Freshman Luke Johnson's college tennis career got off to a rough start.
During the fall season, Johnson went 3-8, but he has bounced back this spring.
Because of his hard work in practice, Johnson has earned a spot in the Gators' starting lineup.
“Luke is a great example of a freshman who has consistently improved because of hard work,” coach Bryan Shelton said.
Johnson clinched his third deciding match this season at the No. 6 singles position in Florida's. The starting role was given to him after senior Bob van Overbeek sat the past two matches.
Johnson and his teammates look to carry their momentum from the victory against Arkansas into this weekend’s matches when they travel to No. 7 Ole Miss (13-5, 6-3 Southeastern Conference) on Friday and No. 13 Mississippi State (13-7, 3-5 SEC) at home on Sunday. A problem for the Gators (10-8, 4-4 SEC) has been their inability to string wins together. For the month of March, the team went 4-4 in SEC play and sits in last place in the SEC East division.
Last Friday, the team had the opportunity to close out three singles matches after grabbing a set from LSU, but the team failed to win.
”You’ve got to be able to think about something positive and get yourself in the right frame of mind and go out there and play boldly and with conviction,” Shelton said. “I think we’ve done that at certain points throughout this season, and at other times I think we’ve let doubt win the war inside our own heads.”
But Johnson has been able to win those battles this season, and it has shown in his improvement. Johnson is 7-2 in singles play, and shows no signs of slowing down.
The team has four conference matches left before the SEC Tournament and needs to close out the season on a strong note. It could be the freshman who carries the team to a successful end of season.
“Whatever the mind believes, the mind can achieve,” Shelton said. “We have to get them in that right frame of mind so that they can go out there and have success every point.”
UF senior Bob van Overbeek returns a volley. Van Overbeek won only his second match since Feb. 3 against Ole Miss on Friday.
