GAINESVILLE, Fla. – With a 4-2 victory over SEC-foe Mississippi State (5-1) in the championship match of the ITA Kickoff at the Florida Regional, the No. 16 Gators (3-1) have punched their ticket and qualified for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Chicago on Saturday afternoon at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
 
The win marked head coach Bryan Shelton's 200^th at Florida, as Shelton became the third head coach in program history to win 200 matches joining Ian Duvenhage (221) and Andy Jackson (209). Additionally, Shelton had the highest winning percentage (.741) at 200 wins and was the fastest of the three coaches to 200 wins (270) in program history.
 
Initially, the doubles point appeared it could go either direction, except the Gators came out on top thanks to tremendous, clutch play at court two and three. No. 10 Tanapatt Nirundorn/Togan Tokac were down a break 1-2, but returned with a break of their own to even the score. The freshman pair converted another break point to distance the score at 4-2 and cruised to a 6-3 victory on court two against Ewen Lumsden/Michal Novansky.
 
No. 43 Jonah Braswell/Lukas Greif worked a massive break point to go up 6-5 and put the ball in the hands of Greif to serve out the set and clinch the doubles point. The senior, Greif, showed his experience and brought home the doubles point, 7-5, over Peter Jovanovic/Gregor Ramskogler to seal a 1-0 advantage for Florida. In both ITA Kickoff matches, the doubles point was clinched by No. 43 Braswell/Greif on court three.
 
Axel Nefve provided a quick 2-0 lead with an efficient straight-set win at court one over Nemanja Malesevic, 6-0, 6-3. The graduate student collected a bagel in the first set in both of his matches at ITA Kickoff and grabbed the final four games in the second set after being down 3-2.
 
Mississippi State was able to tie up the match at two apiece by grabbing wins on court two and three. With Braswell, Greif and Tokac remaining, this put pressure on courts four, five and six for the Gators to pull out the win, needing two of three to secure a victory.
 
Tokac proved he was ready for the moment, as the freshman battled in his three-set match with Ramskogler on court six. The native of Turkey blew by Ramskogler in the first set tiebreak, 7-6 (1), but fell 6-0 in the second frame. Finding his footing again in the third, Tokac responded with a dominant 6-2 effort after initially leading 4-0 to put the Gators ahead 3-2 over Mississippi State.
 
All the Gators needed was one more win and as Braswell fought to send his second set against Lumsden to a tiebreak, Greif took matters into his own hands for the second straight match. After winning the first set 6-4 against Benito Sanchez Martinez, the senior was down 5-3 in the second and won three straight games to take the lead 6-5. Martinez forced a tiebreak after converting a break on Greif's serve, yet Greif dialed in and won the first five points of the tiebreak. The Newburgh, Ind. clinched the win for the Gators by finishing the tiebreak and third set, 7-6 (1).
 
Now, Florida advances to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Chicago on Feb. 17-20.
 
The Gators turn their sights to a match with in-state rival, Florida State, Thursday, Feb. 2 at 5:30 p.m. as the two teams will compete in College MatchDay at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Fla.
 
QUOTES FROM THE COURT
Head Coach Bryan Shelton
On what it means to win 200 matches at Florida…
"Just really proud of our guys. It always comes back to the players. It's great to be a part of this type of program where we have so many people invested in the success of our program and I think those 200 wins are a result of just so many people putting their hearts into what we do. The players that have come in here have really applied the lessons they are learning and just competing with passion and pride. Just representing Gator Nation the way it should be. This is a special, special place. It's just nice to be around people who really appreciate that and go above and beyond for us to do things that we do. Very fortunate and blessed to be in this position and for the last 11 years to be a part of such a rich tradition of excellence."
 
Associate Head Coach Mat Cloer
On the team's resilience against a tough Mississippi State team…
"Mississippi State is a good team. They really came ready to battle and our guys had to step up to the challenge. Really just proud of the guys for a whole team effort today. One through six on the courts. A huge credit to the guys who weren't in the lineup today, they always help keep the guys positive. It was a great team effort and we stayed tough in big moments."
 
On Lukas Greif's performance…
"I think Lukas is showing his poise and veteran leadership down there at five. Really just building his confidence during the last two wins and he has worked so hard. Just really proud of him to be able to step up and play really well the last few days."
 
DOUBLES RESULTS
1. Will Grant/Axel Nefve (UF) vs. No. 42 Carles Hernandez/Nemanja Malesevic (MSU), 6-6 (2-4), unfinished
2. No. 10 Tanapatt Nirundorn/Togan Tokac (UF) def. Ewen Lumsden/Michal Novansky (MSU), 6-3
3. No. 43 Jonah Braswell/Lukas Greif (UF) def. Petar Jovanovic/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU), 7-5
Order of Finish: 2, 3
 
SINGLES RESULTS
1. Axel Nefve (UF) def. Nemanja Malesevic (MSU), 6-0, 6-3
2. No. 107 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) def. Will Grant (UF), 6-3, 6-4
3. Carles Hernandez (MSU) def. No. 51 Nate Bonetto (UF), 7-5, 6-2
4. No. 93 Jonah Braswell (UF) vs. Ewen Lumsden (MSU), 4-6, 6-6 (4-3), unfinished
5. Lukas Greif (UF) def. Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU), 6-4, 7-6 (1)
6. Togan Tokac (UF) vs. Gregor Ramskogler (MSU), 7-6 (1), 0-6, 6-2
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3, 6, 5

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