COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Florida men's tennis team (13-7, 7-2 SEC) completed their weekend road trip on Sunday at the University of South Carolina (15-6, 5-4 SEC). The Gators fell to the Gamecocks in a tight contest, 4-3.
 
The Gators struggled in doubles after they fell behind early. Florida lost their matches on courts one and two by scores of 6-3. This was the first time this season that the Gators dropped matches on both courts one and two.
 
The middle of the singles lineup has shined for the Gators all season and today was no different. Oliver Crawford continued his winning ways with a 6-3, 6-2 performance that tied the match at one and gave the Gators life. After falling on courts one and two Florida got it done on courts four and five. Needing wins on both courts Chase Perez-Blanco and Duarte Vale stepped up and were able to defeat their opponents in the third set, evening the match score at three all. Trailing 4-3 on court six, McClain Kessler got an unlucky break when a call was reversed that helped South Carolina earn the point and take a 5-3 lead before winning the set 6-3 and giving the match to USC 4-3.
 
Quoting Coach Shelton
"Have to give South Carolina a lot of credit today. They played a great match and were well prepared for us today. We really didn't start the day well with our doubles. They took that point and were playing with great emotion and energy from that point on. It was an uphill battle, but we continued to fight back on several courts. It's never fun to lose these battles, but really have to give South Carolina a lot of credit."
 
Gator Notes
• Crawford improved his winning streak in singles to 12 straight. He remained perfect in SEC play with a record of 9-0
• Perez-Blanco earned his 89th career singles win and 176th combined win which puts him in a tie for the eighth most singles and doubles wins in a career
• Vale won his second straight singles match
• The loss ends the Gators 5 match win streak, their longest of the season
 
Match Results
Doubles
(1) Yancy Dennis/Harrison O'Keefe (USC) def. #1 Perez/Ingildsen (UF) – 6-3
(2) Gabriel Friedrich/Thomas Mayronne (USC) def. #32 Kessler/Vale (UF) – 6-3
(3) #8 Perez-Blanco/Crawford (UF) vs Paul Jubb/Wood Benton (USC) – DNF, 4-4
South Carolina won Doubles Point
Order of Finish: 1, 2
Singles
(1) #46 Gabriel Friedrich (USC) def. #11 Johannes Ingildsen (UF) – 6-3, 7-6
(2) Paul Jubb (USC) def. #8 Alfredo Perez (UF) – 6-4, 6-1
(3) #51 Oliver Crawford (UF) def. Yancy Dennis (USC) – 6-3, 6-2
(4) Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) def. Harrison O'Keefe (USC) – 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
(5) Duarte Vale (UF) def. Thomas Mayronne (USC) – 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
(6) Wood Benton (USC) def. McClain Kessler (UF) – 6-3, 6-7, 6-3*
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1, 4, 5, 6*
*Clincher
 
Up Next
Florida is on the road once again next weekend for one last regular season road trip. The Gators will travel to Texas A&M on Friday before taking on LSU in Baton Rouge on Sunday.
 
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