Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida men's tennis hosted No. 32 Texas Christian University for a midweek matchup on Wednesday. On a cold evening in Gainesville, the Gators were unable to complete their late rally, falling to the Horned Frogs 4-3.
 
The Gators were not their normal selves in doubles. Florida fell behind early on all three courts but after TCU took the advantage with a 6-2 win on court two, they began to battle back on courts one and three. On court three Oliver Crawford and Chase Perez-Blanco took a brief lead at 5-4 but were unable to win the match falling 7-5. The top-ranked pair of Alfredo Perez and Johannes Ingildsen fell into a 4-1 hole, but battle back to make it to 5-4 TCU when the Horned Frogs clinched on court three.
 
In singles, Florida flipped the script on their slow starts in the first sets of matches, winning five of six first sets. However, also out of the ordinary was the team's slow play in set two with four-second set losses resulting in five of the six matches against TCU playing the full three sets.
 
The lone match that only played two sets was on court six and lasted just one hour. At No. 6 singles senior Chase Perez-Blanco put on a dominant performance with a 6-1, 6-2 victory. Florida's other two singles wins were from Johannes Ingildsen on court two against No. 72 Trevor Johnson and Oliver Crawford on court three who upset No. 30, Alastair Gray. The Gators fell on courts one, four and five, giving TCU the four points they needed to win the match.
 
Quoting Coach Shelton
On teams fight after losing the doubles point
"I thought our guys did a nice job responding to losing the doubles point. You can do one of two things after losing the point. You can either put your head down or you can come back with more fight and determination in singles and put some positive numbers on the scoreboard. I feel like our guys did that tonight with five of six first set wins. Now going forward we have to be able to finish and stick with the process all the way through to completion."
 
On the experience that these close matches provide long-term
"I always that in practice you can improve, but in matches like this, you can improve exponentially. It's just a faster curve to get there. For us to battle for a few hours with this team tonight and go deep in all those matches is so valuable going forward. Hopefully."
 
On Oliver's strong play of late
"It took him some time at the beginning of the season to really hit his stride and gain his confidence back but that seems to be growing with every win he has out there. He's had some success lately and I think it has allowed him to relax on the court and trust that his game is good enough."
 
Quoting McClain Kessler
On what can be learned from a close loss
"This match will help us for all of our SEC matches and throughout NCAA's. I think that the next time we are in this situation against a top team we will be ready."
 
On what he tells the guys as a captain
"After a match like this, I just tell them to keep their heads high and stay positive. There is still a lot of season left and all I can do is stay positive for everyone each and every day and come out and be excited to play."
 
Gator Notes
• Florida's record is now 8-6 on the year. TCU is now 9-3 this season
• This was Florida's first home loss of the season. They are now 5-1 at home
• Florida is 1-5 this season when losing the doubles point
• Ingildsen was the lone loss in the first set, but he battled back to win his match
• The Gators now trail 3-2 in the all-time series against TCU
•Crawford has won six straight singles matches
• This was the Gators first loss of the season when winning at the No. 2 spot. They are now 5-1 when winning on court two
• Chase Perez-Blanco is now just two singles wins away from 86 which would put him in a tie for 10th all-time at Florida with Mike Alford (2011-14)
• Perez-Blanco has 167 career doubles and singles win. He is three total wins away from moving into a tie for 10th in Florida history*Clincher
 
Match Results
Doubles
(1) #1 Perez/Ingildsen (UF) vs Trevor Johnson/Alastair Gray (TCU) – DNF, 5-6
(2) #41 Guillermo Nunez/Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. #12 Kessler/Vale (UF) – 6-2
(3) Reese Stadler/Bertus Kruger (TCU) def. 10 Perez-Blanco/Crawford (UF) – 7-5
TCU won Doubles Point
Order of Finish: 2, 3
Singles
(1) #32 Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. #7 Alfredo Perez (UF) – 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
(2) #6 Johannes Ingildsen (UF) def. #72 Trevor Johnson (TCU) – 1-6, 7-6, 6-4
(3) #93 Oliver Crawford (UF) def. #30 Alastair Gray (TCU) – 6-2, 6-7, 6-4
(4) Guillermo Nunez (TCU) def. #68 Duarte Vale (UF) – 6-7, 6-3, 6-4*
(5) Reese Stadler (TCU) def. #101 Andy Andrade (UF) – 1-6, 7-5, 6-4
(6) Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) def. Bertus Kruger (TCU) – 6-1, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 1, 3, 2, 4*
*Clincher

Up Next
The Gators will be at home once again on Friday night. Florida will welcome the 21st-ranked Wildcats of Kentucky to Gainesville for an important SEC matchup. The Match is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.
 
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