Friday, April 1
Gainesville, Fla.
5 PM
Florida Gators
7
vs
0
LSU
Siimar Collects 100th Career Doubles Win in Gators' Sweep of the Tigers
Friday, April 1, 2022 | Men's Tennis
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Graduate Mattias Siimar reached a historic milestone in his tennis career as he picked up his 100th career doubles win on Friday afternoon in the No. 1 Florida Gators' victory against the No. 38 LSU Tigers, 7-0, at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
The Gators (16-2, 8-0 SEC) started off the match strong against the Tigers (13-7, 3-5 SEC) after winning their 11th doubles point in a row, bringing their total to 14 matches on the year where they've held the doubles advantage.
At No. 3 doubles, the duo of Nate Bonetto and Duarte Vale were down 0-2 early in their match against Ben Koch and Vlad Lobak. The Florida pair battled back to tie the match at 3-3, before winning the next three games for a 6-3 victory.
With the advantage in doubles, the Gators were ahead on the remaining two courts. The No. 27 tandem of Andy Andrade and Siimar went up 4-1 in their match at court two and never looked back. The pairing would clinch the doubles point with a 6-3 victory over Boris Kozlov and Nick Watson, and as a result, Siimar would collect his 100th career doubles win.
Over at court one, the No. 11 pairing of Sam Riffice and Ben Shelton were up on Gabriel Diaz Freire and Kent Hunter, 5-4, when Florida won the point.
Heading into singles with a 1-0 advantage, the Gators only needed three wins to clinch the match… And they got six.
Freshman Abedallah Shelbayh made his fifth appearance at the No. 6 spot and made quick work of his opponent, Koch. The Jordan native put up a bagel in his first set, 6-0. Down 0-2 in the second set, the Gator won six games in a row to seal the deal with a 6-0, 6-2 victory. Shelbayh moves to a perfect 5-0 at court six and is 3-0 in SEC play.
Following Shelbayh was No. 93 Andrade at court four with a dominant win over Joao Graca. The senior won his match in straight-sets, putting up a bagel in the first set, 6-0, and winning the match with a 6-3 second set. This marks Andrade's 128th career singles win, while he also has 21 total singles wins on the year and 13 at court four.
Clinching the match for the fourth time this season was No. 98 Vale at court three. Taking on Diaz Freire, the senior captain posted a straight-set win by a score of 6-4, 6-1, for his 11th total singles win of the season and fifth in conference play.
The next point on the board was courtesy of No. 1 Shelton. Facing Lobak at court one, the sophomore tallied his 11th straight singles win with a 6-3, 7-5 victory. He remains unbeaten at the No. 1 spot with a 9-0 record, while picking up his 15th dual match win of the season.
No. 26-ranked Riffice showed his resiliency on court two. After dropping his first set, 5-7, to Hunter, the senior kept his composure to force a super tiebreak with a 6-3 second set. In the breaker, Riffice was on a roll, only allowing Hunter to win three points for a 10-3 score. This victory gives him nine in a row as he is 9-0 at No. 2 singles and 8-0 in SEC play.
Another battle ensued at court five where No. 120 Josh Goodger was taking on Kozlov. Goodger would fall in the first set, 5-7, but just like Riffice, he rallied back to force a super tiebreak. After winning his second set by a 6-4 score, Goodger was on fire in the breaker as he defeated the Tiger by a 5-7, 6-4, 10-5 score for his sixth dual-match win of the season.
With this victory, the Gators have now swept four SEC opponents, and seven total, en route to a perfect 8-0 conference record.
UP NEXT: The Gators welcome the No. 41 Vanderbilt Commodores to Gainesville on Sunday, April 3 at 1 p.m. for their next conference matchup.
SINGLES RESULTS
1. #1 Ben Shelton (UF) def. Vlad Lobak (LSU), 6-3, 7-5
2. #26 Sam Riffice (UF) def. Kent Hunter (LSU), 5-7, 6-3, 10-3
3. #98 Duarte Vale (UF) def. Gabriel Diaz Freire (LSU), 6-4, 6-1
4. #93 Andy Andrade (UF) def. Joao Graca (LSU), 6-0, 6-3
5. #120 Josh Goodger (UF) def. Boris Kozlov (LSU), 5-7, 6-4, 10-5
6. Abedallah Shelbayh (UF) def. Ben Koch (LSU), 6-0, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6, 4, 3, 1, 2, 5
DOUBLES RESULTS
1. #11 Sam Riffice/Ben Shelton (UF) vs. Gabriel Diaz Freire/Kent Hunter (LSU), 5-4, unfinished
2. #27 Andy Andrade/Mattias Siimar (UF) def. Boris Kozlov/Nick Watson (LSU), 6-3
3. Nate Bonetto/Duarte Vale (UF) def. Ben Koch/Vlad Lobak (LSU), 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 2
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The Gators (16-2, 8-0 SEC) started off the match strong against the Tigers (13-7, 3-5 SEC) after winning their 11th doubles point in a row, bringing their total to 14 matches on the year where they've held the doubles advantage.
At No. 3 doubles, the duo of Nate Bonetto and Duarte Vale were down 0-2 early in their match against Ben Koch and Vlad Lobak. The Florida pair battled back to tie the match at 3-3, before winning the next three games for a 6-3 victory.
With the advantage in doubles, the Gators were ahead on the remaining two courts. The No. 27 tandem of Andy Andrade and Siimar went up 4-1 in their match at court two and never looked back. The pairing would clinch the doubles point with a 6-3 victory over Boris Kozlov and Nick Watson, and as a result, Siimar would collect his 100th career doubles win.
Over at court one, the No. 11 pairing of Sam Riffice and Ben Shelton were up on Gabriel Diaz Freire and Kent Hunter, 5-4, when Florida won the point.
Heading into singles with a 1-0 advantage, the Gators only needed three wins to clinch the match… And they got six.
Freshman Abedallah Shelbayh made his fifth appearance at the No. 6 spot and made quick work of his opponent, Koch. The Jordan native put up a bagel in his first set, 6-0. Down 0-2 in the second set, the Gator won six games in a row to seal the deal with a 6-0, 6-2 victory. Shelbayh moves to a perfect 5-0 at court six and is 3-0 in SEC play.
Following Shelbayh was No. 93 Andrade at court four with a dominant win over Joao Graca. The senior won his match in straight-sets, putting up a bagel in the first set, 6-0, and winning the match with a 6-3 second set. This marks Andrade's 128th career singles win, while he also has 21 total singles wins on the year and 13 at court four.
Clinching the match for the fourth time this season was No. 98 Vale at court three. Taking on Diaz Freire, the senior captain posted a straight-set win by a score of 6-4, 6-1, for his 11th total singles win of the season and fifth in conference play.
The next point on the board was courtesy of No. 1 Shelton. Facing Lobak at court one, the sophomore tallied his 11th straight singles win with a 6-3, 7-5 victory. He remains unbeaten at the No. 1 spot with a 9-0 record, while picking up his 15th dual match win of the season.
No. 26-ranked Riffice showed his resiliency on court two. After dropping his first set, 5-7, to Hunter, the senior kept his composure to force a super tiebreak with a 6-3 second set. In the breaker, Riffice was on a roll, only allowing Hunter to win three points for a 10-3 score. This victory gives him nine in a row as he is 9-0 at No. 2 singles and 8-0 in SEC play.
Another battle ensued at court five where No. 120 Josh Goodger was taking on Kozlov. Goodger would fall in the first set, 5-7, but just like Riffice, he rallied back to force a super tiebreak. After winning his second set by a 6-4 score, Goodger was on fire in the breaker as he defeated the Tiger by a 5-7, 6-4, 10-5 score for his sixth dual-match win of the season.
With this victory, the Gators have now swept four SEC opponents, and seven total, en route to a perfect 8-0 conference record.
UP NEXT: The Gators welcome the No. 41 Vanderbilt Commodores to Gainesville on Sunday, April 3 at 1 p.m. for their next conference matchup.
SINGLES RESULTS
1. #1 Ben Shelton (UF) def. Vlad Lobak (LSU), 6-3, 7-5
2. #26 Sam Riffice (UF) def. Kent Hunter (LSU), 5-7, 6-3, 10-3
3. #98 Duarte Vale (UF) def. Gabriel Diaz Freire (LSU), 6-4, 6-1
4. #93 Andy Andrade (UF) def. Joao Graca (LSU), 6-0, 6-3
5. #120 Josh Goodger (UF) def. Boris Kozlov (LSU), 5-7, 6-4, 10-5
6. Abedallah Shelbayh (UF) def. Ben Koch (LSU), 6-0, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6, 4, 3, 1, 2, 5
DOUBLES RESULTS
1. #11 Sam Riffice/Ben Shelton (UF) vs. Gabriel Diaz Freire/Kent Hunter (LSU), 5-4, unfinished
2. #27 Andy Andrade/Mattias Siimar (UF) def. Boris Kozlov/Nick Watson (LSU), 6-3
3. Nate Bonetto/Duarte Vale (UF) def. Ben Koch/Vlad Lobak (LSU), 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 2
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Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2
#1 Singles Match
12
Vlad Lobak / 0 [LSU]
35
67
#2 Singles Match
123
Kent Hunter / 0 [LSU]
730
561
#3 Singles Match
12
Gabriel Diaz Freire / 0 [LSU]
41
66
#4 Singles Match
12
Joao Graca / 0 [LSU]
03
66
#5 Singles Match
123
Boris Kozlov / 0 [LSU]
740
561
#6 Singles Match
12
Ben Koch / 0 [LSU]
02
66
Order of Finish:
6,4,3,1,2,5
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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