The Gators secure a tight match against the Razorbacks to advance to the quarterfinal round where they will face the Gamecocks
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida men’s tennis team defeated Arkansas 4-2 in the second round of the 2025 SEC Men’s Tennis Tournament. The Gators struggled in doubles action, but found momentum in singles to advance. UF will face No. 3-seed South Carolina on Friday, April 18 at 6 p.m.
On the doubles side, Kevin Edengren<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/kevin-edengren/16662> and Ben Weintraub<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/ben-weintraub/17051> finished first defeating Brendan Boland and Arthur Bellegy 6-4. No. 24 Connor Smillie and Jakub Vrba went on to record a 6-4 win over No. 12 Henry Jefferson<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/henry-jefferson/16661> and Tanapatt Nirundorn<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/tanapatt-nirundorn/16114>.
Arkansas claimed the point after Bozo Barun and Benni Emesz defeated Adhithya Ganesan<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/adhithya-ganesan/16660> and Jeremy Jin<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/jeremy-jin/16118> 7-5. The Razorbacks led 1-0 heading into singles.
It didn’t take long for the Gators to respond logging the first singles win of the contest. No. 47 Ganesan opened the scoring column for the Orange and Blue, defeating Barun in straight sets 6-1, 6-3. Vrba gave the Razorbacks a 2-1 lead picking up a quick 6-3, 6-2 victory over No. 70 Jin.
The Gators pushed back leveling the match at 2-2 on court four. Jefferson<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/henry-jefferson/16661> battled Bellegy in a three-set outing. Jefferson took the first set 6-3, but Bellegy regained control taking the second set 6-3. Jefferson delivered a strong performance in the third set and cruised to a 6-2 victory.
Freshman Niels Villard<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/niels-villard/17561> kept Florida’s momentum as he faced Boland on court six. Villard took control early as he secured the first set 6-4. The second set came down to a super tiebreak with the freshman remaining composed and sealing the match 7-6 (8-6).
The clinching point came from Nirundorn on court five in a back-and-forth battle featuring Smillie. Nirundorn saw success early taking the first set 6-2, but found himself trailing Smillie 7-6 (2-7) at the end of the tiebreak. Nirundorn closed out the final set 6-1, securing the match 4-2.
Opponents at a Glance:
The Gamecocks closed out their season with a 17-6 overall record and 11-3 in conference play. Their last outing was a 4-1 victory against Florida in the regular season. South Carolina is ranked No. 15 by the ITA and has two ranked singles players, No. 20 Connor Thomson and No. 119 Sean Daryabeigi. The Gamecocks are also represented in doubles by Lucas Andrade De Silva and Thomson at No. 3, followed by Atakan Karahan and Jelani Sarr at No. 50.
WEEKEND COVERAGE:
Event coverage can be found at the following links:
* Watch<https://web.track.tennis/#/@9e260be7-f405-445f-ae0b-687fc7a5264c/@9e260be7-f405-445f-ae0b-687fc7a5264c/evt-SlOk4k5_zus>
* Live stats<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=588721>
SEC Tournament Information
* Bracket<https://www.secsports.com/championships/mens-tennis-championship#bracket>
* Carolina Tennis Center<https://www.secsports.com/championships/mens-tennis-championship#venue>
Singles competition
1. #47 Adhithya Ganesan<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/adhithya-ganesan/16660> (UF) def. Bozo Barun (ARK) 6-1, 6-3
2. Jakub Vrba (ARK) def. #70 Jeremy Jin<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/jeremy-jin/16118> (UF) 6-3, 6-2
3. Kevin Edengren<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/kevin-edengren/16662> (UF) vs. Benni Emesz (ARK) 2-6, 6-3, 5-4, unfinished
4. Henry Jefferson<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/henry-jefferson/16661> (UF) def. Arthur Bellegy (ARK) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
5. Tanapatt Nirundorn<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/tanapatt-nirundorn/16114> (UF) def. Connor Smillie (ARK) 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-1
6. Niels Villard<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/niels-villard/17561> (UF) def. Brendan Boland (ARK) 6-4, 7-6 (8-6)
Order of finish: 1,2,4,6,5
Doubles competition
1. #24 Connor Smillie/Jakub Vrba (ARK) def. #12 Tanapatt Nirundorn<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/tanapatt-nirundorn/16114>/Henry Jefferson<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/henry-jefferson/16661> (UF) 6-4
2. Bozo Barun/Benni Emesz (ARK) def. Adhithya Ganesan<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/adhithya-ganesan/16660>/Jeremy Jin<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/jeremy-jin/16118> (UF) 7-5
3. Kevin Edengren<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/kevin-edengren/16662>/Ben Weintraub<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/ben-weintraub/17051> (UF) def. Brendan Boland/Arthur Bellegy (ARK) 6-4
Order of finish: 3,1,2
ITA RANKINGS
As a team, Florida sits at No. 32 in the ITA rankings. Three Gators are ranked in singles competition: Adhithya Ganesan<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/adhithya-ganesan/16660> at No. 47, Jeremy Jin<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/jeremy-jin/16118> at No. 70, and JanMagnus Johnson<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/janmagnus-johnson/17174> at No. 124. UF also has two ranked doubles pairs featuring 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> at No. 12, followed by Nirundorn and Ganesan at No. 82.
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