The
fifth-ranked Florida men’s tennis team suffered its first loss of the season on
Saturday afternoon at No. 2 Virginia, 6-1, in Charlottesville. The Gators are
now 3-1 on the season, while the Cavaliers remain unbeaten at 3-0.
“Virginia
had a good match today and outplayed us,” said head coach Andy Jackson. “We
fought hard in singles but couldn't get into the match early enough at some
spots to give ourselves a chance. All the credit goes to them. They have a very
experienced and talented team.”
Florida
got off to a slow start by dropping the doubles point for the first time in
dual-match play, losing at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. The duo of Frank
Carleton (Naples, Fla.) and Spencer Newman (Miami, Fla.) remain unbeaten in
dual play after beating the 13th-ranked pair of Justin Shane and Philippe
Oudshoorn, 8-6.
Singles
didn’t start much better on Saturday, with the Gators dropping the first set on
five of six courts. The Cavaliers earned straight-set wins on courts three and
four, and Jarmere Jenkins, ranked No. 11 in the country, clinched the win at
No. 1 singles with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Nassim Slilam. It was Slilam’s
first-ever dual-match playing in the top position.
The
final three matches were all decided in three sets. After dropping the first
set 4-6, Carleton came back to win the final two sets against Alex Domijan,
6-3, 6-4, to claim a win at No. 2 singles. Andrew Butz (Vero Beach,
Fla.) took the first set at No. 6 singles, but fell to Oudshoorn, 3-6, 7-5,
6-2.
Newman
lost the first set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (2), but stormed back to win the second
set 6-3. He couldn’t hang on in the final set, losing to Julen Uriguen, 7-6
(2), 3-6, 7-5.
The
Gators return to Gainesville for two non-conference matchups next weekend, hosting
No. 35 Florida State on Saturday (Feb. 11) at 1 p.m. and No. 19 Illinois on
Sunday (Feb. 12) at noon.
