Despite team competition being over, Florida senior Florent Diep has been playing his heart out trying to seize every moment as his career as a Gator comes to a close.
But after three straight upset victories, Diep played in his final match as a Gator after falling 6-2, 6-2 to Harvard’s No. 39 Denis Nguyen in the NCAA Singles Competition quarterfinals on Saturday.
In his final season at Florida, Diep has receive many honors this season including first-team All-Southeastern Conference, SEC all-tournament, and ITA Southeast senior player of the year. Diep also leads the Gators with 31 singles wins.
Diep, ranked No. 51 in the country, started the individual championship with a 6-7(2), 6-1, 7-6(1) win against Elon’s No. 36 Cameron Silverman on Wednesday. The UF senior followed that performance with a 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-1 victory over Georgia Tech’s No. 20-ranked Amerigo Contini in the Round of 32 on Thursday to clinch All-American status for the first time in his career.
“That’s huge,” Diep said in a release. “I’ll have my picture on the wall now and it means a lot to me. I’m only the 22nd All-American for Florida, so I’m really, really proud of it. I’m just so proud of that.”
Diep then faced and upset Vanderbilt’s No. 21 Gonzales Austin on Friday, winning in three rocky sets — 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 — to advance to the quarterfinals where he faced Nguyen.
Diep got off to a slow start, dropping the first set 6-2. Minutes later, Diep was defeated 6-2 in the second set to lose the match and end his career as a Florida Gator.
"I felt good on the court and I fought in all of my matches,” Diep said.
“It was exciting to play for Florida. It was great to play with a team and it was a great experience for me and I’ve improved as a person and as a player. It was great for me.”
Diep ended his season on a high note. He leaves behind a proud team and an even prouder coach.
"We’ve certainly gained from having him,” coach Bryan Shelton said in a release. “He’s been a great model for our young players and he’s set a great example for the future of this program. He’ll be missed, but we’ll be following his professional progress in his next chapter."
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Florent Diep swings at the ball during Florida’s 4-2 win against TCU on Jan. 26 at the Ring Tennis Complex.
