Despite struggles in doubles, No. 16 Florida won a Southeastern Conference showdown against Alabama 4-0.
Florida’s duos on Court 1 and 3 were the main attraction. Elliot Orkin and Gordon Watson and Diego Hidalgo and Maxx Lipman both held their opponents down to a 6-2 lead until Alabama slowly began to find momentum and chop Florida’s lead down.
Lipman and Hidalgo held onto their lead and defeated Hayes Brewer and Andrew Goodwin in an 8-4 victory. The duo was the first to finish for the Gators.
Watson and Orkin fought in long rallies against No. 62 Becker O’Shaughnessey and Daniil Proskura but held on and clinched the doubles point for Florida in the tiebreak, 8-7 (5).
Mike Alford and Florent Diep were the only team to lose in doubles. They trailed the entire match against Sean Donohue and Stuart Kenyon, losing 8-5.
On the singles court, Maxx Lipmann showed no mercy on his opponent, Stuart Kenyon. From start to finish he played a flawless match winning in straight sets 6-0, 6-0 giving Florida the 2-0 lead.
“This was huge for me. The score sounds easy, but every match was tough,” Lipman said.
The freshman also wants to work on keeping this type of momentum going.
“I need to work on competing every point, taking no points off and giving my opponents no break,” he said.
Diep also won in straight sets (6-1, 6-2) against No. 83 O’Shaughnessey. His win gave Florida a 3-0 lead over the Crimson Tide.
Down on Court 5, Senior Mike Alford clinched the singles point for his team in a short but difficult match. His first set was easy, winning in a quick 6-2 decision. In the second set, Donohue put up a fight, but Alford eaened the victory in the second set 6-4.
Florida is now 4-2 in SEC play and 9-6 on the season.
Next up for the Gators is a Southeastern Conference matchup against Arkansas on March 28 in Arkansas. Florida won’t return home until April 6 for its Senior Day, when it will face Ole Miss.
“I think we’re starting to hit our stride,” Lipman said. “I think we have a really good chance of doing something special in the postseason.”
Follow Britnee McCoy on Twitter @TheReporterGirl
