Wednesday, March 20
Gainesville, FL
5 PM
Florida Gators
6
vs
1
Illinois
Johannes Ingildsen clinched his fourth match of the season for the Gators against No. 13 Illinois
Gators Handle Illinois in Final Nonconference Match
Wednesday, March 20, 2019 | Men's Tennis
BOX SCORE
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida defeated Illinois, 6-1, Wednesday evening at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex to grab its second win over the Fighting Illini this season.
In their final nonconference match of the season, the No. 4 Gators extended their winning streak to seven.
After falling behind early in doubles on all three courts, Florida battled back and got wins from Oliver Crawford and Sam Riffice on court 3 and McClain Kessler and Duarte Vale to secure the early advantage. Kessler and Vale snapped a four-match losing streak and also earned their first win over a ranked opponent this season.
In singles, the Gators continued to put pressure on Illinois, taking five of the six first sets.
Riffice extended his winning streak to seven matches with a two-set decision over #31 Alex Brown on court 2. The freshman's win put the Gators up 2-0.
Quickly after, Florida clinched the match with wins from Andy Andrade and Johannes Ingildsen on courts 3 and 4. Both defeated the Fighting Illini in straight sets. Ingildsen improved to a team-best 11-3 in dual singles.
After the match was clinched, Kessler pushed the lead to five with a 6-4, 6-2 win on court 5 and Vale capped the Gators' scoring efforts with a thrilling 3-set comeback win on court 6. Vale is now 6-1 in dual singles this season, much improved from last years' 5-11 dual singles record.
Illinois' only point came as No. 14 Aleks Kovacevic defeated No. 15 Crawford, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Crawford fell to Kovacevic in both of Florida's matches with Illinois.
Up next, Florida will turn around and return to conference play against No. 28 Vanderbilt, tomorrow night at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex. First serve is set for 5 p.m.
Quotes from the Gators
Junior Johannes Ingildsen
On pressure of clinching the match…
"It's always great to clinch. I can kind of feel that when I see the scoreboard and we just need one more point, it puts a little bit more pressure, but at the same time I feel loose because I know the team has my back. But obviously getting that last point is huge."
On how the team is feeling right now in midst of seven match winning streak…
"It means a lot. We are building momentum right now and we just have to try and keep it going. We have so many matches and we can't really look back, we just have to look forward and try and keep it day by day. Tomorrow we play Vanderbilt, who is a great team and we had a huge fight with them last year. We have to come out and respect them. They are going to play free because they have nothing to lose and we just have to try and protect the house and protect our courts and just get after it again. There's not really any rest. On paper it looks good, but it doesn't mean anything if you can't back it up and we have another big test tomorrow."
Sophomore Duarte Vale
On what was working in doubles to rebound from some tough losses…
"You know, doubles is really quick. It happens really fast. It can happen where you lose a few matches in a row or you can also go the other way and if we just stick to what we do best, eventually you are going to get the win. It's not always going to happen in doubles because it's so quick, but if you stay positive and just keep doing the right thing, it's going to happen."
On Vanderbilt…
"I think they are going to come out firing. We are obviously the team to beat right now, so I expect them to come out and play their best tennis and be super fired up and we have to answer right back."
Final Results
#4 Florida 6, #13 Illinois 1
Doubles-Order of Finish: 2, 1
1. McClain Kessler/Duarte Vale (UF) def. #45 Alex Brown/Caleb Chakravarthi (UI)- 6-3
2. Oliver Crawford/Sam Riffice (UF) def. Keenan Mayo/Aleks Kovacevic (UI)- 6-3
3. Johannes Ingildsen/Alfredo Perez (UF) vs. Gui Gomes/Siphosothando Montsi (UI)- 5-4, unfinished
Singles-Order of Finish: 2,3,4*,5,1,6
1. #14 Aleks Kovacevic (UI) def. #15 Oliver Crawford (UF)- 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
2. #51 Sam Riffice (UF) def. #31 Alex Brown (UI)- 6-3, 6-2
3. #29 Andres Andrade (UF) def. Zeke Clark (UI)- 6-2, 6-4
4. #97 Johannes Ingildsen (UF) def. Siphosothando Montsi (UI)- 6-4, 6-2*
5. McClain Kessler (UF) def. Caleb Chakravarthi (UI)- 6-4, 6-2
6. Duarte Vale (UF) def. Keenan Mayo (UI)- 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida defeated Illinois, 6-1, Wednesday evening at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex to grab its second win over the Fighting Illini this season.
In their final nonconference match of the season, the No. 4 Gators extended their winning streak to seven.
After falling behind early in doubles on all three courts, Florida battled back and got wins from Oliver Crawford and Sam Riffice on court 3 and McClain Kessler and Duarte Vale to secure the early advantage. Kessler and Vale snapped a four-match losing streak and also earned their first win over a ranked opponent this season.
In singles, the Gators continued to put pressure on Illinois, taking five of the six first sets.
Riffice extended his winning streak to seven matches with a two-set decision over #31 Alex Brown on court 2. The freshman's win put the Gators up 2-0.
Quickly after, Florida clinched the match with wins from Andy Andrade and Johannes Ingildsen on courts 3 and 4. Both defeated the Fighting Illini in straight sets. Ingildsen improved to a team-best 11-3 in dual singles.
After the match was clinched, Kessler pushed the lead to five with a 6-4, 6-2 win on court 5 and Vale capped the Gators' scoring efforts with a thrilling 3-set comeback win on court 6. Vale is now 6-1 in dual singles this season, much improved from last years' 5-11 dual singles record.
Illinois' only point came as No. 14 Aleks Kovacevic defeated No. 15 Crawford, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Crawford fell to Kovacevic in both of Florida's matches with Illinois.
Up next, Florida will turn around and return to conference play against No. 28 Vanderbilt, tomorrow night at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex. First serve is set for 5 p.m.
Quotes from the Gators
Junior Johannes Ingildsen
On pressure of clinching the match…
"It's always great to clinch. I can kind of feel that when I see the scoreboard and we just need one more point, it puts a little bit more pressure, but at the same time I feel loose because I know the team has my back. But obviously getting that last point is huge."
On how the team is feeling right now in midst of seven match winning streak…
"It means a lot. We are building momentum right now and we just have to try and keep it going. We have so many matches and we can't really look back, we just have to look forward and try and keep it day by day. Tomorrow we play Vanderbilt, who is a great team and we had a huge fight with them last year. We have to come out and respect them. They are going to play free because they have nothing to lose and we just have to try and protect the house and protect our courts and just get after it again. There's not really any rest. On paper it looks good, but it doesn't mean anything if you can't back it up and we have another big test tomorrow."
Sophomore Duarte Vale
On what was working in doubles to rebound from some tough losses…
"You know, doubles is really quick. It happens really fast. It can happen where you lose a few matches in a row or you can also go the other way and if we just stick to what we do best, eventually you are going to get the win. It's not always going to happen in doubles because it's so quick, but if you stay positive and just keep doing the right thing, it's going to happen."
On Vanderbilt…
"I think they are going to come out firing. We are obviously the team to beat right now, so I expect them to come out and play their best tennis and be super fired up and we have to answer right back."
Final Results
#4 Florida 6, #13 Illinois 1
Doubles-Order of Finish: 2, 1
1. McClain Kessler/Duarte Vale (UF) def. #45 Alex Brown/Caleb Chakravarthi (UI)- 6-3
2. Oliver Crawford/Sam Riffice (UF) def. Keenan Mayo/Aleks Kovacevic (UI)- 6-3
3. Johannes Ingildsen/Alfredo Perez (UF) vs. Gui Gomes/Siphosothando Montsi (UI)- 5-4, unfinished
Singles-Order of Finish: 2,3,4*,5,1,6
1. #14 Aleks Kovacevic (UI) def. #15 Oliver Crawford (UF)- 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
2. #51 Sam Riffice (UF) def. #31 Alex Brown (UI)- 6-3, 6-2
3. #29 Andres Andrade (UF) def. Zeke Clark (UI)- 6-2, 6-4
4. #97 Johannes Ingildsen (UF) def. Siphosothando Montsi (UI)- 6-4, 6-2*
5. McClain Kessler (UF) def. Caleb Chakravarthi (UI)- 6-4, 6-2
6. Duarte Vale (UF) def. Keenan Mayo (UI)- 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
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Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1
#1 Singles Match
123
Aleks Kovacevic / 0 (14/-) [UI]
466
633
#2 Singles Match
12
Alex Brown / 0 (31/-) [UI]
32
66
#3 Singles Match
12
Zeke Clark / 0 [UI]
24
66
#4 Singles Match
12
Siphosothando Montsi / 0 [UI]
42
66
#5 Singles Match
12
Caleb Chakravarthi / 0 [UI]
42
66
#6 Singles Match
123
Keenan Mayo / 0 [UI]
614
466
Order of Finish:
2,3,4,5,1,6
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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