UF men’s tennis coach Bryan Shelton has had three years to bring some hardware back to Gainesville: a Southeastern Conference title, a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, individual postseason titles.
It hasn’t happened yet.
And now, it’s time for Shelton and the Gators to show up when it matters.
When Florida opens its dual-match season on Jan. 17 against Troy, Shelton will embark on his fourth journey to make the Gators a contender at the end of the season.
In three seasons, Florida has yet to win an SEC Tournament or advance further than the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
Outside of the 2013-14 season, a year where the Gators fell 4-2 to Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament final and were one point away from upsetting Ohio State in the NCAA Round of 16, Florida’s postseason presence has been virtually nonexistent under Shelton.
This is the year for Shelton to break through and show the men’s tennis team is capable of success.
And UF has a team capable of competing if it plays well.
Seniors Gordon Watson and Diego Hidalgo provide the experience, playing under Shelton since his first season at the helm of Florida’s program. Hidalgo earned first-team All-SEC honors last season after going 10-6 in dual singles action and 9-9 in doubles with Watson.
Watson has found success of his own, too. The 5-foot-11 righty has won at least 10 dual meet singles matches in each of his first three seasons, while also boasting a 33-29 career record in doubles.
Juniors Elliott Orkin and Maxx Lipman bring quality playing time from their first two years, a doubles tandem with complementary playing styles and singles players who have held their own against some of the best in the country.
Sophomore Chase Perez-Blanco highlights the five underclassmen on the team, all of whom are capable of contributing.
Last season, Perez-Blanco posted a team-best 14-4 mark in dual match singles while going 8-1 in SEC play en route to SEC All-Freshman team laurels. Most of his singles action came on the lower courts as a freshman, but Perez-Blanco showed marked improvement this fall.
The Miami native went 13-3 in tournament singles action, claiming the singles title at the Bedford Cup and advancing to the semifinals in the USTA/ITA Southeast Regionals.
Sophomore Jordan Belga, redshirt sophomore Josh Wardell and freshmen Alfredo Perez and McClain Kessler round out the team.
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UF men's tennis coach Bryan Shelton reacts during Florida's 9-3 win against William & Mary on Jan. 10, 2015 at the Ring Tennis Complex.
