Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In the aftermath of the UF men's tennis team's loss to eventual national champion Texas on Saturday afternoon, the mind started to meander from one thought to the next.

For me, it was just another event to cover and a typical day on the job, albeit one that started with a two-hour drive from home to the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona for Florida's noon match against the Longhorns in the NCAA semifinals. Two days earlier it was a trip to Camping World Stadium in Orlando for Dan Mullen's speaking engagement.

This is the time of year when it's best to consider a different line of work if you prefer routine to last-minute road trips. One day you could be dedicated to writing about Florida's lacrosse team in the NCAA Tournament, the next an important Southeastern Conference baseball series.

I relish the variety and opportunity to perhaps witness something memorable. It's what makes this job at the University Athletic Association curious. And it's what made my previous career in newspapers, covering everything from horse racing to hockey to Major League Baseball, anything but routine.

Still, sometimes you can feel out of tune to your surroundings. You catch yourself at an event and it strikes you how much what happens truly means to the people you are there to write about. You remind yourself that another day at work could be one of the biggest moments of their lives.

In my mind, that means showing up with the intent of capturing whatever happens in a genuine way that can be appreciated by the casual fan with nothing more than lukewarm interest or the diehard who wins and loses with the Gators, digests every word and knows everything there is to know but the outcome.

That's the gig as I see it. Always has been.

Now, back to Saturday, a sweltering May afternoon on which love bugs drifted in the humid Central Florida air and across the windshield.

In only the program's third trip to the NCAA semifinals, the Gators lost 4-2 to Texas. The Longhorns advanced to Sunday's championship, knocking off defending champion Wake Forest for the first national title in school history.

The Gators lost the doubles point, fell behind 3-0 once singles started, and then regained momentum when Oliver Crawford and Andy Andrade won their matches. Needing to win both remaining matches at Nos. 3 and 4 singles, UF coach Bryan Shelton stood in the middle of the courts as hundreds of sweaty fans watched from the grandstand.

It's where Shelton had spent much of the afternoon, keeping a close eye on Johannes Ingildsen's battle with Texas' Leonardo Telles and UF's Alfredo Perez matching shots with Harrison Scott.

"You kind of read what's going on,'' Shelton said. "You kind of see where you think that you can turn the match in your favor and I felt like in the middle of three and four, I felt like those were the key spots for us."

Shelton's instincts proved correct, though in the end, his presence was unable to slow down Telles' powerful serve as he put away Ingildsen in two closely contested sets to set off a celebration for the Longhorns.
 
The Gators' deepest run in the NCAA Tournament in 16 years was over. The images that followed caused the mind to drift.

You watched as the exhausted Ingildsen, a junior from Copenhagen, Denmark, trudged to a bench and buried his head in his hands.

You watched as the emotional Crawford walked in circles on the lawn adjacent to the courts, his hands clasped in back of his head as he tried to absorb the outcome.

You watched as freshman Sam Riffice took a seat on the ground underneath the grandstand and leaned up against the wall, transmitting a blank stare as others walked past.

You watched as Perez, one of only two seniors on the team, hugged teammates and family and friends, a painful goodbye to his college career.

You watched Shelton, moments after exiting his postmatch press conference, meet with his elderly parents, who flew into town from their Alabama home, for a special moment at the conclusion of his seventh season.

Finally, more than a half hour after the loss and with the pop of rackets hitting balls as Wake Forest and North Carolina warmed up for their semifinal, you saw Shelton gather the team in the shade of the grandstand. The players and coaches and staff formed a circle. Some sat on metal chairs. Some took seats on the concrete walkway. Shelton stood, speaking in hushed tones. You occasionally heard a group clap. You could see the power of the moment on their faces.

Shelton shared what his message would be at his press conference.

"It's been a heck of a run. Our guys have invested in one another,'' he said. "They have worked extremely hard together. They've built relationships that will last a lifetime. I saw them all crying right after the match and it wasn't because we lost. It was because those seniors are no longer going to be with us.

"I think that's the hardest thing. Super, super proud of these guys. They'll remember this championship. They'll remember this season. All we can look at is what we have in front of us. I love our guys. The guys that are coming back are going to be better than ever."

After about 15 minutes, the meeting ended. The Gators scattered. Shelton stood alone briefly.

He shook hands as a few more well-wishers congratulated him, then picked up his duffel bag, slung it over his shoulder, put on his dark glasses and strolled back into the sun.