The UF men’s tennis team travelled to Virginia looking for its third straight win over a top-10 opponent and first victory over Virginia under coach Bryan Shelton.
But the No. 6 Gators (6-1) fell short against the No. 1 Cavaliers (4-0), suffering their first lost of the season by a score of 2-5.
“Virginia played better than us on the critical points today in both doubles and singles,” Shelton said in a release. “We will watch the videos and figure out what we need to improve in order to reverse this result the next time.”
Unlike previous matches against top-10 opponents, Florida was unable to bounce back after losing the critical doubles point.
Sophomore Alfredo Perez was able leave Charlottesville with a victory, playing in the longest match of the day and defeating UVA’s Collin Altamirano on Court 1. Perez pulled out the hard-fought match in two sets, winning 7-6 (7-1), 7-5 and ending the day for the Gators on a high note.
Freshman Johannes Ingildsen, doubles partner of Perez, also left individually victorious, defeating Alexander Ritschard 6-2, 0-6, 6-3.
Contact Mark Stine at mstine@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @mstinejr.
Alfredo Perez hits a backhand during Florida's 4-2 against UCLA on Feb. 5, 2017, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
