The University of Florida men’s tennis team captured a much-needed win over then-No. 23 South Carolina on Sunday. Heading into its matchup with the Gamecocks, the team had lost four out of its last five matches.
But the win gave UF much needed momentum as it heads into the main part of its SEC schedule, starting with a trip to Oxford to face Ole Miss today.
A problem for the Gators over this stretch was the lack for form from their sophomore sensation Alfredo Perez.
Perez was undefeated in singles play in 2017 and ranked ninth in the country when Florida faced off with Oklahoma in the consolation bracket of the ITA National Team Indoors tournament. The sophomore from Havana had just beaten two top-five opponents at ITA Indoors heading into his matchup against the Sooners’ Spencer Papa, the nation’s 29th ranked player.
Perez fell to Papa as the Gators lost to the Sooners, beginning a tough five-game stretch for both the Gators and their top player.
Florida fell to Ohio State, Texas A&M and Florida State and defeated LSU over the next four matches. Perez couldn’t piece together a singles win over the entire stretch, winning only one set in the process.
And when Florida faced off with the Gamecocks, Perez looked to be in trouble when he lost the first set to Gabriel Friedrich. However, Perez took control of the match in the second set and closed out Friedrich in three sets, earning his first win in singles since Feb. 18.
“I’ve been struggling a little bit,” said Perez. “So being down and being able find my way out of this match is a good win to start to win again.”
Contact Mark Stine at mstine@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @mstinejr.
UF's Alfredo Perez hits a backhand during Florida's 4-0 win against UNC Wilmington on Jan. 28, 2017, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
