BOX SCORE
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – With a 6-1 win over No. 18 South Carolina on Sunday afternoon, No. 3 Florida clinched the SEC title with an undefeated season in conference play.
The 12-0 record marks the first time since 2003 that the Gators have completed league action undefeated. The outright regular season title is also the first for Florida in 16 years.
The Gators entered their match with the Gamecocks having won 13-straight matches dating back to Mar. 3 and didn't let that streak die on Sunday.
Florida cruised through the doubles matches thanks to the pairings of
Johannes Ingildsen and
McClain Kessler on court two and
Andy Andrade and
Duarte Vale on court three with 6-1 wins.
Oliver Crawford and
Alfredo Perez's 4-1 lead on court one went unfinished.
The dominance continued into the singles matches with the Gators' only loss coming at the hands of South Carolina's No. 9 Paul Jubb, who defeated No. 11 Crawford on court one (6-4, 7-6).
No. 47
Sam Riffice (6-3, 6-2), No. 108 Ingildsen (6-3, 7-5) and Kessler (6-4, 6-3) won their matches on courts two, four and six in two sets each. Ingildsen's victory clinched the match and the SEC title.
Riffice extended his win streak to 12 singles matches and finished the SEC regular season at a perfect 10-0. The Orlando native is the first freshman since Jesse Levine in 2007 to go undefeated in his rookie SEC singles season.
No. 38 Andrade and Perez on courts three and five dropped their first sets, but with a strong crowd behind them, both guys rallied to rattle off wins in the next two sets.
Up next, Florida will host the SEC Tournament beginning on Wednesday. The Gators earned the No. 1 seed and will play the winner of Alabama and Ole Miss on Friday at 3 p.m. in the quarterfinals.
Quotes from the Gators:
Head Coach Bryan Shelton
On what today means to this program . . .
"I'm just really proud of our team. We knew that it was going to be a tough, emotional match with senior day. Those matches are tough for us because those seniors mean so much to us, two guys in
Alfredo Perez and
McClain Kessler that have done so much for this program and helped us get to where we are today."
Junior Johannes Ingildsen
On his win clinching the SEC title . . .
"It was huge. Clinching the SEC title is something that I'll remember for the rest of her life. This is the reason I came here- to win these big matches."
Senior McClain Kessler
On his emotions on senior day . . .
"I don't want to ever leave here, so it was sad. But I was also pumped because we were going to win the title. You just don't know how many matches you are going to play, so every point means so much."
Final Results
#3 Florida 6, #18 South Carolina 1
Doubles-Order of Finish: 2,3
1.
Oliver Crawford/
Alfredo Perez (UF) vs. Daniel Rodrigues/Raphael Lambling (SC)- 4-1, unfinished
2.
Johannes Ingildsen/
McClain Kessler (UF) def. Paul Jubb/Yancy Dennis (SC)- 6-1
3.
Andy Andrade/
Duarte Vale (UF) def. Beau Pelletier/Jake Beasley (SC)- 6-1
Singles-Order of Finish: 2,6,4*,5,1,3
1. #9 Paul Jubb (SC) def. #11
Oliver Crawford (UF)- 6-4, 7-6 (8-6)
2. #47
Sam Riffice (UF) def. #92 Daniel Rodrigues (SC)- 6-3, 6-2
3. #38
Andy Andrade (UF) def. Raphael Lambling (SC)- 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. #108
Johannes Ingildsen (UF) def. Beau Pelletier (SC)- 6-3, 7-5*
5.
Alfredo Perez (UF) def. Thomas Brown (SC)- 2-6, 6-0, 6-1
6.
McClain Kessler (UF) def. Yancy Dennis (SC)- 6-4, 6-3
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