Florida has struggled throughout the season to find a player it can consistently rely on.
Junior Florent Diep's recent play suggests he could be the answer.
After being named Southeastern Conference Men’s Tennis Player of the Week for his performances against No. 13 Mississippi State and No. 7 Ole Miss last weekend, he responded with an impressive showing against Bethune-Cookman.
Slotted in Florida's No. 2 spot, Diep helped the No. 17 Gators (12-9, 5-5) to a 7-0 victory against the Wildcats (12-13) on Wednesday afternoon at Linder Stadium.
The win is Florida’s first 7-0 shutout since blanking Furman on Feb. 3.
“In conference play, we stop so many times after the point is decided in doubles and after the match is decided in singles,” Florida coach Bryan Shelton said, “So this is an opportunity for us to play all of our matches out and for our guys to finish.”
No. 102 Diep cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 victory against Santiago Lobelo. He had similar success while paired with redshirt freshman Gordon Watson in doubles. The duo beat Bethune-Cookman’s Juan Varon and Moritz Pronath 8-2.
Diep is undefeated in his past six matches, three of which were singles and three doubles. He has won 38 of 58 in singles and 24 of 34 in doubles over the three dual-match span.
“It’s always good to win,” Diep said. “It’s good for confidence. … It’s good for a lot of things, along with the team too.”
Diep was awarded SEC Player of the Week on Wednesday after defeating a pair of top-100 opponents while playing in the No. 2 spot for the Gators. Diep beat Mississippi State’s No. 50 Malte Stropp and Ole Miss’ No. 84 William Kallberg.
“It’s always a pleasure to be recognized like that, especially as a Gator,” Diep said. “Hopefully I will continue being successful for the rest of the year.”
Diep’s first collegiate award is the first time the SEC has recognized a Florida tennis player since Bob van Overbeek earned the same distinction in February 2012.
Diep will have the opportunity to continue his recent successful streak when Florida hosts No. 8 Kentucky and No. 13 Vanderbilt this weekend.
“For Flo to go out there the last few matches and sustain a higher level of play and really finish the matches strong, it’s certainly a boost for all of us,” Shelton said.
Junior Florent Diep strikes the ball during Florida’s 5-2 victory against Miami on Jan. 19 at Linder Stadium.
