The Florida men’s tennis team earned a 4-1
victory at Alabama on Friday, indoors at the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis
Facility. With the win, the Gators improve to 9-6 on the season and 3-2 in the
Southeastern Conference. The Crimson Tide falls to 12-6 overall and 3-3 in the
league.
Florida opened up by winning the doubles
point for the second-straight match. Alabama first won at No. 1 doubles, but UF
responded with wins on courts two and three. Billy Federhofer and Gordon Watson
beat the Tide’s Becker O’Schughnessey and Daniil Proskura, 8-5, on court two.
Florida’s Mike Alford and Florent Diep then clinched the doubles point with a
tiebreak victory over Stuart Kenyon and Philippe Tsangarides, 9-8 (5).
Momentum carried over into singles play for
the Gators. UF won the first set on four of six courts, and quickly earned the
three points needed for the win. Bob van Overbeek was first off the court,
defeating No. 79 O’Shaughnessey, 6-3, 7-5, on court three.
Watson beat Tsangarides, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 5
singles to give Florida a 3-0 lead overall. After Alabama got on the board with
a win at No. 1 singles, Stephane Piro closed out the Crimson Tide with a win on
court two. Piro defeated Proskura, 7-5, 6-4, to clinch the victory.
