Sunday, January 27
Gainesville, FL
7:15 PM
Florida Gators
4
vs
1
FAU
Duarte Vale clinched the 4-1 ITA Kickoff Weekend Championship for the Gators and helped them earn a bid to the Indoor National Championships.
Gators Punch Ticket to ITA National Indoor Championships
Monday, January 28, 2019 | Men's Tennis
BOX SCORE
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 4 Gators answered back after dropping the doubles point to win 4-1 over FAU on Sunday evening at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
After an eight hour delay due to heavy rain and a move indoors, Florida finally took the court and secured their spot at the ITA Indoor National Championships in Chicago. This is the eighth time the Gators have advanced through to the championships.
The match started off a little unexpected. The Gators found themselves at an early 1-0 deficit as FAU took the doubles point. Sophomore Oliver Crawford and Sam Riffice dominated court three with a 6-1 win over Thomas Guy and Kirac Bekisoglu. But after that, it was all FAU. Senior McClain Kessler and sophomore Duarte Vale fell at the No. 1 doubles slot 1-6 to Jason Legall and Ignacio Garcia. The point was decided as Gabriel Sidney and Mehdi Laalej defeated junior Johannes Ingildsen and senior Alfredo Perez 7-5.
Florida responded in singles, however. With playing indoors, only three matches could be played at a time. Crawford cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 win over Jason Legall on court one to tie the match 1-1. Sophomore Andy Andrade made quick work of Kirac Bekisoglu in a 6-1, 6-2 victory. Riffice helped put the Gators in control of the match with a 6-3, 6-3 decision over Gabriel Sidney.
Ingildsen (No. 4), Vale (No. 5) and Kessler (No. 6) then took the courts for Florida. Kessler and Vale both recorded first set wins to set up the match clincher. Vale quickly clinched the victory for the Gators as he defeated Ignacio Garcia 6-1 in the final set.
Up next, Florida will head to Orlando for a matchup with UCF, followed by FSU. The Gators will see UCF on Thursday, Jan. 31 at 6 p.m. Then on Saturday, Florida and the Seminoles will meet in the Fresh from Florida Sunshine Showdown live from College MatchDay. First serve is also scheduled for 6 p.m. and both matches will be played at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Fla.
Gator Quotes
Head Coach Bryan Shelton
Opening statement…
"Yeah the doubles was…they [FAU] came out firing. I was just glad with our response to losing the doubles point. That is always the question. Are you going to hang your head or are you going to bounce back quickly? Overall, I thought that was one of the best parts of the match with how we responded so quickly and to put our one, two and three singles out there and for them to be so dominant. We just jumped on them quickly in the singles and I think that is a sign of a very competitive team. When you get popped in the mouth, you jump right back up on your feet and you start throwing punches. I was really pleased with that. There was a little bit of a lull with the last three matches. There was a point where Duarte [Vale] lost his early break, Johannes [Ingildsen] was down a couple of breaks and same thing with McClain [Kessler]. He lost his early break and so those leads kind of disappeared and all of a sudden it looks like we are in a dog fight again. It was short though because it didn't last long. We kind of rallied again in the middle of those first sets and then we really just caught momentum and just continued to play really good tennis. Overall, just really pleased. I thought FAU handled themselves unbelievably well tonight. I felt like they competed at a super high level. It felt like an SEC match, which is great experience for our guys to have that level of intensity out there on the court and to have an opponent that is swinging away and coming after us. A lot of credit to Ricardo [Gonzalez] and his team for the win yesterday and for pushing us so hard tonight."
On Duarte getting to clinch the match…
"Yeah, I think it was pretty special. We all know that he is working so hard and has worked so hard to contribute and to be out there playing the type of tennis he is capable of. He has been through some tough times where he hasn't had his best and he has been working so hard to get over the hump. Tonight, he took some positive steps in the right direction. When things got really tough there in the first set, you could tell he just dug a little bit deeper and find it inside of him, the things that he needed to be successful out there tonight. I think when he understands where to go to try and find those things and he looks inside and brings out his best, he's got what it takes. He's got a huge heart and he's got a great game and he's just an amazing competitor and I'm just really happy for him tonight to be able to clinch the win for us and help us to go to Chicago."
On earning the bid to the ITA Indoor Championships…
"Well it's always something that we shoot for each year. It's an opportunity to go and mix it up with the best teams in the country and our guys look forward to every match we play and it just gives us a minimum of three additional matches, if not four. For our guys, it was certainly a goal this year to be able to make it to Chicago and we are certainly motivated."
Sophomore Duarte Vale
On his singles match…
"I was a little bit nervous to start because they [FAU] were playing really well and they brought a lot of energy. We've been doing a lot of work, so I felt prepared for whatever came my way, so that's what made a difference. I felt prepared and got the job done."
On the feeling of clinching the match…
"It felt really good. I didn't have the best year last year and I've been working hard, so it's a good start, definitely."
On the team's reaction and response after losing the doubles point…
"It was not what we expected, but we were prepared for adversity. Whatever came our way, we knew we had answers for it."
Final Results
#4 Florida 4, Florida Atlantic 1
Doubles-Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2*
Legall/Garcia (FAU) def. Kessler/Vale (Florida) 6-1
Sidney/Laalej (FAU) def. Ingildsen/Perez (Florida) 7-5
Crawford/Riffce (Florida) vs. Bekisoglu/Guy (FAU) 6-1
Singles-Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3, 5*
#9 Oliver Crawford (Florida) def. Jason Legall (FAU) 6-2, 6-1
#37 Andy Andrade (Florida) def. Kirac Bekisoglu (FAU) 6-1, 6-2
#85 Sam Riffice (Florida) def. Gabriel Sidney (FAU) 6-3, 6-3
#46 Johannes Ingildsen (Florida) vs. Mehdi Laalej (FAU) 7-5, unf.
#100 Duarte Vale def. Ignacio Garcia (FAU) 6-4, 6-1*
McClain Kessler vs. Alvaro Fernandez Horta (FAU) 6-3, 3-4 unf.
Follow the Gators
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 4 Gators answered back after dropping the doubles point to win 4-1 over FAU on Sunday evening at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
After an eight hour delay due to heavy rain and a move indoors, Florida finally took the court and secured their spot at the ITA Indoor National Championships in Chicago. This is the eighth time the Gators have advanced through to the championships.
The match started off a little unexpected. The Gators found themselves at an early 1-0 deficit as FAU took the doubles point. Sophomore Oliver Crawford and Sam Riffice dominated court three with a 6-1 win over Thomas Guy and Kirac Bekisoglu. But after that, it was all FAU. Senior McClain Kessler and sophomore Duarte Vale fell at the No. 1 doubles slot 1-6 to Jason Legall and Ignacio Garcia. The point was decided as Gabriel Sidney and Mehdi Laalej defeated junior Johannes Ingildsen and senior Alfredo Perez 7-5.
Florida responded in singles, however. With playing indoors, only three matches could be played at a time. Crawford cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 win over Jason Legall on court one to tie the match 1-1. Sophomore Andy Andrade made quick work of Kirac Bekisoglu in a 6-1, 6-2 victory. Riffice helped put the Gators in control of the match with a 6-3, 6-3 decision over Gabriel Sidney.
Ingildsen (No. 4), Vale (No. 5) and Kessler (No. 6) then took the courts for Florida. Kessler and Vale both recorded first set wins to set up the match clincher. Vale quickly clinched the victory for the Gators as he defeated Ignacio Garcia 6-1 in the final set.
Up next, Florida will head to Orlando for a matchup with UCF, followed by FSU. The Gators will see UCF on Thursday, Jan. 31 at 6 p.m. Then on Saturday, Florida and the Seminoles will meet in the Fresh from Florida Sunshine Showdown live from College MatchDay. First serve is also scheduled for 6 p.m. and both matches will be played at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Fla.
Gator Quotes
Head Coach Bryan Shelton
Opening statement…
"Yeah the doubles was…they [FAU] came out firing. I was just glad with our response to losing the doubles point. That is always the question. Are you going to hang your head or are you going to bounce back quickly? Overall, I thought that was one of the best parts of the match with how we responded so quickly and to put our one, two and three singles out there and for them to be so dominant. We just jumped on them quickly in the singles and I think that is a sign of a very competitive team. When you get popped in the mouth, you jump right back up on your feet and you start throwing punches. I was really pleased with that. There was a little bit of a lull with the last three matches. There was a point where Duarte [Vale] lost his early break, Johannes [Ingildsen] was down a couple of breaks and same thing with McClain [Kessler]. He lost his early break and so those leads kind of disappeared and all of a sudden it looks like we are in a dog fight again. It was short though because it didn't last long. We kind of rallied again in the middle of those first sets and then we really just caught momentum and just continued to play really good tennis. Overall, just really pleased. I thought FAU handled themselves unbelievably well tonight. I felt like they competed at a super high level. It felt like an SEC match, which is great experience for our guys to have that level of intensity out there on the court and to have an opponent that is swinging away and coming after us. A lot of credit to Ricardo [Gonzalez] and his team for the win yesterday and for pushing us so hard tonight."
On Duarte getting to clinch the match…
"Yeah, I think it was pretty special. We all know that he is working so hard and has worked so hard to contribute and to be out there playing the type of tennis he is capable of. He has been through some tough times where he hasn't had his best and he has been working so hard to get over the hump. Tonight, he took some positive steps in the right direction. When things got really tough there in the first set, you could tell he just dug a little bit deeper and find it inside of him, the things that he needed to be successful out there tonight. I think when he understands where to go to try and find those things and he looks inside and brings out his best, he's got what it takes. He's got a huge heart and he's got a great game and he's just an amazing competitor and I'm just really happy for him tonight to be able to clinch the win for us and help us to go to Chicago."
On earning the bid to the ITA Indoor Championships…
"Well it's always something that we shoot for each year. It's an opportunity to go and mix it up with the best teams in the country and our guys look forward to every match we play and it just gives us a minimum of three additional matches, if not four. For our guys, it was certainly a goal this year to be able to make it to Chicago and we are certainly motivated."
Sophomore Duarte Vale
On his singles match…
"I was a little bit nervous to start because they [FAU] were playing really well and they brought a lot of energy. We've been doing a lot of work, so I felt prepared for whatever came my way, so that's what made a difference. I felt prepared and got the job done."
On the feeling of clinching the match…
"It felt really good. I didn't have the best year last year and I've been working hard, so it's a good start, definitely."
On the team's reaction and response after losing the doubles point…
"It was not what we expected, but we were prepared for adversity. Whatever came our way, we knew we had answers for it."
Final Results
#4 Florida 4, Florida Atlantic 1
Doubles-Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2*
Legall/Garcia (FAU) def. Kessler/Vale (Florida) 6-1
Sidney/Laalej (FAU) def. Ingildsen/Perez (Florida) 7-5
Crawford/Riffce (Florida) vs. Bekisoglu/Guy (FAU) 6-1
Singles-Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3, 5*
#9 Oliver Crawford (Florida) def. Jason Legall (FAU) 6-2, 6-1
#37 Andy Andrade (Florida) def. Kirac Bekisoglu (FAU) 6-1, 6-2
#85 Sam Riffice (Florida) def. Gabriel Sidney (FAU) 6-3, 6-3
#46 Johannes Ingildsen (Florida) vs. Mehdi Laalej (FAU) 7-5, unf.
#100 Duarte Vale def. Ignacio Garcia (FAU) 6-4, 6-1*
McClain Kessler vs. Alvaro Fernandez Horta (FAU) 6-3, 3-4 unf.
Follow the Gators
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
#1 Singles Match
12
Jason Legall / 0 [FAU]
21
66
#2 Singles Match
12
Kirac Bekisoglu / 0 [FAU]
12
66
#3 Singles Match
12
Gabriel Sidney / 0 [FAU]
33
66
#4 Singles Match
12
Mehdi Laalej / 0 [FAU]
50
7UF
#5 Singles Match
12
Ignacio Garcia / 0 [FAU]
41
66
#6 Singles Match
123
A. Fernandez Horta / 0 [FAU]
340
63UF
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
Inside Florida Gators Men's Tennis
Wednesday, July 17
One-on-One with Coach Steinberg 3-7-24
Thursday, March 07
Bryan Shelton Postmatch 2-2-23
Saturday, February 04
Jonah Braswell Postmatch 2-2-23
Saturday, February 04
