In a match pitting two ranked opponents, the No. 14 Gators ended on
the wrong side of a 4-3 decision against No. 15 Kentucky.
Florida’s Andrew Butz fell to Kentucky’s Tom Jomby in a third set
tiebreaker (7-4) for the deciding point in the contest.
UF has become accustom to close matches, as Friday’s loss was
Florida’s ninth 4-3 decision of the season.
The Gators are 4-5 in matches decided by one point, and head coach
Andy Jackson believes their experience in these matches may not
necessarily be good for the team.
“It could make us better, but it could make us worse too,” said
Jackson. “We have played a lot of these close matches now, and we
still make some of the same mistakes.”
Thanks senior Alexandre Lacroix and sophomore Sekou Bangoura Jr,
the Gators took an early lead by capturing the doubles point.
Lacroix also won in singles, beating No. 7 Eric Quigley in straight
sets. He rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to take the first set in
a tiebreaker.
“I really wasn’t moving well in the first few games,” he said. “I
knew he liked to play quick points, so I focused on getting more
balls back and it worked.”
Despite the loss, Friday’s match was memorable for Lacroix as his
two victories gave him 199 for his career, second all-time at
Florida.
The other singles victory for the Gators came from junior Nassim
Slilam, who won 7-6, 6-2 over Kentucky’s Brad Cox.
Bangoura, sophomore Bob van Overbeek, and freshman Spencer Newman
all lost in straight sets.
