
Gators Fall in Heartbreaker Against No. 5 TCU
Friday, January 14, 2022 | Men's Tennis
FORT WORTH, Texas – The No. 1 Florida Gators' first dual matchup of the season came down to the wire as No. 5 TCU won 4-3 in an almost four-hour fight on Friday night at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
TCU had a 3-0 lead, until the Gators clawed their way back to tie it all at 3-3. The Horned Frogs went up early after claiming the doubles point, winning two of three doubles matches.
The Gators claimed the first match on court three when the No. 51 pairing of Andy Andrade and Mattias Siimar put together a bagel to defeat TCU's Juan Carlos Aguilar and Tim Ruehl, 6-0.
Abedallah Shelbayh and Duarte Vale dropped their match to Sander Jong and Lui Maxted, 3-6, on court two as TCU would tie the doubles matches at 1-all. The Horned Frogs clinched the doubles point when Jake Fearnley and Luc Fomba defeated Sam Riffice and Ben Shelton, 6-4, on court one.
It all came down to singles for the Gators.
After going down 3-0 early to TCU with losses on courts one and two, the Gators battled back with three-straight singles victories in exciting fashion.
It started at court four when No. 107 Andrade beat TCU's Tomas Jirousek in three sets. Andrade lost the first set 2-6, but came back and reversed the score to claim the second set, 6-2. It came down to a tiebreak in the third set as the senior pulled out a 7-6 win to give Florida its first point of the match. This marked his second victory of the night after winning at three doubles with Siimar.
Just minutes after Andrade won his match, Gators captain Vale delivered a win on court three with a three-set victory over Jong. Vale claimed the first set with a 6-4 score, but lost in a 6-7 tiebreak in the second set. The Gator and Horned Frog went back and forth before Vale won, 7-5, in the third set to bring Florida within one, 3-2. With this win, Vale now ranks tied for 10th all time in career overall wins with 174 (95 singles, 79 doubles).
No. 61 Siimar, who already collected a win in doubles, posted his second victory of the night after downing No. 33 Lui Maxted in straight-sets, 6-3, 6-4. Siimar was the only Gator of the night to win his singles match in two sets and tied the score at 3-all.
All eyes were on court six as No. 111 Josh Goodger would face No. 76 Fearnley with a 3-3 tie. The Gator went back-and-forth with Fearnley in the first set, but dropped it in a tiebreak, 6-7. Goodger fought hard in set two, but fell in a heartbreaker, 6-7, 4-6.
The Gators look to bounce back against No. 3 Texas on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Austin.
SINGLES RESULTS
1. #68 Luc Fomba (TCU) def. Sam Riffice (UF), 7-5, 6-3
2. #19 Juan Carlos Aguilar (TCU) def. #2 Ben Shelton (UF), 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
3. Duarte Vale (UF) def. Sander Jong (TCU), 6-4, 6-7, 7-5
4. #107 Andy Andrade (UF) def. Tomas Jirousek (TCU), 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
5. #61 Mattias Siimar (UF) def. #33 Lui Maxted (TCU), 6-3, 6-4
6. #76 Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. #111 Josh Goodger (UF), 7-6, 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 6
DOUBLES RESULTS
1. Jake Fearnley/Luc Fomba (TCU) def. Sam Riffice/Ben Shelton (UF), 6-4
2. Sander Jong/Lui Maxted (TCU) def. Duarte Vale/Abedallah Shelbayh (UF), 6-3
3. #51 Mattias Siimar/Andy Andrade (UF) def. Juan Carlos Aguilar/Tim Ruehl (TCU), 6-0
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
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TCU had a 3-0 lead, until the Gators clawed their way back to tie it all at 3-3. The Horned Frogs went up early after claiming the doubles point, winning two of three doubles matches.
The Gators claimed the first match on court three when the No. 51 pairing of Andy Andrade and Mattias Siimar put together a bagel to defeat TCU's Juan Carlos Aguilar and Tim Ruehl, 6-0.
Abedallah Shelbayh and Duarte Vale dropped their match to Sander Jong and Lui Maxted, 3-6, on court two as TCU would tie the doubles matches at 1-all. The Horned Frogs clinched the doubles point when Jake Fearnley and Luc Fomba defeated Sam Riffice and Ben Shelton, 6-4, on court one.
It all came down to singles for the Gators.
After going down 3-0 early to TCU with losses on courts one and two, the Gators battled back with three-straight singles victories in exciting fashion.
It started at court four when No. 107 Andrade beat TCU's Tomas Jirousek in three sets. Andrade lost the first set 2-6, but came back and reversed the score to claim the second set, 6-2. It came down to a tiebreak in the third set as the senior pulled out a 7-6 win to give Florida its first point of the match. This marked his second victory of the night after winning at three doubles with Siimar.
Just minutes after Andrade won his match, Gators captain Vale delivered a win on court three with a three-set victory over Jong. Vale claimed the first set with a 6-4 score, but lost in a 6-7 tiebreak in the second set. The Gator and Horned Frog went back and forth before Vale won, 7-5, in the third set to bring Florida within one, 3-2. With this win, Vale now ranks tied for 10th all time in career overall wins with 174 (95 singles, 79 doubles).
No. 61 Siimar, who already collected a win in doubles, posted his second victory of the night after downing No. 33 Lui Maxted in straight-sets, 6-3, 6-4. Siimar was the only Gator of the night to win his singles match in two sets and tied the score at 3-all.
All eyes were on court six as No. 111 Josh Goodger would face No. 76 Fearnley with a 3-3 tie. The Gator went back-and-forth with Fearnley in the first set, but dropped it in a tiebreak, 6-7. Goodger fought hard in set two, but fell in a heartbreaker, 6-7, 4-6.
The Gators look to bounce back against No. 3 Texas on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Austin.
SINGLES RESULTS
1. #68 Luc Fomba (TCU) def. Sam Riffice (UF), 7-5, 6-3
2. #19 Juan Carlos Aguilar (TCU) def. #2 Ben Shelton (UF), 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
3. Duarte Vale (UF) def. Sander Jong (TCU), 6-4, 6-7, 7-5
4. #107 Andy Andrade (UF) def. Tomas Jirousek (TCU), 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
5. #61 Mattias Siimar (UF) def. #33 Lui Maxted (TCU), 6-3, 6-4
6. #76 Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. #111 Josh Goodger (UF), 7-6, 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 6
DOUBLES RESULTS
1. Jake Fearnley/Luc Fomba (TCU) def. Sam Riffice/Ben Shelton (UF), 6-4
2. Sander Jong/Lui Maxted (TCU) def. Duarte Vale/Abedallah Shelbayh (UF), 6-3
3. #51 Mattias Siimar/Andy Andrade (UF) def. Juan Carlos Aguilar/Tim Ruehl (TCU), 6-0
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
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Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2,1
Order of Finish:
1,2,4,3,5,6
Players Mentioned
One-on-One with Coach Steinberg 3-7-24
Thursday, March 07
Bryan Shelton Postmatch 2-2-23
Saturday, February 04
Jonah Braswell Postmatch 2-2-23
Saturday, February 04
NCAA: Men's Tennis Postmatch 5-13-22
Friday, May 13