Florida Men’s Tennis picked up a big win against previously undefeated UCF, Taking the match 6-1 to stay undefeated at home.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida Gators Men’s Tennis dominated the UCF Knights on Monday, winning 6-1 in their first home match in nearly a month to remain undefeated at Linder Stadium at Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex
The win marks the 23rd consecutive for the Gators in the all-time record between the two programs (23-0), and the first loss of the season for the now 7-1 Knights.
The Gators started strong, winning the doubles point for the second straight match. The 1-0 start came courtesy of No. 58 Nate Bonetto/Aidan Kim claiming a 6-4 victory on court one and Tanapatt Nirundorn/Adhithya Ganesan sealing the deal with a 7-5 win on court two.
Florida won all but one first set, setting themselves up for success in singles.
Bonetto swiftly earned Florida’s second point, starting with an overpowering 6-1 first set, followed by a 6-4 effort to put away Santiago Giamichelle on court four.
No. 82 Nirundorn handled UCF’s No. 120 Mehdi Benchakroun in 6-3, 6-3 fashion to put the Gators in striking distance of a win. The court five win for Nirundorn was his first victory over a ranked singles opponent of the season.
Kim fought to a 7-5, 6-2 win over UCF’s Francisco Llanes, securing the fourth point and the win for the Gators, their first since defeating SMU on January 21.
No. 89 Jeremy Jin claimed court two after a gritty comeback and tiebreak win in his first set against No. 100 Lleyton Cronje. Jin scored Florida’s fifth point with a 6-3 set to seal his win.
Freshman Henry Jefferson returned to singles play for the first time since the Gators’ dual season opener and claimed his second singles win of the season. The 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 victory marked the end of the day’s action and the sixth point for the Orange and Blue.
Results
Singles competition
1. Adhithya Ganesan (UF) def. Yassine Dlimi (UCF) 2-6, 7-5, 11-9
2. Jeremy Jin (UF) def. Lleyton Cronje (UCF) 7-6, 6-3
3. Aidan Kim (UF) def. Francisco Llanes (UCF) 7-5, 6-2
4. Nate Bonetto (UF) def. Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) 6-1, 6-4
5. Tanapatt Nirundorn (UF) def. Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) 6-3, 6-3
6. Henry Jefferson (UF) def. Liam Branger (UCF) 7-5, 3-6, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Nate Bonetto/Aidan Kim (UF) def. Yassine Dlimi/Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) 6-4
2. Adhithya Ganesan/Tanapatt Nirundorn (UF) def. Liam Branger/Lleyton Cronje (UCF) 7-5
3. Francisco Llanes/Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) def. Jeremy Jin/Henry Jefferson (UF) 6-4
Head Coach Adam Stienberg says…
On the importance of the win…
“It was a really important match for us, before we go into SEC season and to get back to ‘.500,’ and to get the taste of winning again. Our schedule has been so tough and we’ve been on the road, but this again was against a very good team, we knew that, we played against them in the Fall a lot, and the score did not reflect how tough of a match this was. It’s a big win for us.”
Up next
The Gators now stare down the start of SEC play, opening the conference schedule with a bout with current No. 12 Texas A&M. The match will take place in Gainesville on March 1 at 5 p.m.
