Two very different teams played each other at Florida’s Ring Tennis Complex on Sunday when UF faced off against SEC rival Vanderbilt.
The No. 12 Gators (12-6, 5-1 SEC) came into Sunday’s matchup on a three-match win streak. Florida’s top-ranked player, sophomore Alfredo Perez, went undefeated in singles play during the streak and entered Sunday’s match fresh off of a victory over the nation’s sixth-ranked player in his last outing at Arkansas.
The Gators also entered the home match with a week of rest, last facing Arkansas in Fayetteville a week prior.
Meanwhile, the No. 41 Commodores (10-11, 1-7 SEC) entered the match on an SEC road trip. They came to Gainesville following a loss to No. 23 South Carolina in Columbia on Friday.
Vanderbilt was also forced to play without one of its best players, Cameron Klinger, who’s out with an injury.
The differences between the two squads showed up in the match.
Florida took care of Vandy in every aspect of competition, shutting out the Commodores with a 7-0 win.
“I felt like today we had one of those performances that we’ve been working for,” UF coach Bryan Shelton said. “We always talk about playing better as the match goes on, and I think the scoreboard was indicative of just that.”
Play opened with hard-fought doubles action. All three matches were close, but the Gators earned late breaks in two contests to edge out the point.
Then the match transitioned to singles, where the Gators dominated.
UF quickly secured the match due to the performances of its upperclassmen.
“The seniors did their job today,” Shelton said. “I really thought it was a complete performance… Our guys kept their composure when things were tough and were very resilient when they needed to be.”
Elliott Orkin, a senior and team captain, was the first to capture victory for Florida, defeating Billy Rowe in two sets 6-3, 6-1.
The conclusion of Orkin’s match was closely followed by a win from junior Chase Perez-Blanco in the second position. Perez-Blanco defeated the Commodores’ Baker Newman, also by a score of 6-3, 6-1.
Maxx Lipman clinched the team victory for Florida when he defeated Panu Virtanen by a tally of 6-4, 6-3.
As for the Gators’ underclassmen, Perez took care of his opponent in two sets, downing Danny Valent on Court 1 by a score of 7-5, 6-1, while freshmen Johannes Ingildsen and Joseph Guillin were able to cap the Gators’ shutout by winning matches in third-set tiebreakers.
UF will look to extend its win streak to five when it heads to Tuscaloosa on Thursday for a matchup against Alabama.
Contact Mark Stine at mstine@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @mstinejr.
UF's Elliott Orkin hits a forehand during Florida's 4-2 win against UCLA on Feb. 5, 2017, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
