Elliott Orkin waited a long time to play college tennis, and he played a decisive role in his first collegiate dual match.
Orkin won his singles match to clinch Florida’s season-opening 5-2 win against North Florida at the Ring Tennis Complex on Wednesday.
“It’s pretty awesome,” he said. “I’ve been waiting to play college tennis for many years now.”
Florida started slow in doubles, dropping the point despite two matches going to a tiebreaker. Although the duo of Orkin and sophomore Gordon Watson came into the match ranked No. 13 in the nation, the twosome fell to the Ospreys’ Caio Gomes and Yannick Zuern in a quick 6-2 decision.
“We weren’t playing aggressive enough” Orkin said. “We weren’t making balls that we normally make.”
The No. 43 doubles pairing of Mike Alford and Stephane Piro were also defeated by their UNF opponents, Norbert Nemcsek and Jack Findel-Hawkins, in a hard-fought 6-5 (4) tiebreak.
The only match a Florida duo won was No. 3 doubles, which featured senior Florent Diep and freshman Maxx Lipman.
The Florida tandem kept the match close with long rallies and came away with a 7-4 tiebreak victory.
On the singles court, Orkin stole the show. After losing in doubles play, he took it upon himself to rack up a singles victory in a nearly two-hour match against Zuern, winning 6-5, 2-6, 6-4 to guarantee the victory for the Gators.
Orkin said he knew what to expect and that he got tips from his older teammates going into the match. The freshman entered the match ranked 53rd in the nation — the second-highest ranked player on the team — but said he had trouble loosening up.
Spencer Newman set the Gators on the right track after Florida lost the doubles point. Playing against Nemcsek on Court One, Newman regained momentum for Florida, picking up a decisive 6-4, 6-1 victory.
“It was a little bit nerve-wracking, but I was able to settle in and get the win,” Newman said.
Diep was the second Gator to finish his singles action, notching his second victory of the evening against the Ospreys’ Zachary Goldberg in a quick 6-3, 6-2 match.
No. 116 ranked Mike Alford defeated Pablo Tellez 6-3, 6-4, and No. 28 Stephane Piro also gave the Gators a win, but Watson’s showing came as a surprise — the sophomore was the only Florida player to drop his singles match.
Watson could not get any rallies going against Gomes in singles, falling 3-6 in the first set before dropping a tiebreaker in the second.
“He had a tough match,” Shelton said. “The guy that he played was pretty explosive and came out and got after him.
“Gordon got control of the match in the second set and then wasn’t able to close it out.”
Florida’s next match comes against UNC-Wilmington as part of the ITA Kickoff tournament on Saturday at the Ring Tennis Complex.
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Elliott Orkin attempts to hit the ball during his singles match against UNF on Jan. 22.
