CHICAGO – The No. 16 Florida men's tennis team never trailed against the No. 10 Baylor Bears on the final day of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship and utilized a complete team effort to finish with a 4-2 victory.
 
The win over No. 10 Baylor marked Florida's sixth straight Top-20 matchup and snapped a four-match losing streak. This is the second consecutive year the Gators have played six consecutive Top-20 teams after facing seven Top-15 teams in a row during the 2022 season.
 
Looking to conquer their first doubles point of the weekend, Florida (5-5, SEC 0-0) utilized a dominant effort on court one and a clutch converted break point on court three to claim the early 1-0 advantage over Baylor (5-8, Big 12 0-0). A doubles play masterclass was on display by Will Grant/Axel Nefve on court one as the Florida duo converted all three of their break points to blow by No. 9 Jake Finn Bass/Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi, 6-1. Grant/Nefve won all three of their doubles matches this weekend and improve to 6-2 at the top position.
 
With No. 15 Tanapatt Nirundorn/Togan Tokac dropping their match at court two, the doubles point laid in the hands of No. 52 Jonah Braswell/Lukas Greif on court three. Looking to clinch their sixth doubles point of the season, the Gators pair found themselves in a tight battle with Luc Koenig/Ethan Muza. Both pairs held serve up until 6-5 and Braswell/Greif converted one of three break points when they needed it most to take down the Baylor duo, 7-5.
 
Nefve tacked on the first singles win for the Florida 2-0 advantage at court one with a straight set victory over No. 117 Tadeas Paroulek. Down 4-3 in the first frame, Nefve responded with three straight games to take the first 6-4 and converted two of three break points to secure the second set 6-3. The win was Nefve's second ranked-win of the season.
 
Baylor came back within one by grabbing the victory on court three, but No. 94 Grant answered by closing out a gritty straight set triumph on court two. The junior was tied 5-5 in the first set breaker and held serve twice to snatch the first set 7-6 (5) and converted a break point to complete the victory 7-5 in the second for the third Florida point of the match.
 
Once more, Baylor managed to bring themselves to just a one-point deficit with a win on court five. All eyes went to courts four and six for the remaining points, with both matches locked-in three-set thrillers. Olek Orlikowski would prevail as the freshman was able to fend-off Muza and save seven of nine break points for the first match clincher of his career, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.
 
Florida returns to the court on March 2 at 4 p.m. ET for the SEC-opener on the road at Mississippi State.
 
DOUBLES RESULTS
1. Will Grant/Axel Nefve (UF) def. No. 9 Jake Finn Bass/Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi (BU), 6-1
2. Tadeas Paroulek/Zsombor Velcz (BU) def. No. 15 Tanapatt Nirundorn/Togan Tokac (UF), 6-1
3. No. 52 Jonah Braswell/Lukas Greif (UF) def. Luc Koenig/Ethan Muza (BU), 7-5
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
 
SINGLES RESULTS
1. Axel Nefve (UF) def. No. 117 Tadeas Paroulek (BU), 6-4, 6-3
2. No. 94 Will Grant (UF) def. Marko Miladinovic (BU), 7-6 (5), 7-5
3. Zsombor Velcz (BU) def. No. 48 Jonah Braswell (UF), 6-4, 6-3
4. No. 95 Nate Bonetto (UF) vs Luc Koenig (BU), 7-6 (4), 5-7, 4-3, unfinished
5. No. 125 Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi (BU) def. Togan Tokac (UF), 1-6, 7-5, 6-3
6. Olek Orlikowski (UF) def. Ethan Muza (BU), 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2, 5, 6

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