The Gators move to 4-2 on the season after posting two wins in Sunday’s doubleheader
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida men’s tennis team defeated UNC Wilmington and Florida Gulf Coast in Sunday’s doubleheader at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex. The Gators clinched both doubles points of the day and went 6-3 overall in singles play.
The Gators kicked off their doubleheader with a 4-2 victory over UNCW to start the day. Florida set the tone early after battling for the doubles point before claiming three singles wins to clinch the match.
In doubles, the Seahawks picked up the first win on court two, with Harold Huens and Lukas Steffen defeating No. 76 Kevin Edengren<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/kevin-edengren/16662> and Jeremy Jin<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/jeremy-jin/16118>.
JanMagnus Johnson<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/janmagnus-johnson/17174> and Ben Weintraub<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/ben-weintraub/17051> responded for Florida recording a 6-4 win over Trey Mallory and Jordi Domenech.
With both teams within reach of the doubles point, all eyes were on court one. Adhithya Ganesan<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/adhithya-ganesan/16660> and Henry Jefferson<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/henry-jefferson/16661> faced Joseph Wayand and Alex de Gabriele in a thrilling match. The Gators pulled off the tight 7-5 victory to give UF a 1-0 advantage heading into singles.
Freshman Ben Weintraub<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/ben-weintraub/17051> kept the Orange and Blue rolling with a dominant 6-4, 6-1 win over Domenech at the sixth position. Ganesan took the first set 6-1 over Sam Nicholson but dropped the second 6-3. In the forced third, the Seahawk earned a 6-3 victory putting opening the scoring column for UNCW.
After finally getting on the board, the Seahawks seemed to gain momentum as they logged another point on court three. No. 106 Jefferson saw a strong start securing the set 6-4, however, Wayand took control in the second taking the second 6-3. Jefferson pushed hard to stay in the third set, but fell 6-4.
The match was poised at 2-2 with both teams showing no signs of slowing down. Johnson opened the first set with a 6-3 victory over de Gabriele, but lost his rhythm in the second dropping the set 6-4. The Gator vet remained composed in the final set recording a 6-2 win and pushed UF closer to a match victory.
The final point came from newcomer Niels Villard<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/niels-villard/17561> who recorded his first singles win as a Gator over Steffen. The first set was a tight 7-6 loss for Villard after a tough tiebreak. Despite facing a setback, Villard responded in the second set securing the win 6-4. In the final set, Villard closed out the match 6-3 to give Florida a 4-2 win over the UNCW.
In the second contest of the day, the Gators defeated FGCU 4-1.
Florida gained an immediate advantage over the Eagles in back-to-back doubles wins on courts three and one. The newest duo of Rafael Segado<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/rafael-segado/17560> and Villard secured the victory on court three with a 6-3 win over Pablo Paternostro and Harry Michalowski. Jefferson and Jin followed clinched the doubles point, winning 6-4 over Hugo Magnusson and CJ Smith.
On the singles side, Segado cruised to a quick 6-0, 6-1 straight set victory over Smith to move the Gators to 2-0.
It didn’t take long for fellow freshman Francesco Cordova<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/francesco-cordova/17050> to secure another point for UF. Cordova earned his win in similar fashion logging a 6-0, 6-1 over Stavros Hadjivarnava putting the Florida within one point of their second win of the day.
However, the Eagles began to find some rhythm taking a straight set win on court one. No. 106 Jefferson dropped the first set 6-4 to Magnusson and battled in the second to force a tiebreak. Despite putting up a hard fight, Jefferson fell 7-6 and FGCU logged their first point of the match.
Johnson secured the fourth and final point for Florida after a showdown on court two against Jonathan Baron. Johnson dropped the first set 6-2, but regained momentum in the second cruising to a 6-3 win to force a third. In the final set, Johnson remained focused closing out the match 6-3.
Singles competition
1. Jeremy Jin<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/jeremy-jin/16118> (UF) vs. Harold Huens (UNCW) 7-5, 4-5, unfinished
2. Sam Nicholson (UNCW) def. Adhithya Ganesan<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/adhithya-ganesan/16660> (UF) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
3. Joseph Wayand (UNCW) def. Henry Jefferson<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/henry-jefferson/16661> (UF) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. JanMagnus Johnson<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/janmagnus-johnson/17174> (UF) def. Alex de Gabriele (UNCW) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
5. Niels Villard<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/niels-villard/17561> (UF) def. Lukas Steffen (UNCW) 6-7, 6-4, 6-3
6. Ben Weintraub<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/ben-weintraub/17051> (UF) def. Jordi Domenech (UNCW) 6-4, 6-1
Order of finish: 6,2,3,4,5
Doubles competition
1. Adhithya Ganesan<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/adhithya-ganesan/16660>/Henry Jefferson<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/henry-jefferson/16661> (UF) def. Joseph Wayand/Alex de Gabriele (UNCW) 7-5
2. Harold Huens/Lukas Steffen (UNCW) def. #76 Kevin Edengren<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/kevin-edengren/16662>/Jeremy Jin<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/jeremy-jin/16118> (UF) 6-3
3. JanMagnus Johnson<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/janmagnus-johnson/17174>/Ben Weintraub<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/ben-weintraub/17051> (UF) def. Trey Mallory/Jordi Domenech (UNCW) 6-4
Order of finish: 2,3,1
Singles competition
1. Hugo Magnusson (FGCU) def. #106 Henry Jefferson<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/henry-jefferson/16661> (UF) 6-4, 7-6
2. JanMagnus Johnson<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/janmagnus-johnson/17174> (UF) def. Jonathan Baron (FGCU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
3. Ben Weintraub<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/ben-weintraub/17051> (UF) vs. Guglielmo Stefanacci (FGCU) 6-4, 1-6, 5-4, unfinished
4. Bradley Paliska<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/bradley-paliska/17049> (UF) vs. Pablo Paternostro (FGCU) 6-4, 3-6, 5-1, unfinished
5. Rafael Segado<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/rafael-segado/17560> (UF) def. CJ Smith (FGCU) 6-0, 6-1
6. Francesco Cordova<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/francesco-cordova/17050> (UF) def. Stavros Hadjivarnava (FGCU) 6-0, 6-1
Order of finish: 5,6,1,2
Doubles competition
1. Henry Jefferson<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/henry-jefferson/16661>/Jeremy Jin<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/jeremy-jin/16118> (UF) def. Hugo Magnusson/CJ Smith (FGCU) 6-4
2. JanMagnus Johnson<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/janmagnus-johnson/17174>/Ben Weintraub<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/ben-weintraub/17051> (UF) vs. Jonathan Baron/Guglielmo Stefanacci (FGCU) 4-5, unfinished
3. Rafael Segado<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/rafael-segado/17560>/Niels Villard<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/niels-villard/17561> (UF) def. Pablo Paternostro/Harry Michalowski (FGCU) 6-3
Order of finish: 3,1
NEXT UP:
The Gators travel to Dallas,Texas to face SMU on Friday, February 7 and TCU on Sunday, February 9 in Fort Worth.
ITA RANKINGS
Two Gators are ranked in singles competition: Jeremy Jin<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/jeremy-jin/16118> at No. 41 and Henry Jefferson<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/henry-jefferson/16661> at No. 106. Doubles pair Tanapatt Nirundorn<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/tanapatt-nirundorn/16114> and Henry Jefferson<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/henry-jefferson/16661> also cracked into the ITA rankings at No. 16. Kevin Edengren<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/kevin-edengren/16662> and Jeremy Jin<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/jeremy-jin/16118> round out the ranked players for Florida sitting at No. 76.
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