The seventh-ranked University of Florida men’s tennis team fought its way to a 4-3 win over No. 27 Florida State in the Gators’ first road match of the season, battling the Seminoles to the last strike of the ball at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center on Sunday and improving to 6-0 for the second time under head coach Andy Jackson (2006).
On the deciding court, Nassim Slilam (Paris, France) rallied from a set down to defeat Blake Davis, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, at No. 4 singles with the match tied at 3-3 to hand Florida the victory.
“We played hard, and Florida State played hard,” Jackson said. “We took their best shot. We didn’t play well, but we played very hard. I’m very proud of the guys to be able to get through it with a victory.”
Slilam’s conditioning provided a crucial advantage for the Gator junior as Davis began fighting cramps late in the second set, allowing Slilam to control the deciding set. In spite of the tense moment in the match, Slilam dictated play throughout the third as he helped lift the Gators to victory.
For the first time all season, the Gators did not claim the doubles point as Billy Federhofer (North Miami, Fla.) and Bob van Overbeek (Boca Raton, Fla.) claimed UF’s only win at No. 3 doubles.
“To have a good team, sometimes you have to be able to win while losing doubles,” Jackson said. “At Florida State is a good way to learn it.”
That set off a seesaw battle throughout the day’s singles competition. The Gators evened the count as Sekou Bangoura Jr. (Bradenton, Fla.) posted a quick straight-sets win over Connor Smith at No. 3 singles. Freshman Spencer Newman (Miami, Fla.) then gave Florida its first lead of the match, 2-1, as he dispatched Anderson Reed in straight sets on the fifth court.
The four remaining matches all needed three sets to reach a decision, and Florida State struck next as Vahid Mirzadeh handed Alexandre Lacroix (Paris, France) his first loss of the dual season at No. 1 singles. But Federhofer put UF ahead and within one point of victory, 3-2, as he defeated Andre Bucaro, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, on court six.
The Seminoles again tied up the score as van Overbeek also suffered his first dual singles loss of the season on court two in a three-setter that set the stage for Slilam’s clinching victory.
Florida continues its schedule with another road test against No. 16 Illinois on Saturday at 7 p.m. Eastern.
#7 Florida vs. #27 Florida State
Scott Speicher Tennis Center
Tallahassee, Fla.
February 6, 2011
Doubles
1 – *Mirzadeh/Smith (FSU) def. (11) Lacroix/Slilam (UF) – 8-5
2 – Reed/Bucaro (FSU) def. Bangoura/Butz (UF) – 8-3
3 – Federhofer/van Overbeek (UF) def. Bowles/Davis (FSU) – 8-5
Order of Finish: 2-3-1
Singles
1 – (42) Vahid Mirzadeh (FSU) def. (4) Alexandre Lacroix (UF) – 7-5, 2-6, 6-4
2 – (37) Clint Bowles (FSU) def. (52) Bob van Overbeek (UF) – 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3
3 – (28) Sekou Bangoura Jr. (UF) def. Connor Smith (FSU) – 6-1, 7-5
4 – *Nassim Slilam (UF) def. Blake Davis (FSU) – 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
5 – Spencer Newman (UF) def. Anderson Reed (FSU) – 6-4, 7-5
6 – Billy Federhofer (UF) def. Andre Bucaro (FSU) – 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Order of Finish: 3-5-1-6-2-4
*Clinching victory
