Though the competition level proved paltry and the stakes of the tournament low, the Gators men’s tennis team couldn’t have asked for a better start to the 2011 season.
On Friday, Florida swept all six of its singles matches in straight sets and went a perfect 3-0 in doubles play, to breeze by FAU in the opening round of the Gator Invitational at Ring Tennis Complex.
“I thought that we’ve been training a lot and really need to play some matches,” UF coach Andy Jackson said. “It looked like we played ok, which is good. The level of play is going to go up tomorrow (against UCF). Overall, a pretty good first day.”
While the win doesn’t count for the Gators as a team, all four UF players ranked in the ITA preseason top-125 were able to notch their first individual victories.
Senior Nassim Slilam, ranked 36th in the nation, downed FAU’s Taylor Albrecht 6-0, 6-3 to get the day started for Florida, as No. 58 Bob van Overbeek, No. 69 Frank Carleton and 119th-ranked Billy Federhofer would all soon follow in similar fashion.
Slilam would also team up with the junior Federhofer in one of the Gators’ doubles match. The duo outgunned the Owls’ Will Neuner and Albrecht by an 8-1 margin for the squad’s most lopsided win of the meet so far.
Florida will face UCF’s players on Saturday after the Golden Knights went 2-4 in solo play and 1-2 in doubles against USF.
UF Communications contributed to this report.
