GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A solid 4-1 victory for the No. 16 Florida men's tennis team (2-1) over USF (3-4) Friday afternoon at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex advanced the Gators to Saturday's ITA Kickoff championship match against SEC-foe Mississippi State.
 
The Orange & Blue jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to a strong showing on court one and three. On court one, Will Grant/Axel Nefve worked a 3-0 lead as the pair converted a break point on Erik Grevelius/Davide Tortora's first service game. Grant/Nefve cruised to the 6-3 win, their first dual doubles win of the season, and moved the Gators within one match away of the doubles point.
 
Due to No. 10 Tanapatt Nirundorn/Togan Tokac going down 6-3 to Bruno Oliveira/Thomas Pavlekovich-Smith, No. 43 Jonah Braswell/Lukas Greif needed to come through on court three. The Gators duo rose to the occasion and converted on two break points to secure the doubles point, 6-4, over Sam Frizelle/Alvin Tudorica.
 
In singles play, all three Gators wins came in straight sets on court six, four and five, respectively. Tokac was the first Gator to tack on a point, as the freshman cruised by Pavlekovich-Smith, 6-3, 6-0. After playing the first two dual matches of the season at court five, the win marked the native of Turkey's first at court six and improved to 2-1 in dual play.
 
Fellow freshman No. 93 Braswell continued his winning ways in his first match at court four. Braswell only dropped three games in the 6-2, 6-1 victory over Oliveira. The Sarasota, Fla. native holds a 18-3 record in singles this season and is 3-0 in dual matches.
 
Greif clinched his sixth match of his Florida career and first of the 2023 season with an overpowering defeat of Elijah Cham, 6-4, 6-2. The senior improved to 15-2 on court five in dual singles play and 28-8 overall in his career as a Gator.
 
Florida faces Mississippi State Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET at Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex. The winner of that match qualifies for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, set for Feb. 17-20 in Chicago, Ill.
 
DOUBLES RESULTS
1. Will Grant/Axel Nefve (UF) def. Erik Grevelius/Davide Tortora (USF), 6-3
2. Bruno Oliveira/Thomas Pavlekovich-Smith (USF) def. No. 10 Tanapatt Nirundorn/Togan Tokac (UF), 3-6
3. No. 43 Jonah Braswell/Lukas Greif (UF) def. Sam Frizelle/Alvin Tudorica (USF), 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
 
SINGLES RESULTS
1. Axel Nefve (UF) vs. No. 69 Davide Tortora (USF), 6-0, 6-6 (8-8), unfinished
2. Will Grant (UF) vs. Erik Grevelius (USF), 3-6, 6-3, 3-1, unfinished
3. No. 67 Alvin Tudorica (USF) def. No. 51 Nate Bonetto (UF), 6-2, 6-3
4. No. 93 Jonah Braswell (UF) def. Bruno Oliveira (USF), 6-2, 6-1
5. Lukas Greif (UF) def. Elijah Cham (USF), 6-4, 6-2
6. Togan Tokac (UF) def. Thomas Pavlekovich-Smith (USF), 6-3, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 3, 4, 5

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