GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 16 Florida men's tennis team jumped out a 3-1 lead, but were unable to fend off the No. 66 Alabama Crimson Tide falling 4-3 in the SEC home-opener at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex on Sunday afternoon.
 
For the second straight match, Florida (6-7, 1-2 SEC) grabbed ahold of the early advantage with a strong showing in doubles over Alabama (9-7, 1-2 SEC). Leading the charge was No. 18 Will Grant/Axel Nefve from court one, as the Gators pair converted their first break of Enzo Aguiard/Filip Planinsek's serve to go up 2-1 and broke again in their final return game to claim the 6-3 victory.
 
Both Nate Bonetto/Tanapatt Nirundorn and Jonah Braswell/Lukas Greif were locked in at court two and three, respectively, against their Crimson Tide counterparts. In just their third match as a tandem, Bonetto/Nirundorn clinched their second doubles point in a row by snatching the final two games for the 6-4 triumph over German Samofalov/Yair Sarouk. Braswell/Greif were down 5-4 against Joao Ferreira/Matias Ponce De Leon on serve before the match went unfinished.
 
On court two, Alabama earned the first point of singles play to equalize the score at 1-1, as Filip Planinsek took down No. 72 Grant, 6-2, 6-4. Graduate student No. 103 Nefve quickly seized the lead back, 2-1 for the Gators in straights by earning his highest ranked-win of dual play over No. 63 Aguiard. Nefve sped past with a 6-2 opening frame and converted a break for the 4-3 advantage to secure the second set 6-4.
 
Padding the Florida lead to 3-1 was Greif on court six with a fantastic performance against Sarouk in straight sets. The senior won the first three games and cruised to the 6-3 first set, then posted a bagel in the second frame to snap a five-match losing streak.
 
At the third position, the match between No. 119 Bonetto and Ponce De Leon was a back-and-forth affair. After No. 119 Bonetto opened with a solid 6-3 first set, Ponce De Leon would only drop two games in the second to force a third-set decider. Ponce De Leon wouldn't let Bonetto back into the match and failed to drop a game in the third for the victory.
 
Tying the match at three apiece was Samofalov, despite a triumphant effort by No. 79 Braswell on court four. After dropping the first frame 6-3, Braswell gave Samofalov all he could handle in the second set. The freshman forced a tiebreak by converting a break point down 6-5 and initially trailed 4-2 in the breaker. After winning four straight points, Braswell had three set points, but was unable to capitalize. Samofalov won the final two points in the 20-point breaker for the 11-9 win.
 
Everyone in The Ring turned their attention to court five as Olek Orlikowski found himself in a 5-3 hole in the third set against Roan Jones. Orlikowski was spectacular in the first set, as the freshman failed to lose a return game and grasped the opener 6-1. With a 4-1 advantage in the second, Jones was able to rally back to force a breaker and took it 7-6 (3). Down 5-3 in the deciding set, the native of Poland won three straight games to put the pressure back on Jones. Facing two match points, Jones saved both and sent the match to a tiebreak to decide the overall outcome. Unfortunately, Jones retained the momentum and won the breaker 7-2, and completed the comeback victory for Alabama.
 
Florida hits the road Thursday, March 16 for a match with Ole Miss at 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT.
 
DOUBLES RESULTS
1. No. 18 Will Grant/Axel Nefve (UF) def. Enzo Aguiard/Filip Planinsek (UA), 6-3
2. Nate Bonetto/Tanapatt Nirundorn (UF) def. German Samofalov/Yair Sarouk (UA), 6-4
3. Jonah Braswell/Lukas Greif (UF) vs Joao Ferreira/Matias Ponce De Leon (UA), 4-5, unfinished
Order of Finish: 1, 2
 
SINGLES RESULTS
1. No. 103 Axel Nefve (UF) def. No. 63 Enzo Aguiard (UA), 6-2, 6-4
2. Filip Planinsek (UA) def. No. 72 Will Grant (UF), 6-4, 6-2
3. Matias Ponce De Leon (UA) def. No. 119 Nate Bonetto (UF), 3-6, 6-2, 6-0
4. German Samofalov (UA) def. No. 79 Jonah Braswell (UF), 6-3, 7-6 (9)
5. Roan Jones (UA) def. Olek Orlikowski (UF), 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2)
6. Lukas Greif (UF) def. Yair Sarouk (UA), 6-3, 6-0
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 6, 3, 4, 5

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