Gators bounce back from last weekend’s loss with important top-25 victory
LAKE NONA, Fla. – No. 11 Florida (4-1) defeated No. 19 UCF (0-1) by a score of 5-2 on Friday night at the USTA National Campus.
The Gators used a doubles point and straight-set victories from Sam Riffice and Andy Andrade to bounce back from their first loss of the season last weekend at No. 4 Texas.
The duos of Sam Riffice/Duarte Vale and Ben Shelton/Josh Goodger gave UF the start it needed in doubles as the pairings powered through their opponents winning 6-2 and 6-1, respectively.
Riffice and Andrade then downed their competition in straight sets in singles play, giving Florida a 3-0 edge early on.
Blaise Bicknell and Shelton battled back after dropping their first sets to secure victories for the Gators, while Vale and Johannes Ingildsen fell in the final two matches of the evening.
Overall, it was an important test for UF against a top-25 team on the road, but Florida passed and then some.
Bicknell improved to 13-0 in all singles competitions in the 2020-21 season while Andrade is 12-1. In his freshman season, Shelton continues to impress, garnering an 11-2 record, with a 4-1 start to his dual match career.
The Gators will turn their attention to a rivalry matchup with Florida State (3-1) in Tallahassee on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at the Scott Speicher Memorial Tennis Center.
Singles Results: 2, 3, 5, 6, 1, 4
1. #16 Gabriel Decamps (UCF) def. #12 Duarte Vale (UF) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
2. #8 Sam Riffice (UF) def. Trey Hilderbrand (UCF) 6-1, 6-1
3. #85 Andy Andrade (UF) def. #52 Juan Pablo Mazzuchi (UCF) 6-2, 6-4
4. Alan Rubio (UCF) def. Johannes Ingildsen (UF) 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
5. #68 Blaise Bicknell (UF) def. Mikhail Sokolovskiy (UCF) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
6. Ben Shelton (UF) def. Bogdan Pavel (UCF) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
Doubles Results: 3, 1
1. #45 Sam Riffice/Duarte Vale (UF) def. Gabriel Decamps/Trey Hilderbrand (UCF) 6-2
2. Juan Pablo Mazzuchi/Bogdan Pavel (UCF) vs. Will Grant/Johannes Ingildsen (UF) 4-5, *unfinished*
3. Ben Shelton/Josh Goodger (UF) def. Alan Rubio/Mikhail Sokolovskiy (UCF) 6-1
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