The Gators came back from multiple deficits to win 4-1 against the Tigers, claiming four straight singles matches.
GAINESVILLE Fla. – Florida Gators Men’s Tennis completed its first weekend of Southeastern Conference play with a resilient win over the No. 25 Louisiana State Tigers. The win marks a 2-0 start for the No. 52 Gator squad to open the conference schedule.
Florida looked to stay hot after coming off one of the most unlikely and emotional matches in the program’s recent history. On Friday, Florida swept a No. 12 Texas A&M team that featured the reigning SEC Player of the week, and collected their first ranked win of the season. Florida also entered Sunday’s match with a perfect 5-0 record at home.
How it Happened…
Sunday’s match began with the Tigers taking an early lead in doubles, winning a 6-1 set on court three, before severe weather forced the match to be briefly suspended, and eventually pushed into the Perry Indoor Complex to resume play. The Tigers held on to win the doubles point and start 1-0 in the dual.
Junior Nate Bonetto evened the score of the match at 1-1 with a dominant performance on court three. Initially named to the four spot, Bonetto stepped up to earn a straight sets victory over LSU’s Aleksi Lofman. Bonetto did not trail once for the entire duration of the 6-2, 7-5 match.
Two days after an emotional victory over the reigning SEC Player of the week, Freshman Jeremy Jin was again tabbed to court one, this time facing fifth-year senior Stefan Latinovic. After dropping the first set, 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). Jin showed his superior endurance, and handily won the third set, 6-2.
Aidan Kim, a late move up to court two, looked to be overmatched to begin the first set. Falling into an early 4-2 hole, the freshman battled back to a 5-5 score before winning a momentum-driven break point to go ahead 6-5, and ultimately take the first set without a tiebreak. LSU’s No. 122 George Stoupe ran away with set two, before Kim claimed the court two matchup with a 6-4 third set victory.
Beginning immediately after Bonetto’s court three victory, Sophomore Tanapatt Nirundorn looked to quickly close the door for the Gators. Working swiftly to a straight sets victory, Nirundorn finished his 6-4, 6-3 clinic mere moments after Kim won his match on court two, sealing the 4-1 win for the Orange and Blue.
Next up…
Florida now hits the road for another week of SEC matches. The Gators stare down the two highest rated teams in the conference, first heading to Lexington to face Kentucky this Friday, then facing Tennessee in Knoxville just two days later.
From Head Coach Adam Steinberg…
On what he saw from his team…
“Resiliency. We didn’t come out the way that we wanted, that was not the start that we had talked about, we were flat… To be honest, [the weather] helped us, it gave us a break to evaluate and talk things through. You could use the word redemption, to come back and compete the way we are capable… Everyone knew they had to step up, but we were very confident in who we sent out to those first three courts, and they came up huge.”
On Jeremy Jin’s outstanding performance this weekend
“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.
Results:
Singles competition
1. No. 78 Jeremy Jin (UF) def. Stefan Latinovic (LSU) 4-6, 7-6, 6-2
2. Aidan Kim (UF) def. No. 122 George Stoupe (LSU) 7-5, 3-6, 6-4
3. Nate Bonetto (UF) def. Aleksi Lofman (LSU) 6-2, 7-5
4. No. 104 Tanapatt Nirundorn (UF) def. Alessio Vasquez (LSU) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Aleksi Lofman/Stefan Latinovic (LSU) def. Aidan Kim/Nate Bonetto (UF) 7-6
2. No. 41 Adhithya Ganesan/Tanapatt Nirundorn (UF) vs. Welsh Hotard/George Stoupe 5-5, unfinished
3. Chen Dong/Julien Penzlin (LSU) def. Jeremy Jin/Henry Jefferson (UF) 6-1
