The 11th-ranked Florida men’s tennis team downed Arkansas, 7-0, on Sunday at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex to complete a strong weekend opening its Southeastern Conference schedule. The Gators improve to 9-3 overall and 2-0 in the SEC, while Arkansas drops to 3-7 and 0-2 in the SEC.
“We’re pleased to be 2-0 in the SEC and playing much better in doubles,” head coach Andy Jackson said. “Now we’re looking forward to going on the road next weekend and getting our first road test in the conference.”
After an hour-long delay due to rain in the Gainesville area, the Gators got rolling in doubles as they have in every home match this season. Bob van Overbeek (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Andrew Butz (Vero Beach, Fla.) got the first win for the Gators as van Overbeek clinched it with an overpowering ace down the line. UF got the clincher from court one as Sekou Bangoura Jr. (Bradenton, Fla.) and Alexandre Lacroix (Paris, France) posted an 8-6 win over No. 66 Mike Ward and Nikolas Zogaj.
That victory ties Lacroix for the all-time UF record for career doubles wins with 93, matching Nathan Overholser’s total from 1998-2001.
“Sekou and I played good today, and we’re still learning each other as partners,” Lacroix said. “It feels really great to tie that record, and I hope I have a chance to beat it. I’ve really learned a lot about playing doubles over my four years here.”
“It couldn’t make me happier to see Alex reach that milestone,” Jackson said. “I’ve watched him and [assistant coach] Jeremy Bayon work incredibly hard on that four the last four years. He certainly deserves to be considered among the elite in the NCAA in both singles and doubles.”
Lacroix then led the Gators’ singles attack with a strong 6-3, 6-1 court one victory over Matt Hogan. Lacroix used a well-placed drop shot to clinch the first singles point for UF and earn his 99th career singles victory. van Overbeek stretched the Florida lead to 3-0 using a dominant second set to notch a 6-4, 6-1 win over Gregoire Lehmann.
The clincher came from Bangoura on court two, as he provided a 6-2, 6-3 win over Chris Nott for UF’s fourth point of the day.
Florida then added straight-sets victories from Nassim Slilam (Paris, France), who picked up his team-best 10th dual singles win of the spring, Billy Federhofer (North Miami, Fla.) and Butz to complete the sweep.
The Gators hit the road next weekend to take on Alabama on Friday and Auburn on Sunday. UF’s next home match will be March 17 against two-time defending NCAA champion Southern California.
#11 Florida vs. Arkansas
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex
Gainesville, Fla.
March 6, 2011
Doubles
1 – *Bangoura/Lacroix (UF) def. (66) Ward/Zogaj (Ark) – 8-6 (:53)
2 – Butz/van Overbeek (UF) def. Hogan/M. Nott (Ark) – 8-5 (:49)
3 – Lehmann/C. Nott (Ark.) led Federhofer/Slilam (UF) – 7-5 (DNF)
Order of Finish: 2-1
Singles
1 – (6) Alexandre Lacroix (UF) def. Matt Hogan (Ark) – 6-3, 6-1 (1:01)
2 – *(32) Sekou Bangoura Jr. (UF) def. Chris Nott (Ark) – 6-2, 6-3 (1:16)
3 – (125) Nassim Slilam (UF) def. Nikolas Zogaj (Ark) – 6-2, 7-5 (1:29)
4 – Bob van Overbeek (UF) def. Gregoire Lehmann (Ark) – 6-4, 6-1 (1:10)
5 – Billy Federhofer (UF) def. Mike Ward (Ark) – 7-6(5), 6-1 (1:26)
6 – Andrew Butz (UF) def. Manfred Jeske (Ark) – 6-3, 7-6(1) (1:38)
Order of Finish: 1-4-2-5-3-6
*Clinching point
