The Gators knock out their highest-ranked opponent to date in a rout of Texas A&M
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida Gators Men’s Tennis opened Southeastern Conference play with a stunning 4-0 sweep of the No. 12 Texas A&M Aggies. The win marked the Gators’ first over a ranked opponent in the 2024 season.
After weather forced the match into the Perry Indoor Facility, the Gators quickly announced their presence in doubles, winning courts two and three to secure the first point of the dual. The court two tandem of No. 41 Adhithya Ganesan/Tanapatt Nirundorn put together a 6-2 clinic on court two, making them 7-1 as a pair in the dual season. Court three pairing Henry Jefferson/Jeremy Jin sealed the first point with a definitive 6-3 win.
Aidan Kim battled from behind in each of his two sets, first coming back from 2-3 to win set one 6-4, and then again pulling from behind in set two to win by a 7-5 score and collect a second point for the Orange and Blue.
Ganesan opened action on court two in a groove, taking his first set 6-1. Momentum quickly shifted to Texas A&M’s JC Roddick, as Ganesan dropped his second set 6-2, and trailed 4-2 in the third before storming back to a 4-4 score and eventually a 7-6 (9) tiebreaker win to extend Florida’s lead to 3-0. The two games that led set three back to a 4-4 tie were perhaps the most impressive of any court on the day, with Ganesan dealing multiple aces on serve and delivering some of his best returns of the season to even the set.
Jin returned to a court one assignment for the first time since January 19th against North Florida, and this time faced the reigning SEC Player of the week in Raphael Perot. Like Ganesan, 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 returning to a rhythm to overpower Perot in the third, 6-3.
The win marked Florida’s first ranked victory 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. Florida extends their streak of dual match wins at home to five straight.
Next Up
The Gators face the Louisiana State Tigers at the Ring Tennis Complex on Sunday. The Tigers come to Gainesville as the No. 25 team in the nation, boasting a 10-1 record.
From Head Coach Adam Steinberg
On what he saw from the team…
“Incredible heart. Our doubles have improved so much, it’s been a big bright spot for us. Just for these guys to have this feeling is pretty special, they’ve been going through a tough first two months where [the freshmen] got hit hard with college tennis. For them to have this feeling after the first SEC match, it couldn’t have worked out better for us. I’m happy for every guy on this team because they deserve it, they’ve been working hard, they care a lot, and I wanted them to have this feeling so badly. Really happy for all of them.”
Results
Singles competition
1. Jeremy Jin (UF) def. Raphael Perot (TAMU) 6-1, 6-7 (6), 6-3
2. Adhithya Ganesan (UF) def. JC Roddick (TAMU) 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (9)
3. Aidan Kim (UF) def. Togan Tokac (TAMU) 6-4, 7-5
4. Nate Bonetto (UF) vs. Giulio Perego (TAMU) 6-3, 0-0, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Giulio Perego/Togan Tokac (TAMU) def. Nate Bonetto/Aidan Kim (UF) 6-1
2. Adhithya Ganesan/Tanapatt Nirundorn (UF) def. JC Roddick/Luke Casper (TAMU) 6-2
3. Henry Jefferson/Jeremy Jin (UF) def. Raphael Perot/Tiago Pires (TAMU) 6-3
