The UF men's tennis team watched its season come to an end on Thursday.
Florida was bounced from the NCAA Tournament after a 4-2 loss to Kentucky in Palo Alto, Calif.
The Gators were the No. 7 overall seed in the tournament, but they suffered an early exit in the Round of 16 following an underwhelming round of singles play and a disappointing showing in doubles.
"Kentucky played well today and fought very hard," coach Andy Jackson said. "We did as well, and the difference was very slim. They were better than us in the big moments today."
The Gators uncharacteristically lost the doubles point, starting the day on a bad note. Alexandre Lacroix and Sekou Bangoura Jr. were upset by Kentucky's Eric Quigley and Brad Cox. The Wildcats also took the Court 3 matchup to claim the doubles point.
Although Florida lost in doubles, Jackson said he didn't think there was a hangover into singles play.
"I thought we were a little bit down in the transition [from doubles to singles] and in the walkthrough," Jackson said. "But we did a good job to start strong when singles started."
The Gators did take the first set on four of the six singles courts, but Florida couldn't hold onto its success. All three of UF's singles losses were on the bottom three courts, leading to questions about the team's depth.
Bob van Overbeek, Billy Federhofer and Spencer Newman lost on Courts 4, 5 and 6, respectively, with Newman's loss on Court 6 being the clincher for the Wildcats.
"I really felt like [Kentucky's] kid at Court 6 was the difference in the match, both in doubles and singles," Jackson said. "He's about 6'6", a very athletic guy who beat us today."
Jackson said both teams have solid lineups, but Kentucky's depth was better today and that was the difference in the match.
Thursday's match was a revenge match the Wildcats, avenging a loss to the Gators in the Southeastern Conference Tournament final on April 24.
Although Florida has been ousted from the NCAA Team Championships, UF will still be represented in the individual tournament by Lacroix and Bangoura later this month.
