Sunday, March 26
Gainesville, FL
12 PM
Florida Gators
6
vs
1
Auburn
Nate Bonetto played clincher for the first time this season and won his match in three-sets on court four.
No. 22 Gators Shine in Sunday’s Victory Over No. 18 Auburn
Sunday, March 26, 2023 | Men's Tennis
Florida extended their winning streak to four matches and earned their third top-20 victory of the season.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In Sunday's top-25 matchup at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex, the No. 22 Florida Gators posted their fourth-consecutive victory and breezed by No. 18 Auburn, 6-1, to claim their third top-20 victory of the season.
Despite being down an early break on both courts two and three in doubles, Florida (10-7, 5-2 SEC) fought back to snatch up the doubles point for the 1-0 overall advantage over Auburn (14-7, 3-4 SEC). Court one featured a top-30 match between No. 29 Will Grant/Axel Nefve and No. 23 Finn Murgett/Raul Dobai. Both pairs held serve up till 4-3, until Florida's tandem converted a crucial break and completed the match 6-3, for their fifth ranked-victory of the spring.
The remaining double tandems sent their matches to a tiebreak that had Gators fans on the edge of their seats. At the two doubles position, Nate Bonetto/Tanapatt Nirundorn came back from down 4-2 to Billy Blayes/Jan Galka and found themselves down 4-1 in the tiebreaker. The Gators pair leveled the tiebreak to 4-4 and won the final two points by breaking Blaydes' serve for the 7-6 (5) triumph.
Despite going unfinished, Jonah Braswell/Lukas Greif led in the tiebreak, 3-1, after being down 3-1 a third of the way to Alejandro Moreno/Tyler Stice on court three. The Gators have now won 12 of 17 doubles points this season.
With three wins needed in singles competition for the second consecutive match, Auburn evened the match at 1-1 with a win on court six. Almost immediately, Florida regained the lead thanks to a dominant performance by Greif on court five over Will Nolan. Racing out to a 3-0 lead, Greif kept pushing to a 6-3 first set. The senior continued to never trail in the match and eased his way to 6-2 for his fifth consecutive victory without dropping a set.
Court three would be the next match to go Florida's way, as No. 97 Braswell took care of No. 107 Moreno in straight sets. Deadlocked at 5-5, Braswell converted a break and served out the set, 7-5. In the second set, the freshman instantly gained the lead by breaking Moreno in the first game and never looked back cruising to a 6-2 decision. Braswell is now 3-1 against ranked-opponents in dual play.
A mere seconds later, Bonetto supplied the match clincher for the first time this season. The sophomore kick-started the match against Raul Dobai by earning the opening frame, 6-3, but Dobai grabbed the second set, 6-2, and forced a third-set decider. Bonetto regained his composure after breaking serve to start the third and dispatched Dobai, 6-2, to secure the match for the Orange & Blue.
The Gators insisted on adding more points to the scoreboard and No. 81 Grant followed with his fourth-straight victory without dropping a set. Up against Murgett on court two, the junior sped past in the first set, 6-3, but faced some pushback in the next frame. Despite jumping out to a 3-0 lead, Grant went to a tiebreak and won the first three points before completing the victory, 7-6 (3).
Finishing the 6-1 victory for UF was No. 70 Nefve at the top position against No. 110 Stice. The graduate student found himself in a back-and-forth affair, holding a 4-1 lead in the first set. The two exchanged punches, but Nefve came out on top 7-5. Stice flipped the momentum back his way and grasped the second set, 6-3. Set three was far less strenuous for the Delray Beach, Fla native and Nefve completed the conquest, 6-3, for his third-ranked victory of the spring.
Florida improved their winning streak to nine matches against the Tigers and have not lost a match to Auburn in Gainesville since 2002. The Gators now control the all-time advantage 49-15. Additionally, Florida enhanced their record to 9-1 over Auburn under Head Coach Bryan Shelton.
The Gators will be back in action Saturday, April 1, when they head to Texas A&M for a 2 p.m. ET matchup.
QUOTES FROM THE COURT
Associate Head Coach Mat Cloer
On the dominant outing against Auburn and the strong stretch of tennis from the Gators...
"We played a solid match today against a good Auburn team. Winning a very tough doubles point was crucial for today's victory, Axel and Will got us off to a great start at No. 1 doubles and was so impressed how our No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams were able to fight back from breaks down and find a way to put us in position to grab the point. We were able to continue to carry the momentum winning five of six first sets, which put us in a strong position. Lukas, Jonah and Will did a great job closing out matches to clinch the match. The guys have been building confidence every day through their work ethic and professionalism and think that is a big reason we have been able to play good tennis in this stretch of matches."
On Lukas Greif extending his winning streak to five matches without dropping a set…
"I think Lukas is really playing well. He's really clear on his identity and the way he wants to play the game. He's coming out and working on his craft every day with the right mindset and enjoying the process and improving."
On Nate Bonetto and Axel Nefve pulling out victories in three-sets today…
"Really proud of Nate. He had a tough start to the spring with a wrist injury and I think he's been trying to find his way back. It was a gutsy effort today. Nate played a really good first set, had a tough second, so finding your way and building confidence is huge. Axel, to be able close that match out was great, really like how he played the third set and I think he can draw a lot of confidence from that."
On sustaining the momentum this week heading in to an away match at Texas A&M…
"We continue with the process that we've been doing. We show up every day, come ready to work, learn and get better. Texas A&M has a really good team and it's always a tough place to play at. We look forward to the challenge and are excited for the opportunity."
DOUBLES RESULTS
1. No. 29 Will Grant/Axel Nefve (UF) def. No. 23 Raul Dobai/Finn Murgett (AU), 6-3
2. Nate Bonetto/Tanapatt Nirundorn (UF) def. Billy Blaydes/Jan Galka (AU), 7-6 (5)
3. Jonah Braswell/Lukas Greif (UF) vs Alejandro Moreno/Tyler Stice (AU), 6-6 (3-1), unfinished
Order of Finish: 1, 2
SINGLES RESULTS
1. No. 70 Axel Nefve (UF) def. No. 110 Tyler Stice (AU), 7-5, 3-6, 6-3
2. No. 81 Will Grant (UF) def. Finn Murgett (AU), 6-3, 7-6 (3)
3. No. 97 Jonah Braswell (UF) def. No. 107 Alejandro Moreno (AU), 7-5, 6-2
4. Nate Bonetto (UF) def. Raul Dobai (AU), 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
5. Lukas Greif (UF) def. Will Nolan (AU), 6-3, 6-2
6. Billy Blaydes (AU) def. Togan Tokac (UF), 6-2, 6-4
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 3, 4, 2, 1
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Despite being down an early break on both courts two and three in doubles, Florida (10-7, 5-2 SEC) fought back to snatch up the doubles point for the 1-0 overall advantage over Auburn (14-7, 3-4 SEC). Court one featured a top-30 match between No. 29 Will Grant/Axel Nefve and No. 23 Finn Murgett/Raul Dobai. Both pairs held serve up till 4-3, until Florida's tandem converted a crucial break and completed the match 6-3, for their fifth ranked-victory of the spring.
The remaining double tandems sent their matches to a tiebreak that had Gators fans on the edge of their seats. At the two doubles position, Nate Bonetto/Tanapatt Nirundorn came back from down 4-2 to Billy Blayes/Jan Galka and found themselves down 4-1 in the tiebreaker. The Gators pair leveled the tiebreak to 4-4 and won the final two points by breaking Blaydes' serve for the 7-6 (5) triumph.
Despite going unfinished, Jonah Braswell/Lukas Greif led in the tiebreak, 3-1, after being down 3-1 a third of the way to Alejandro Moreno/Tyler Stice on court three. The Gators have now won 12 of 17 doubles points this season.
With three wins needed in singles competition for the second consecutive match, Auburn evened the match at 1-1 with a win on court six. Almost immediately, Florida regained the lead thanks to a dominant performance by Greif on court five over Will Nolan. Racing out to a 3-0 lead, Greif kept pushing to a 6-3 first set. The senior continued to never trail in the match and eased his way to 6-2 for his fifth consecutive victory without dropping a set.
Court three would be the next match to go Florida's way, as No. 97 Braswell took care of No. 107 Moreno in straight sets. Deadlocked at 5-5, Braswell converted a break and served out the set, 7-5. In the second set, the freshman instantly gained the lead by breaking Moreno in the first game and never looked back cruising to a 6-2 decision. Braswell is now 3-1 against ranked-opponents in dual play.
A mere seconds later, Bonetto supplied the match clincher for the first time this season. The sophomore kick-started the match against Raul Dobai by earning the opening frame, 6-3, but Dobai grabbed the second set, 6-2, and forced a third-set decider. Bonetto regained his composure after breaking serve to start the third and dispatched Dobai, 6-2, to secure the match for the Orange & Blue.
The Gators insisted on adding more points to the scoreboard and No. 81 Grant followed with his fourth-straight victory without dropping a set. Up against Murgett on court two, the junior sped past in the first set, 6-3, but faced some pushback in the next frame. Despite jumping out to a 3-0 lead, Grant went to a tiebreak and won the first three points before completing the victory, 7-6 (3).
Finishing the 6-1 victory for UF was No. 70 Nefve at the top position against No. 110 Stice. The graduate student found himself in a back-and-forth affair, holding a 4-1 lead in the first set. The two exchanged punches, but Nefve came out on top 7-5. Stice flipped the momentum back his way and grasped the second set, 6-3. Set three was far less strenuous for the Delray Beach, Fla native and Nefve completed the conquest, 6-3, for his third-ranked victory of the spring.
Florida improved their winning streak to nine matches against the Tigers and have not lost a match to Auburn in Gainesville since 2002. The Gators now control the all-time advantage 49-15. Additionally, Florida enhanced their record to 9-1 over Auburn under Head Coach Bryan Shelton.
The Gators will be back in action Saturday, April 1, when they head to Texas A&M for a 2 p.m. ET matchup.
QUOTES FROM THE COURT
Associate Head Coach Mat Cloer
On the dominant outing against Auburn and the strong stretch of tennis from the Gators...
"We played a solid match today against a good Auburn team. Winning a very tough doubles point was crucial for today's victory, Axel and Will got us off to a great start at No. 1 doubles and was so impressed how our No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams were able to fight back from breaks down and find a way to put us in position to grab the point. We were able to continue to carry the momentum winning five of six first sets, which put us in a strong position. Lukas, Jonah and Will did a great job closing out matches to clinch the match. The guys have been building confidence every day through their work ethic and professionalism and think that is a big reason we have been able to play good tennis in this stretch of matches."
On Lukas Greif extending his winning streak to five matches without dropping a set…
"I think Lukas is really playing well. He's really clear on his identity and the way he wants to play the game. He's coming out and working on his craft every day with the right mindset and enjoying the process and improving."
On Nate Bonetto and Axel Nefve pulling out victories in three-sets today…
"Really proud of Nate. He had a tough start to the spring with a wrist injury and I think he's been trying to find his way back. It was a gutsy effort today. Nate played a really good first set, had a tough second, so finding your way and building confidence is huge. Axel, to be able close that match out was great, really like how he played the third set and I think he can draw a lot of confidence from that."
On sustaining the momentum this week heading in to an away match at Texas A&M…
"We continue with the process that we've been doing. We show up every day, come ready to work, learn and get better. Texas A&M has a really good team and it's always a tough place to play at. We look forward to the challenge and are excited for the opportunity."
DOUBLES RESULTS
1. No. 29 Will Grant/Axel Nefve (UF) def. No. 23 Raul Dobai/Finn Murgett (AU), 6-3
2. Nate Bonetto/Tanapatt Nirundorn (UF) def. Billy Blaydes/Jan Galka (AU), 7-6 (5)
3. Jonah Braswell/Lukas Greif (UF) vs Alejandro Moreno/Tyler Stice (AU), 6-6 (3-1), unfinished
Order of Finish: 1, 2
SINGLES RESULTS
1. No. 70 Axel Nefve (UF) def. No. 110 Tyler Stice (AU), 7-5, 3-6, 6-3
2. No. 81 Will Grant (UF) def. Finn Murgett (AU), 6-3, 7-6 (3)
3. No. 97 Jonah Braswell (UF) def. No. 107 Alejandro Moreno (AU), 7-5, 6-2
4. Nate Bonetto (UF) def. Raul Dobai (AU), 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
5. Lukas Greif (UF) def. Will Nolan (AU), 6-3, 6-2
6. Billy Blaydes (AU) def. Togan Tokac (UF), 6-2, 6-4
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 3, 4, 2, 1
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Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,2
#1 Singles Match
123
Tyler Stice / 0 (110/-) [AUB]
563
736
#2 Singles Match
12
Finn Murgett / 0 [AUB]
36
67
#3 Singles Match
12
Alejandro Moreno / 0 (107/-) [AUB]
52
76
#4 Singles Match
123
Raul Dobai / 0 [AUB]
362
626
#5 Singles Match
12
Will Nolan / 0 [AUB]
32
66
#6 Singles Match
12
Billy Blaydes / 0 [AUB]
66
24
Order of Finish:
6,5,3,4,2,1
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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