Florida battled hard on each court but only dropped one set in singles play to take a 4-0 win over the Rebels.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida Gators Men’s Tennis completed a sweep of the No. 51 Ole Miss Rebels in their return to SEC play in Gainesville on Friday. The No. 33 Florida Gators now hold an overall season record of 9-8, and extend their perfect 9-0 run of dual match wins at Alfred A. Ring Tennis complex this season.
How it Happened
The Gators came out hot, initially leading all three doubles courts 2-1 after three games. Florida’s court three duo Jeremy Jin/Henry Jefferson maintained that momentum, taking the first doubles set for the Gators, 6-2. No. 67 Nate Bonetto/Aidan Kim battled from behind to a tiebreak in their set on court one, and sealed the doubles point for Florida with their 7-6 (7-4) performance.
Armed with their 1-0 lead, Florida commanded singles play and only dropped one set for the remainder of the match. Bonetto posted the most dominant performance, not trailing at any point in either set during his 6-4, 6-1 victory. The veteran Bonetto provided early stability in the match and a quick second point for the Gators.
Aidan Kim secured the third point for the Orange and Blue with his straight-sets victory on court two. The freshman battled from behind multiple times in his first set, going serve-for-serve with Ole Miss’s John Hallquist Lithen, and finding himself in a tiebreaker of the first set, ultimately pulling out a 7-6 (7-4) advantage. With emotions high and momentum in his favor, Kim commanded the match the rest of the way, finishing off his opponent with a 6-3 second set.
No. 66 Jeremy Jin continued his spectacular freshman campaign with yet another victory on court one in conference play. Jin quickly jumped out to a commanding 6-3 first set, much like Bonetto, that kept him in the driver’s seat for most of the match. Ole Miss’s No. 62 Nikolas Slavic bested Jin in a heartbreaking 7-6 (7-4) tiebreaker, after Jin at one point led 3-0 in the final tiebreak point. Despite the painful shift in momentum, the freshman unleashed a sinister 6-1 set that lasted all of approximately ten minutes, and sealed another dual match win for Florida.
Florida also led on the two courts that didn’t finish their singles matches, with Tanapatt Nirundorn taking his first set 6-4 before leaving his match unfinished in set two. Jefferson dominated to a quick 4-0 lead in his first set before play concluded.
Next Up
The Gators continue their spat with the state of Mississippi, next taking on the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the Ring Tennis Complex at 12 p.m. on Sunday.
From Head Coach Adam Steinberg
On the match, his team’s performance…
I thought it was a well-deserved victory for the guys, I thought they came out with the right mentality in both [singles and doubles], I feel like we haven’t really done that lately like we had wanted… It’s not easy to play in [the indoor facility], but for some reason, it brings out the best in us. That tight environment has been great for our team, I thought we played the right way… Really happy for [the team]. They deserved this win.
Results
Singles competition
1. #66 Jeremy Jin (UF) def. #62 Nikola Slavic (OM) 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1
2. Aidan Kim (UF) def. J. Hallquist Lithen (OM) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
3. Nate Bonetto (UF) def. Isac Stromberg (OM) 6-4, 6-1
4. Tanapatt Nirundorn (UF) vs. Lukas Engelhardt (OM) 6-4, 1-4, unfinished
5. Henry Jefferson (UF) vs. Noah Schlagenhauf (OM) 4-0, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #67 Nate Bonetto/Aidan Kim (UF) def. #65 Nikola Slavic/Lukas Engelhardt (OM) 7-6 (7-4)
2. Carson Baker/J. Hallquist Lithen (OM) def. Kevin Edengren/Tanapatt Nirundorn (UF) 6-3
3. Jeremy Jin/Henry Jefferson (UF) def. Isac Stromberg/Noah Schlagenhauf (OM) 6-2
Match Notes:
Ole Miss 9-8; National ranking #51
Florida 9-8; National ranking #33
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,2,1) Singles (3,2,1)
