The Florida men’s tennis team is looking to move past a split weekend where it was on both ends of shutout matches.
The Gators started off the weekend with a shutout win against Arkansas 4-0 on Friday.
But two days later, they suffered a 4-0 loss to Ole Miss.
Coach Bryan Shelton admitted Sunday’s match was not the Gators’ best performance this season.
Couple that with Ole Miss having the reigning Southeastern Conference Player of the Year in Nik Scholtz, and Florida was already at a disadvantage.
"He just showed us why he really is that good," Shelton said. "Overall a tough assignment there and they used the crowd well. Certainty getting the doubles point was just contagious for those guys."
With less than a month to go before the SEC Tournament, the Gators head into the rest of the season with a 9-6 record.
If there’s one thing Shelton has been this season, it’s optimistic.
He looks at the loss as an opportunity for his underclassmen.
"Just a difficult challenge for our guys," Shelton said. "It was great experience though, and we’re a young team and we have to learn from those experiences."
Despite losing in Sunday’s singles match against Ole Miss, sophomore Elliott Orkin has made a crucial impact on the season for UF, and Shelton believes he has made his mark.
"He’s a stud," Shelton said. "I’d go to battle with that guy any day. On Friday he was able to convert, and on Sunday he wasn’t able to convert but he still played well. He served well, he hit the ball hard off the ground, he competed hard, he did so many things well."
Orkin isn’t the only underclassman leaving his mark on the program.
True freshman Chase Perez-Blanco leads the team in singles, only losing one match thus far this season.
The 5-foot-8 Miami native has scored a point for the Gators in six of its last seven matches and wasn’t able to finish singles against Ole Miss because of a three-court match restraint.
Shelton is ready to start Florida’s six-day break from game action to prepare for the Gators next match.
"We gotta get back to work," Shelton said. "I think the main thing is getting back on working on some individual things. Continue to work on our serves, continue to work on the return serve and just working on creating more depth on the baseline."
Follow Caylee Underwood on Twitter @CayUnderwood
Chase Perez-Blanco returns a ball during Florida's 4-1 win against Mississippi State on March 13 at the Ring Tennis Complex.
