It had been six years since the Seminoles beat the Gators, and that did not change on Saturday.
No. 11 UF (6-0) defeated rival Florida State 5-2 in Tallahassee in its final match before ITA Indoor Championships next weekend in Seattle.
“Overall, I think it was a good day,” coach Bryan Shelton said in a release. “We came on the road, and we knew it was going to be tough test, and our guys answered the call.”
Florida State (9-2) came into the match without having lost a doubles point this season. Florida blemished that record with the help of duos Stephane Piro and Bob van Overbeek; and Florent Diep and Mike Alford.
Piro and Overbeek made quick work of Florida State’s Dominic Cotrone and Michael Rinaldi, cruising to an 8-3 win.
Diep and Alford followed suit, clinching the doubles point after an 8-3 victory over Jordan Kelly-Houston and Anderson Reed.
Florida’s pair gave Reed his first loss on the season. Reed was 6-0 in doubles and 9-0 in singles entering the match.
Carrying over their momentum from doubles play, the Gators won the first set in five of six matches in singles play.
In his first semester playing tennis for UF, Piro extended his record to 5-0 in singles after closing out his match in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 over 99th-ranked Benjamin Lock.
“Steph got the first point for us in singles pretty decisively,” Shelton said. “He got better as the match went along and really used his whole game and got to the net a lot today and was able to execute. I was proud that he played more disciplined tennis today and executed well and got off the court.
Gordon Watson stayed undefeated as well, improving his record to 5-0. Watson took care of Reed in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, giving the Gators a 3-0 lead heading into the final four courts.
Mike Alford clinched his second win for UF this season after defeating Andres Bucaro 7-5, 6-2.
"Really pleased to see him out there competing and you always know what you’re going to get from him, which is going to be a solid effort," Shelton said. "It was great to see him close that match out and clinch the win for us today.”
Florida now holds a 54-20 overall record over Florida State.
UF senior Bob van Overbeek returns a volley. Van Overbeek won only his second match since Feb. 3 against Ole Miss on Friday.
