Friday, April 8
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
7 PM
Florida Gators
5
at
2
Alabama
Florida Wins 13th-Straight Match, Defeats Alabama in Tuscaloosa
Friday, April 8, 2022 | Men's Tennis
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – For the 13th time in a row, the No. 3 Florida Gators won their match as they defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide by a score of 5-2 on Friday night at the Alabama Tennis Stadium.
The Gators (18-2, 10-0 SEC) reigned supreme in doubles once again as they collected their 13th-straight doubles point, this time against the Crimson Tide (7-17, 0-9 SEC).
The No. 22 pairing of Sam Riffice and Ben Shelton would take the first doubles match of the night with a 6-4 win against Filip Planinsek and Patrick Kaukovalta at court one. Alabama would even the score with a 6-4 win at court three, turning all eyes to a back-and-forth match at two doubles.
No. 25 Andy Andrade and Mattias Siimar were in a battle with Enzo Aguiard and Juan Martin on court two. The Gators went down early with a 1-2 deficit, before coming back to retake the lead at 3-2. The Tide duo would win three of the next four games for a 5-4 advantage.
The Florida tandem showed why they are ranked in the top 25 as they were able to win the next game and tie it at 5-all. Alabama would go up 6-5, but the Gators came back to force a tiebreaker as they never gave up a point in the next game to tie it at 6-6. The Crimson Tide pair started the breaker off holding a 6-3 advantage, only needing one point to win the match and doubles point.
But that wouldn't happen. Andrade and Siimar won five consecutive points to win the match by a 7-6 (6) score. With this win, the Gators duo moves to a perfect 9-0 in conference play and have also clinched three doubles points in a row.
Florida continued its dominant play to singles as the team won four of six matches.
The first off the court was No. 117 Josh Goodger, who defeated Joao Ferriera in straight-sets, 6-1, 7-6 (4), to collect his 97th career singles victory. This win pushes his dual-match record to 8-2, while he is 6-1 at the No. 5 singles position.
Winning his 11th singles match in a row was No. 22 Riffice against Aguiard at court two. Riffice won his first set by a decisive 6-2 score, but went down 3-4 to Aguiard in the second set. The senior captain didn't let up as he won the next three games to stay undefeated in conference play, 10-0, with a 6-2, 6-4 score.
Taking on Samafalov at court four, No. 125 Andrade put up a fight in the first set. After going down 0-3 in set one, the Bradenton, Fla., native would win five games in a row to take a 5-3 lead. Samafalov would come back and tie it at 5-all, but Andrade won the next two games to win his first set by a 7-5 score. The second set would be a lot easier for the senior as he put up a bagel, 6-0, to clinch the match for his 15th dual win of the year.
Putting the Gators' last point on the board was No. 108 Vale at court three. Competing against Kaukovalta, Vale would win his first set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (4), before winning his next set by a 6-3 score. He moves to 7-2 in the SEC, while picking up his 12th dual match win.
Alabama would pick up two points after posting wins on courts one and six, but not before Florida claimed the match, 5-2. With this victory, the Gators are a perfect 10-0 in conference and have an impressive 18 wins on the season.
UP NEXT: The Gators head to Auburn for a matchup against the No. 27-ranked Tigers on Sunday, April 10 at 1 p.m.
SINGLES RESULTS
1. #60 Filip Planinsek (M_UA) def. #1 Ben Shelton (UF), 2-6, 6-1, 6-3
2. #22 Sam Riffice (UF) def. Enzo Aguiard (M_UA), 6-2, 6-4
3. #108 Duarte Vale (UF) def. Patrick Kaukovalta (M_UA), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
4. #125 Andy Andrade (UF) def. German Samofalov (M_UA), 7-5, 6-0
5. #117 Josh Goodger (UF) def. Joao Ferreira (M_UA), 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
6. Zach Foster (M_UA) def. Nate Bonetto (UF), 6-7 (9-11), 6-0, 1-0 (10-6)
Order of Finish: 2, 5, 4, 3, 6, 1
DOUBLES RESULTS
1. #22 Sam Riffice/Ben Shelton (UF) def. Filip Planinsek/Patrick Kaukovalta (M_UA), 6-4
2. #25 Andy Andrade/Mattias Siimar (UF) def. Enzo Aguiard/Juan Martin (M_UA), 7-6 (8-6)
3. German Samofalov/Joao Ferreira (M_UA) def. Duarte Vale/Nate Bonetto (UF), 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
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The Gators (18-2, 10-0 SEC) reigned supreme in doubles once again as they collected their 13th-straight doubles point, this time against the Crimson Tide (7-17, 0-9 SEC).
The No. 22 pairing of Sam Riffice and Ben Shelton would take the first doubles match of the night with a 6-4 win against Filip Planinsek and Patrick Kaukovalta at court one. Alabama would even the score with a 6-4 win at court three, turning all eyes to a back-and-forth match at two doubles.
No. 25 Andy Andrade and Mattias Siimar were in a battle with Enzo Aguiard and Juan Martin on court two. The Gators went down early with a 1-2 deficit, before coming back to retake the lead at 3-2. The Tide duo would win three of the next four games for a 5-4 advantage.
The Florida tandem showed why they are ranked in the top 25 as they were able to win the next game and tie it at 5-all. Alabama would go up 6-5, but the Gators came back to force a tiebreaker as they never gave up a point in the next game to tie it at 6-6. The Crimson Tide pair started the breaker off holding a 6-3 advantage, only needing one point to win the match and doubles point.
But that wouldn't happen. Andrade and Siimar won five consecutive points to win the match by a 7-6 (6) score. With this win, the Gators duo moves to a perfect 9-0 in conference play and have also clinched three doubles points in a row.
Florida continued its dominant play to singles as the team won four of six matches.
The first off the court was No. 117 Josh Goodger, who defeated Joao Ferriera in straight-sets, 6-1, 7-6 (4), to collect his 97th career singles victory. This win pushes his dual-match record to 8-2, while he is 6-1 at the No. 5 singles position.
Winning his 11th singles match in a row was No. 22 Riffice against Aguiard at court two. Riffice won his first set by a decisive 6-2 score, but went down 3-4 to Aguiard in the second set. The senior captain didn't let up as he won the next three games to stay undefeated in conference play, 10-0, with a 6-2, 6-4 score.
Taking on Samafalov at court four, No. 125 Andrade put up a fight in the first set. After going down 0-3 in set one, the Bradenton, Fla., native would win five games in a row to take a 5-3 lead. Samafalov would come back and tie it at 5-all, but Andrade won the next two games to win his first set by a 7-5 score. The second set would be a lot easier for the senior as he put up a bagel, 6-0, to clinch the match for his 15th dual win of the year.
Putting the Gators' last point on the board was No. 108 Vale at court three. Competing against Kaukovalta, Vale would win his first set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (4), before winning his next set by a 6-3 score. He moves to 7-2 in the SEC, while picking up his 12th dual match win.
Alabama would pick up two points after posting wins on courts one and six, but not before Florida claimed the match, 5-2. With this victory, the Gators are a perfect 10-0 in conference and have an impressive 18 wins on the season.
UP NEXT: The Gators head to Auburn for a matchup against the No. 27-ranked Tigers on Sunday, April 10 at 1 p.m.
SINGLES RESULTS
1. #60 Filip Planinsek (M_UA) def. #1 Ben Shelton (UF), 2-6, 6-1, 6-3
2. #22 Sam Riffice (UF) def. Enzo Aguiard (M_UA), 6-2, 6-4
3. #108 Duarte Vale (UF) def. Patrick Kaukovalta (M_UA), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
4. #125 Andy Andrade (UF) def. German Samofalov (M_UA), 7-5, 6-0
5. #117 Josh Goodger (UF) def. Joao Ferreira (M_UA), 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
6. Zach Foster (M_UA) def. Nate Bonetto (UF), 6-7 (9-11), 6-0, 1-0 (10-6)
Order of Finish: 2, 5, 4, 3, 6, 1
DOUBLES RESULTS
1. #22 Sam Riffice/Ben Shelton (UF) def. Filip Planinsek/Patrick Kaukovalta (M_UA), 6-4
2. #25 Andy Andrade/Mattias Siimar (UF) def. Enzo Aguiard/Juan Martin (M_UA), 7-6 (8-6)
3. German Samofalov/Joao Ferreira (M_UA) def. Duarte Vale/Nate Bonetto (UF), 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
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Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3,2
#1 Singles Match
123
613
Filip Planinsek / 0 (60/-) [M_UA]
266
#2 Singles Match
12
66
Enzo Aguiard / 0 [M_UA]
24
#3 Singles Match
12
76
Patrick Kaukovalta / 0 [M_UA]
63
#4 Singles Match
12
76
German Samofalov / 0 [M_UA]
50
#5 Singles Match
12
67
Joao Ferreira / 0 [M_UA]
16
#6 Singles Match
123
700
Zach Foster / 0 [M_UA]
661
Order of Finish:
2,5,4,3,6,1
Players Mentioned
/ 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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