GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 1 Florida men's tennis team got the 2020 dual spring season started on the right foot, claiming a pair of convincing doubleheader victories over the Furman Paladins, 6-1, and FAU Owls, 7-0, at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex on Saturday. The wins move the Gators to 2-0 on the year, as Florida pushes their win streak in season openers to 32 consecutive matches dating back to 1988.
The Gators' first dual match began Saturday morning with the Paladins, seeing the Gators clinch the doubles point with wins on court three and court two.
Sophomores
Sam Riffice and
Harrison Cacciatore made quick work of Furman's Ivan Mitric and James Roelofse on court three, downing the duo 6-1 to ring in the first victory of the season and decade for the blue and orange. Shortly after, senior
Johannes Ingildsen and freshman
Will Grant buckled down to come away with a strong victory over a top-10 nationally ranked pair in No. 10 Jake Munns and Jake Bhangdia, 6-4, in their doubles debut to clinch the 1-0 lead early on for the Gators.
Singles ensued after the doubles point, seeing Florida claim the first three wins in straight sets to clinch the victory despite playing out the rest of the lineup.
No. 118
Blaise Bicknell recorded his first career dual singles victory to start, downing Henrik Atlevi, 6-3, 6-0, on court five.
No. 4
Sam Riffice then brought in the next win on court one over Jake Munns, 6-4, 6-1, while Ingildsen went on to drop Drew Singerman on court six, 6-1, 6-3, to clinch the Gators' victory at 4-0.
Goodger would join the club shortly after with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Jake Bhangdia to secure his first dual singles win as a Gator, followed by No. 17
Duarte Vale with a 7-6 (0), 6-2 win over Ivan Mitric to push the margin to 6-0. No. 71
Lukas Greif was the lone Gator to drop a match in singles, battling to a tiebreak finish in the first set before falling 6-7 (7), 2-6 to the Paladins' Clarke Wilson, though, Florida would nonetheless walk away with the 6-1 victory.
A brief intermission took place prior to things heating back up at the Ring Tennis Complex with FAU and Florida taking the court in the afternoon.
Florida would make quick work of the Owls in doubles action, as No. 14
Oliver Crawford and
Sam Riffice came away with a bagel (6-0) over FAU's Maxime Lapraille and Alvaro Fernandez Horta on court one, while sophomore
Greysen Cacciatore and Goodger quickly dropped Yovan Lambros and Hunter Robbins, 6-1, on court three to shift gears to singles play.
Entering singles, the Gators wasted no time going to work with Florida taking first sets on all six courts.
No. 31 Crawford was the first to dial in a singles win for the blue and orange with a dominant 6-0, 6-1 decision over No. 58 Lapraille on court one to start the year off with a ranked victory.
No. 17 Vale added his second win of the day in No. 2 singles, earning a 6-1, 6-4 win over FAU's Fernandez Horta. No. 72
Andy Andrade was next to finish, clinching the match with a 6-3, 6-1 effort over Filip Krolo to secure the win and 4-0 advantage.
No. 118 Bicknell would also tally his second win of the day, 6-3, 6-4, over FAU's Lambros, while No. 71 Greif redeemed himself in No. 5 singles with a decisive 6-1, 6-2 decision over Thomas Guy to conclude the sweep over the Owls, 7-0.
#1 University of Florida 6, Furman 1
Singles competition – 5, 1, 6, 4, 2, 3 (Order of finish)
1. #4
Sam Riffice (UF) def. Jake Munns (FUR) 6-4, 6-1
2. #17
Duarte Vale (UF) def. Ivan Mitric (FUR) 7-6 (7-0), 6-2
3. Clarke Wilson (FUR) def. #71
Lukas Greif (UF) 7-6 (9-7), 6-2
4.
Josh Goodger (UF) def. Jake Bhangdia (FUR) 6-1, 6-4
5. #118
Blaise Bicknell (UF) def. Henrik Atlevi (FUR) 6-3, 6-0
6.
Johannes Ingildsen (UF) def. Drew Singerman (FUR) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles competition – 3, 1 (Order of finish)
1.
Johannes Ingildsen/
Will Grant (UF) def. #10 Jake Munns/Jake Bhangdia (FUR) 6-3
2. #31
Duarte Vale/
Andy Andrade (UF) vs. Clarke Wilson/Henrik Atlevi (FUR) 2-5, unfinished
3.
Sam Riffice/
Harrison Cacciatore (UF) def. Ivan Mitric/James Roelofse (FUR) 6-1
#1 University of Florida 7, Florida Atlantic 0
Singles competition – 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 5 (Order of finish)
1. #31
Oliver Crawford (UF) def. #58 Maxime Lapraille (FAU) 6-0, 6-1
2. #17
Duarte Vale (UF) def. A. Fernandez Horta (FAU) 6-1, 6-4
3. #72
Andy Andrade (UF) def. Filip Krolo (FAU) 6-3, 6-1
4.
Josh Goodger (UF) def. Gerard Escandell (FAU) 6-3, 6-4
5. #71
Lukas Greif (UF) def. Thomas Guy (FAU) 6-1, 6-2
6. #118
Blaise Bicknell (UF) def. Yovan Lambros (FAU) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles competition – 1, 3 (Order of finish)
1. #14
Oliver Crawford/
Sam Riffice (UF) def. Maxime Lapraille/A. Fernandez Horta (FAU) 6-0
2.
Johannes Ingildsen/
Will Grant (UF) vs. Filip Krolo/Gerard Escandell (FAU) 4-3, unfinished
3.
Greysen Cacciatore/
Josh Goodger (UF) def. Yovan Lambros/Hunter Robbins (FAU) 6-1
UP NEXT:
- The Gators welcome reigning national champions No. 2 Texas to the Alfred A. Ring Complex on Wednesday, Jan. 15, for a highly anticipated No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup and rematch of last season's NCAA Final Four. First serve is slated for 5 p.m., as 300 Florida Men's Tennis T-Shirts will be given out to fans in attendance among a variety of other promotions to take place. Stay tuned for further updates and announcements on promotions for next Wednesday's match through FloridaGators.com or following Florida Men's Tennis social media accounts.
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