GAINESVILLE, Fla. -  The matchup between the No. 1 Florida men's tennis team and No. 2 Texas Longhorns certainly lived up to the hype, drawing one of the largest crowds in Florida men's tennis history with over 700 fans in attendance at Linder Stadium, though, the Gators would unfortunately come up short down the stretch to suffer its first loss of the season, 5-2, on Wednesday night. The loss moves Florida to 2-1 on the year, while the win serves as Texas' first of the year to kick off the dual season for the Longhorns.
 
Doubles action resembled last year's intensity in the NCAA Semifinals, seeing tight matches on all three courts, though, Florida would manage to gain the early momentum in the match by earning the doubles point with wins on courts two and three.
 
Junior Duarte Vale and Josh Goodger brought in the first doubles win for the Gators on court three, coming away with a 6-3 decision over Texas' Chih Chi Huang and Cleeve Harper to give UF a slight advantage early on. However, the win didn't guarantee certainty in the doubles point, as the duos of Johannes Ingildsen/Will Grant and Sam Riffice/Oliver Crawford saw themselves in tight matches that could go either way.
 
Tied at 4-4 on court two, Texas' Eliot Spizzirri and Jacob Bullard would take the next game to hold a 4-5 lead before Ingildsen and Grant went on to rally three straight games to clinch the doubles point, 7-5, in front of a fired-up Gators crowd. Prior to the doubles clincher, No. 14 Riffice and Crawford exchanged games back and forth with Texas' No. 4 Yuya Ito and Christian Sigsgaard over on court one, managing to eventually grind out a 6-5 lead just before Ingildsen and Grant would go on to pick up their win on court two to shift gears to singles.
 
The Gators brought their momentum over from doubles into singles, seeing three first-set wins to start before Texas surged in collecting wins on courts two and three to claim a 2-1 lead early on.
 
No. 17 Vale opened with a relentless start against No. 53 Siem Woldeab on court three, jumping out to a 5-1 lead over the Longhorns' first-year. However, Woldeab would gain a remarkable second wind in going on to take 12 of the next 13 games over Vale, securing a gutsy 7-5, 6-1 comeback to put Texas on the board and knot the match at 1-1.
 
No. 4 Sam Riffice would square off with No. 13 Christian Sigsgaard in No. 2 singles, as Sigsgaard opened with a 6-1 decision in the first set. Riffice then began to find his rhythm, climbing back from a 3-1 deficit to knot the second set at 3-3, though, Sigsgaard would ultimately prevail over the sophomore in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, to give the Longhorns the lead at 2-1.
 
With several courts facing pivotal points in their respective matches, the Longhorns would eventually manage to take No. 5 singles as No. 71 Lukas Greif battled with Chih Chi Huang, holding the lead throughout a majority of the first set, though, Huang would prevail, 7-5, in the first before using his momentum to earn a 7-5, 6-3 win in pushing the lead to 3-1.  
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Freshman Blaise Bicknell was the lone Gator to corral a singles win on the evening, doing so in comeback fashion in No. 6 singles to claim his third consecutive singles victory this year over Texas' Cleeve Harper. Bicknell fell victim to a 5-0 deficit prior to rattling off seven straight games and taking the first set, 7-5, to get the Gators faithful on their feet and engaged. It was all Bicknell the rest of the way, as the Gators' crowd managed to fuel the first-year to a 7-5, 6-2 win. 

 
With the score at 3-2, Oliver Crawford and Andy Andrade were the remaining the two Gators left in action on courts one and four respectively, fighting to keep the Gators' hopes alive.
 
No. 31 Oliver Crawford and No. 2 Ito put on a show on court one in a matchup between what many consider to be college tennis' most highly-regarded players. Crawford would take the first set over Ito, 6-3, before Ito would come back strong with a 6-1 decision in the second. Meanwhile, Andrade took the first set over Spizzirri on court four, 6-4, prior to falling in a second-set tiebreak, 6-7 (4).
 
By the end of Bicknell's match on court six, Crawford and Ito exchanged game-for-game before Ito would manage to earn the break and push a 5-3 lead. A resilient Crawford answered by taking the next game, however, Ito would go on to come away with the 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win as the Longhorns stormed the court to celebrate the clinched victory. Despite the 4-2 clinch, Andrade and Spizzirri would finish out their match, as Spizzirri ultimately came away with a 6-2 decision in the third to finish the match at 5-2.
 
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Bryan Shelton
On bouncing back and moving forward from loss…
"We just talk about the things we need to talk about so that we make sure that we learn. The guys that played the matches that didn't come through or didn't have their play as where they wanted to be. Those guys have to learn from it and figure out what they need to do differently next time so you look forward to that next opportunity that you have when you're up 5-2, or up 5-3, or up 4-2 and you have a different mindset."
 
On Blaise Bicknell's resiliency in No. 6 singles…
"He's a young buck, but he's a gamer. Just really proud that he didn't back off, going down 5-0. Even when he won that first game, he gives the fist pump and finally gets on the board but who would've thought he was going to reel off seven in a row to win that first set. That's a confidence booster for him for sure. He's got a lot of game and he does so many explosive things out there on the court that not a lot of people can do, so I think the future's bright for him."
 
Freshman Blaise Bicknell
On overcoming first-set deficit…
"I was down 5-0. I mean, I had a tough start and lost a couple of close points. I didn't think I was playing badly, so I talked to my coach and kept the same game plan I knew and stayed focus and knew it would go my way and it paid off. I played with the crowd and they were great today. It really got me going and it came out my way."
 
On his mindset throughout the comeback…
"I just had to believe in myself and believe in my skills. I know I have all the talent. I know I have all the support. I've worked hard for this and I just need to get locked in and take some deep breaths. Maybe sing a song in my head."
 
On fan environment throughout the match…
"It was incredible. It was all new to me. I've never felt like this before. Never played a tennis match with an atmosphere like that in my life, so that felt really good."
 
 
#2 Texas 5, #1 University of Florida 2
 
Singles competition – 3,2,5,6,1,4 (Order of finish)
1. #2 Yuya Ito (UT) def. #31 Oliver Crawford (UF) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
2. #13 Christian Sigsgaard (UT) def. #4 Sam Riffice (UF) 6-1, 6-4
3. Siem Woldeab (UT) def. #17 Duarte Vale (UF) 7-5, 6-1
4. Eliot Spizzirri (UT) def. #72 Andy Andrade (UF) 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
5. Chih Chi Huang (UT) def. #71 Lukas Greif (UF) 7-5, 6-3
6. #118 Blaise Bicknell (UF) def. Cleeve Harper (UT) 7-5, 6-2
 
Doubles competition – 3,2 (Order of finish)
1. #14 Sam Riffice/Oliver Crawford (UF) vs. #4 Yuya Ito/Christian Sigsgaard (UT) 6-5, unfinished
2. Johannes Ingildsen/Will Grant (UF) def. Eliot Spizzirri/Jacob Bullard (UT) 7-5
3. Duarte Vale/Josh Goodger (UF) def. Chih Chi Huang/Cleeve Harper (UT) 6-3
 
UP NEXT:

• The Gators return back to the Alfred A. Ring Complex for a pair of doubleheaders against UCF and Stetson on Sunday, Jan. 19, slated for 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. respectively.