Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – For the second consecutive afternoon, the UF men's tennis team took care of business in the NCAA Tournament. Florida battled Miami for the first time since the 2011 tournament, earning a 4-0 shutout of their in-state rivals.
 
For the 18th time this season, the Gators started by winning the crucial doubles point to take an early lead into singles play. After each Florida duo dropped the first point on all three courts, they went on to win the next three points and take commanding leads in their matches.

For the second consecutive day, it was McClain Kessler and Duarte Vale on Court 3 that gave the Gators the advantage with a 6-2 victory. On Court 1 with the score tied at 4-all and Alfredo Perez and Johannes Ingildsen trailing love-40, the pair mounted its comeback to win the point and eventually take the match 6-4.
 
In singles play the Gators were locked in from the coin toss to see here earns serving rights. On courts 5 and 6, Chase Perez-Blanco and Kessler wasted no time in grabbing early leads. Kessler sprinted to the finish for the Gators second point of the afternoon with a 6-1, 6-2 victory while Perez-Blanco finished shortly after with a 6-2, 6-1 victory for the team's third point. The match was clinched for Florida on Court 3 when Perez put away the Hurricanes Bojan Jankulovski in straight sets by scores of 6-4, 6-3.

 

GATORS WIN!!!

Oh how Sweet it is! We advance to the Round of 16 at Wake Forest next weekend!#NCAATennis #GoGators #GatorWayBestWay pic.twitter.com/hGWWGstZPb

— Gators Men's Tennis (@GatorsMTN) May 13, 2018

Gator Notables
• Florida won their 50th NCAA Tournament match in program history
• This is the Gators 23rd round of 16 appearance
• Florida will be playing in the round of 16 for the third straight season
• Florida is now 17-1 overall and 11-0 at home when they win the doubles point
• Under head coach Bryan Shelton Florida is now 9-5 in the tournament
• At home, this season UF is now 11-1
• Against ranked opponents this season Florida is 13-9
• The Gators have won five of their last six matches, including four shutouts
• Kessler and Perez have each won five straight matches
• Perez clinched his third match of the season
• Perez-Blanco earned his 92nd career singles win and now has 184 career wins in both doubles and singles which ranks sixth all-time
• The Gators have appeared in 28 straight NCAA Tournament
• The 28 straight appearances are the third-longest active streak in the country, trailing only UCLA (42) and Georgia (35)
• In the ITA Rankings, the Gators find themselves ranked 13th. They have been ranked in the top 15 in every ranking this year
 
Records
Florida Gators: 18-9
Miami Hurricanes: 15-13
 
Florida's Numbers in the NCAA Tournament
All-Time Record: 50-27
Best Finish: Semifinals (2000, 2005)
Appearances: 36 (28 straight)
Records by Round since 1999 Tournament Format:
            First Round: 22-4
            Second Round: 20-2
            Round of 16: 6-15
            Quarterfinals: 2-4
            Semifinals: 0-2
            Finals: n/a
*Includes regional play from 1991-1998 with regional finals included as a round of 16 match
 
The NCAA has recognized a national champion in men's tennis every year since 1946 but has only done so in tournament format since 1977. The tournaments moved from a 16-team field to the current 64-team field in 1999. The first two rounds are held at on-campus sites, followed by the Round of 16 and beyond at a designated NCAA Championship site.
 
Quoting Coach Shelton
On advancing to the Round of 16
"It's exciting. We work all year, not just for these moments because we work to get better, but these moments are special and exciting. Anytime you do something collectively with a team far outweighs anything you could do individually. For us, it was a team effort and we have a lot of people to thank. From the fans to the staff, just everywhere we had people that contributed to the success of the team."
 
On strong effort in doubles
"Doubles is a game of holds and breaks and servers defiantly have the advantage so we weren't phased by them holding serve. I thought that we came out and swung away early. We didn't get the early break but I think there was a lot of belief on our side of the net. That starts with the preparation and I felt like we really prepared well, not just the last few weeks but throughout the season to develop and get better."
 
Quoting McClain Kessler
On singles and doubles success
"I've been working really hard in practice each and every week. I've been more focused in practice, listening a lot more, and doing the things that I need to do to help my game improve and get better."
 
Quoting Chase Perez-Blanco
On his 184th career victory, putting him sixth on the all-time list
"It's pretty exciting and a lot of hours on the tennis court. It's nice to see all the hard work pay off."
 
On his final match at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex
"It's bittersweet but I'm glad I was able to go out with a win both individually and as a team. I'm going to miss playing here. It was the best four years, best atmosphere, that I have ever been apart off and I'm going to miss it a lot."
 
Match Results
Doubles
(1) #5 Perez/Ingildsen (UF) def. #30 Soriano/Langmo (UM) – 6-4
(2) #42 Perez-Blanco/Crawford (UF) vs Jankulovski/Dunlap (UM) – DNF, 5-3
 (3) #36 Kessler/Vale (UF) def. Clark/Aycart (UM) – 6-2
Florida won Doubles Point
Order of Finish: 3, 1
Singles
(1) #49 Oliver Crawford (UF) vs #77 Adria Soriano (UM) – DNF, 2-6, 6-6
(2) #28 Johannes Ingildsen (UF) vs #125 Christian Langmo (UM) – DNF, 0-6, 6-1, 3-1
(3) #13 Alfredo Perez (UF) def. Bojan Jankulovski (UM) – 6-4, 6-3 *
(4) Andy Andrade (UF) vs Dane Dunlap (UM) – 6-4, 5-4
(5) Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) def. Niclas Genovese (UM) – 6-2, 6-1
(6) McClain Kessler (UF) def. Nile Clark (UM) – 6-1, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 3*
*Clincher
 
Up Next
With the Gators victory over Miami on Sunday, Florida advances to the Round of 16 which will be played on the campus of Wake Forest. Florida will play on Friday, May 18 at 7 p.m. against either No. 4 Stanford or Ole Miss.
 
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