Mike Alford dropped his racket and threw his fists in the air as he celebrated the Gators’ first victory in five matches.
After dropping four consecutive matches as a team, his teammates ran over to him and jumped on him after he clinched a win in his match.
“It’s such an amazing feeling,” Alford said. “We have had a couple of matches this year that haven’t gone our way, so to beat a really good team today for the first [Southeastern Conference] match this season was huge for us.”
Alford’s clinching match against No. 11 Texas A&M (9-5, 1-1 SEC) sealed the 4-3 victory for No. 35 Florida (7-4, 1-0 SEC).
Down 5-4 in the third set to A&M’s Shane Vinsant, coach Bryan Shelton pulled Alford aside to calm his nerves. Alford responded by tying the match at 5-all, eventually pushing the set to a tiebreaker.
Alford was up 5-2 in the tiebreak set, but Visant battled back to tie it. Alford stepped on the gas pedal, however, and pulled away from Visant, winning his match 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5).
“In moments like that when the match is on the line, the person that steps up the most is usually the guy that comes out on top,” Shelton said. “Mike was that guy today.”
The win still showcased some of the team’s struggles. Florida dropped its fifth consecutive doubles point and senior, No. 1 singles player Bob van Overbeek lost his sixth consecutive match.
Shelton said he isn’t concerned about the senior’s performance because he knows van Overbeek has the weapons to match up against the other No. 1 players in the league.
He also has told him about his professional experience that is similar to van Overbeek’s.
“Leading up to Wimbledon one year, I had lost 10 or 11 first-round matches in a row,” Shelton said. “Bob has lost six matches, so he is still not there. What I tell him is to keep his head up and to give himself positive affirmations because whatever he believes is what’s going to happen on the court.”
Florent Diep was on the losing train as well. Before this match, Diep had lost four consecutive matches. But, Diep defeated Harrison Adams 6-4, 6-3 in a 1:33 match, cutting his time in half from last week’s match against Baylor’s Julian Lenz which he lost in a 3:13 endurance test.
The win gave coach Shelton his first SEC victory as the Florida head coach. Shelton said the win came at an important time because the team faces two top 10 SEC teams on the road in its next three games.
“To start the SEC with a win after losing four matches in a row and losing the doubles point today — we are feeling great,” Shelton said. “We can enjoy the win today, but come Monday or Tuesday it’s back to work for us.”
