CHICAGO – The No. 16 Florida men's tennis team battled the whole way with No. 2 Kentucky, but fell short 4-1 in the first round of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship on Friday afternoon at the XS Tennis Village.
 
Doubles play was as tight as it gets with the Gators and Wildcats finding themselves at a 1-1 crossroads for the first point. Will Grant/Axel Nefve jumped out to the first victory, 6-4, over Alafia Ayeni/Taha Baadi and converted an early break to go up 2-1 to help distance themselves. Yet, Florida (4-4, 0-0 SEC) was unable to notch their seventh consecutive doubles point and Kentucky (11-0, 0-0 SEC) earned the 1-0 lead.
 
With five ranked singles players for Kentucky, Florida knew they were in for a fight against the SEC-rival. The Wildcats quickly extended their lead to 3-0 on courts one and three. No. 45 Liam Draxl beat Nefve, 6-0, 6-0 on court one and No. 16 Joshua Lapadat took down No. 48 Jonah Braswell, 6-4, 6-1.
 
While picking up first set wins on court two by No. 94 Grant over No. 66 Ayeni and on court four by No. 95 Nate Bonetto over No. 115 Baadi, Togan Tokac and Lukas Greif were neck and neck with their Wildcats opponents on court five and six.
 
Despite dropping the first set 6-4, the freshman Tokac never wavered against fellow freshman Jaden Weekes. The native of Turkey was tied at 2-2 in the second frame and rattled off four straight games for the 6-2 second set equalizer. Forcing a third set decider, Tokac kept the momentum and led 3-0 before blowing by Weekes 6-3 for his second win at the five singles position.
 
As Kentucky managed to force third sets against both Grant and Bonetto, No. 57 Charlelie Cosnet put a stop to the Gators comeback attempt on court six with a straight set win over Greif, 7-6 (4), 6-3.
 
Florida will next face No. 12 North Carolina tomorrow in a consolation match at 12 p.m. CT / 1 p.m. ET.
 
DOUBLES RESULTS
1. Will Grant/Axel Nefve (UF) def. Alafia Ayeni/Taha Baadi (UK), 6-4
2. Joshua Lapadat/JJ Mercer (UK) def. No. 15 Tanapatt Nirundorn/Togan Tokac (UF), 6-4
3. Liam Draxl/Jaden Weekes (UK) def. Nate Bonetto/Olek Orlikowski (UF), 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
 
SINGLES RESULTS
1. No. 45 Liam Draxl (UK) def. Axel Nefve (UF), 6-0, 6-0
2. No. 94 Will Grant (UF) vs. No. 66 Alafia Ayeni (UK), 7-6 (3), 6-7 (6), unfinished
3. No. 16 Joshua Lapadat (UK) def. No. 48 Jonah Braswell (UF), 6-4, 6-1
4. No. 95 Nate Bonetto (UF) vs. No. 115 Taha Baadi (UK), 7-5, 4-6, 1-1, unfinished
5. Togan Tokac (UF) def. Jaden Weekes (UK), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
6. No. 57 Charlelie Cosnet (UK) def. Lukas Greif (UF), 7-6 (4), 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 5, 6

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