The Gators couldn’t finish the comeback despite a doubles point win and a late push in singles.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida Gators Men’s Tennis fell 4-3 to the No. 36 UCF Knights in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament. The No. 25 Gators finish their 2024 dual season with a 13-12 overall record.
How it Happened
The Gators won the doubles point to open the day’s action. Florida’s Adhithya Ganesan/Tanapatt Nirundorn dominated court two, taking a 6-3 set to give Florida the advantage. Nate Bonetto/Aidan Kim sealed the 1-0 lead for Florida with a 6-4 set on court one.
Florida lost much of their momentum from doubles play as singles courts commenced, as the Gators went on to drop five first sets to their UCF opponents to open singles play.
Aidan Kim returned to a court one singles assignment for the first time since February 3, and jumped out to a dominant 6-2 first set win. Kim kept his momentum to secure a 6-0 second set and lock down another point for Florida. Kim defeated No. 121 Dlimi to secure his fourth ranked singles win of the year.
Ganesan and Edengren appeared to be overpowered as their second sets drew to a close, with Ganesan falling 6-4, 6-0 after jumping out to a 4-0 lead to open set one, and Edengren dropping the court six match, 6-3, 6-1. Jeremy Jin battled valiantly against UCF senior Lleyton Cronje, but their back-and-forth contest concluded with a 6-4, 7-5 UCF win.
Bonetto dropped the first set on singles court three, 6-3, and couldn’t manage a break point in set two, finding himself at a 5-5 score in his crucial second set. Finally, he managed a break and ultimately evened his match with a 7-5 second set, giving Florida new life as opportunities dwindled on the other courts. Bonetto managed a break point early in his third set, winning 6-3 and evening the dual match at 3-3 with court five remaining.
Nirundorn battled back from a 6-2 first set loss to win a crucial 6-3 second set. Nirundorn’s second set efforts kept Florida in the mix as all eyes turned to he and Bonetto on courts five and three. The final third set drew to a 6-6 score, with each player holding their serve all the way to a tiebreaker. Nirundorn narrowly missed a few crucial returns, and UCF’s Santiago Giamichelle held on to an early lead to win the tiebreaker 7-3, ending Florida’s season.
Results
Singles competition
1. Aidan Kim (UF) def. #121 Yassine Dlimi (UCF) 6-2, 6-0
2. Lleyton Cronje (UCF) def. #50 Jeremy Jin (UF) 6-4, 7-5
3. Nate Bonetto (UF) def. Liam Branger (UCF) 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
4. Paul Colin (UCF) def. #117 Adhithya Ganesan (UF) 6-4, 6-0
5. Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) def. Tanapatt Nirundorn (UF) 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3)
6. Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) def. Kevin Edengren (UF) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #27 Aidan Kim/Nate Bonetto (UF) def. Lleyton Cronje/Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) 6-4
2. #81 Tanapatt Nirundorn/Adhithya Ganesan (UF) def. Francisco Llanes/Emilio Sanchez (UCF) 6-3
3. Kevin Edengren/Jeremy Jin (UF) vs. Liam Branger/Paul Colin (UCF) 4-5, unfinished
Match Notes:
UCF 18-5; National ranking #36
Florida 13-11; National ranking #23
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,4,6,2,3,5)
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