when they host the ITA Kickoff Challenge Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday the Gators will take on South Alabama at 2 p.m. and then either the University of South Florida or Pepperdine on Sunday.
 
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