Jin claimed two important victories on court one during Florida’s SEC opening weekend.
GAINESVILLE Fla. – Jeremy Jin has been tabbed as the SEC Freshman of the Week for his efforts in Florida’s weekend wins over Texas A&M and Louisiana State.
On Friday, Jin returned to a court one assignment for the first time since January 19th, and this time faced the reigning SEC Player of the week in No. 69 Raphael Perot. Jin jumped out to a commanding 6-1 win of the first set. Perot outlasted Jin in a heartbreaking 7-6 (6) tiebreaker loss of set two, before recovering to overpower Perot in the third, 6-3.
The win sealed the fourth point in the dual match with the No. 12 Aggies, and the 4-0 sweep for Florida. The win marked Florida’s first victory over a ranked team of the 2024 season, and the first of Head Coach Adam Steinberg’s career with the Gators. The win over ITA’s No. 12 was the highest ranked win for Florida since they defeated No. 10 Baylor on February 19, 2023 at the ITA National Indoor Championships.
Two days after his emotional three-set victory, Jin was again named to court one, this time facing LSU’s Stefan Latinovic. After dropping the first set to the fifth-year senior, Jin trailed again by as many as two games (3-1) in the second set, before battling to a tiebreak, and winning the second set 7-6 (5). The Freshman showed his superior endurance, and handily won the third set, 6-2. The win took a 2-1 lead in the dual match for the orange and blue, which they would go on to win 4-1.
Jin was one of just two freshmen named to court one in this week’s lineups, and he was the only one to win two matches at the first position.
The Australian native joined Florida’s team this past fall after an illustrious juniors career. Jin has begun his first dual season with the gators with a 6-1 record in singles matches, and is currently on a five-match win streak in singles.
Results
Singles
Date Vs. Player Name (ITA Ranking), School Name (ITA Ranking) Result/Score
3/1/24 Rapahel Perot (69), Texas A&M (12) W, 6-1, 6-7 (6), 6-3
3/3/24 Stefan Latinovic, LSU (25) W, 4-6. 7-6 (5), 6-2
Doubles
Date Vs. Players Names (ITA Ranking), School Name (ITA Ranking) Result/Score
3/1/24 Raphael Perot/Tiago Pires (57), Texas A&M (12) W, 6-3
3/3/24 Chen Dong/Julien Penzlin, LSU (25) L, 6-1
From Head Coach Adam Steinberg
On Friday’s performance…
“For a guy to lose the second set like that, and then to come back… he has such a big heart. He competes as hard as any player I’ve ever coached. He loves it, he loves this environment. We always know what we’re going to get from him out there. He gave everything.
On Sunday’s performance…
“He played a really tough opponent indoors, that served huge. If he lost his focus for even a second, he could have been run off of that court quickly, but he is just an unbelievable competitor. One of the best that I have ever coached. He’s always in there, he’s always battling… and he is hard to put away, anywhere. That was a great win for him.”
