WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Gators 2018 season came to a close Sunday afternoon at the hands of No. 5 Texas A&M. The men's tennis team trailed 3-0 but battled all the way back to make it a match before eventually falling 4-3.
For the second straight tournament match, the Gators were unable to come away with the doubles point. Florida fell behind early when court three lost 6-2. The Gators got a boost on court two when
Oliver Crawford and
Chase Perez-Blanco picked up a 6-3 victory. On court one the No. 5 duo of
Alfredo Perez and
Johannes Ingildsen were in a battle with the No. 3 ranked pair of Carlos Aguilar and Jordi Arconada. Perez and Ingildsen had the lead midway through the match at 4-3 before A&M took a 5-4 lead. The Gators were able to tie the match at five all but it was the Aggies who scored the final points to win the match and the doubles point.
In singles action Florida fell behind early in the first sets on four of the six courts, eventually losing first sets on three of those courts. Johannes, McClain, and Oliver each earned first set wins and set a tone for the Gators to begin their comeback.
After the Gators fell behind 3-0 with defeats on courts three and five the Gators began to rally.
McClain Kessler picked up Florida's first win of the afternoon with straight sets 7-5, 6-2 victory on court six. Kessler's win was followed closely by a huge 6-3 second set victory from
Andy Andrade on court four, who lost set one 6-2 and needed the set to stay alive. Florida's second point of the match came from court one where the nation's top two recruits in last year's recruiting class met. Oliver, the former No. 2 recruit in the country bested the former No. 1 recruit with a straights victory over No. 5 ranked Patrick Kypson 6-4, 7-6.
A few minutes following Crawford's win Andrade completed his amazing comeback with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 72 Valentin Vacherot. With the match tied at three-all, it all came down to court two and
Johannes Ingildsen. The sophomore, who has battled cramps the entire time in North Carolina, dug as deep as he could and put together one of the gutsiest performances to date for the Gators. As the third set drew closer to the end, Ingidsen simply had nothing left in the tank, having already given everything he had to his teammates. Ingildsen eventually fell in the deciding match 5-7, 7-5, 6-2.
Gator Notables
• Under head coach
Bryan Shelton Florida is now 10-6 in the tournament
• Against ranked opponents this season Florida is 14-10
• Kessler ended the season on a team-high seven match winning streak
• With Perez-Blanco's win in doubles he ends his career with 186 career combined wins at Florida which is sixth all-time. He earned 92 career doubles wins (fourth all-time) and 92 career singles wins (10th all-time)
• This was Florida's 28th 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: 19-10
Texas A&M: 26-5
Florida's Numbers in the NCAA Tournament
All-Time Record: 51-28
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: 7-15
Quarterfinals: 2-5
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 trailing 3-0 but battling back
"It was a great match. Our guys fought to the end and that's who they are. Hats off to Texas A&M, they came out and played really well and were just a little bit better than us in the doubles. At No. 1 doubles we had a break three times and each time they came back and played the perfect return game. Give them a lot of credit because that point is huge in a match like this. Our guys showed a lot heart and a lot of resilience to continue to fight. I love this team, they are fun to work with, they were playing to win today and we just didn't quite capitalize on some of the key points and that was the difference. But o be down 3-0 and work our way back into this match, the way that we did, I'm just so proud of my guys. Just warriors."
On McClain getting the rally started for the Gators
"He's like the energy bunny. He's the catalyst for us. He's the guy that gets guys charged up before the match, during the match, when's on the court, when he's off the court. He brings the energy. I think that every team would love ot have a guy like that on their roster because he just gives, gives gives and has a lot of heart. He just wanted to ignite this thing and he did. Once we hit that ignition switch everyone just kind of charged through. Oliver had a great win against one fof the best players in the country. To do that as a freshman in this environment is pretty special. And then for Andy, another freshman at No. 4, playing arguably the best No, 4 in the country and winning that most today bodes well for us in the future."
Match Results
Doubles
(1) #3 Aquilar/Arconda (TAMU) def. #5 Perez/Ingildsen (UF) – 7-5
(2) #42 Perez-Blanco/Crawford (UF) def. Rinderknech/Catanzariti (TAMU) – 6-3
(3) Kypson/Vacherot (TAMU) def. #36 Kessler/Vale (UF) – 6-2
Texas A&M won Doubles Point
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
(1) #49
Oliver Crawford (UF) def. #5
Patrick Kypson (TAMU) – 6-4, 7-6
(2) #12
Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. #28
Johannes Ingildsen (UF)
– 5-7, 7-5, 6-2
(3) #48
Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. #13
Alfredo Perez (UF) – 6-3, 6-4
(4)
Andy Andrade (UF) def. #72
Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) – 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
(5) Carols Aguilar (TAMU) def.
Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) – 6-2, 6-3
(6)
McClain Kessler (UF) def. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) – 7-5, 6-2
Order of Finish: 5, 3, 6, 1, 4, 2
*Clincher
Up Next
Florida's team season comes to a close at the NCAA Team Tournament but the NCAA Individual Championships will begin on May 23 and run through the 28th. The field consists of 64 singles competitors and 32 doubles teams. Competing for Florida in doubles will be Perez and Ingildsen as well as Kessler and
Duarte Vale. Crawford and Perez-Blanco are alternates. In singles Crawford, Perez and Ingildsen will represent Florida.
