Florida’s run at the 2014 ITA National Men’s Team Indoor Championship was cut short Sunday after a quick 4-0 loss to Notre Dame.
“Notre Dame played very well,” coach Bryan Shelton said in a release. "Our team did not respond when the bell went off. We have to do a better job than we did today."
In doubles, Stephane Piro and Michael Alford were defeated in a 6-4 decision by No. 17 Greg Andrews and Alex Lawson. Diego Hidalgo and Florent Diep were defeated by the Notre Dame duo of Ryan Bandy and Eric Schnurrenberger 6-2.
Gordon Watson and Maxx Lipman, who were playing in a close 4-5 match against No. 46 Josh Hagar and Billy Pecor of Notre Dame, did not finish.
In singles, the Gators were taken out quickly, including three matches that weren't even finished. Also, no Florida player was able to put up more than four points in a set against Notre Dame other than Gordon Watson, who has really been playing some of his best tennis this weekend.
Gordon was the only Gator to win in singles on Friday against Ohio State. He also clinched the match for his team Saturday evening against Georgia.
“I thought Gordon did a great job of never letting up,” said his coach.
Despite losing his match in singles, Watson put up a fight. He was defeated by Ryan Bandy of Notre Dame 6-4, 6-5 (7-3).
"Our focus is to get home and to use the next 10 days to get better," Shelton said. "It was a good experience to play this tournament indoors and our guys understand better what it takes to reach the top.”
Although they finished the tournament with a disappointing 1-2 record, the Gators only have about a week to regroup before get back on the courts to redeem themselves.
Next up for Florida (4-4) will be a home dual match against Florida State on Feb. 26. Shelton sees great potential in his team going forward.
“We aren’t there yet,” he said. “But we’ll get there.”
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Gordon Watson hits a ball during Florida’s 7-0 win against St. John’s on Jan. 6, 2013. The junior won the singles event of the Gainesville ITA Circuits Draw on Monday.
