Florida finished strong on the last day of the Gator Ranked +1 and Ivy-Plus Invitational tournaments on Sunday.
In singles play, Duarte Vale and Johannes Ingildsen both took home individual titles in their respective championship matches. Vale and Ingildsen were the only two Gators to finish singles play undefeated for the tournament.
Vale took down Giovanni Oradini of Mississippi State in three sets for the Orange Draw, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1. This title marked Vale’s first collegiate singles championship.
“It feels pretty good…and it’s nice,” Vale said. “I’ve been working pretty hard and I’m used to the courts and the temperatures, so I knew I could do well.”
Ingildsen also came back after dropping the second set of his championship to claim the title against No. 13 Constantin Schmitz of Tulane, 7-6, 5-7, 6-2.
“He [Ingildsen] was lights out,” said coach Bryan Shelton. “The way he bounced back after losing the second set today, he really showed me something, and he really dug deep.”
Alfredo Perez fought back from a tough weekend to claim the victory over No. 46 Christian Seaphim of Wake Forest in the consolation final for the Orange Draw, 6-3, 6-4.
McClain Kessler and Chase Perez-Blanco also won their consolation matches against Chris Morin-Kougoucheff of Louisville and Lasse Muscheites of North Florida, respectively.
Coach Shelton was very pleased with the outcome of the tournament.
“It couldn’t be a whole lot better result wise,” said Shelton. “Our guys really took the challenge on to finish strong and we couldn’t really script a better finish.”
Vale attributed the success of the team in the Gator Ranked +1 tournament to one particular attribute: attitude.
“I think our attitude was by far the best and even when we were down and losing matches, we were always fighting and competing and I think that’s where we were different from the others…,” said Vale.
This positive attitude was displayed throughout the tournament through constant encouragement from fellow teammates and the occasional “Go Gators” shouted across the courts.
In the Ivy-Plus Invitational, Florida also had a successful ending to Day 3 of competition.
In singles play, Andy Andrade took first place after his opponent, Lucas Koelle of Harvard, retired with a score of 6-7, 2-2. Koelle’s injury in the second set helped Andrade achieve his first collegiate title in singles play as a freshman.
Jordan Belga finished runner-up in singles play for the Nassau Draw against Christian Lakoseljac of Penn State, 5-7, 2-6.
In doubles action, Belga and Henry Patten of UNC Asheville finished second behind Michal Rolski and William Matheson of Columbia, losing 8-7.
The next tournament for the Gators will be on the road at Tulsa, Oklahoma, as they compete in the ITA All-American Tournament.
“It’s just about each day,” said Shelton. “This tournament’s finished and it’s in the past now and something we can learn from and gain confidence from, but it’s still about each day.”
You can follow Mari Faiello on Twitter @faiello_mari, and contact him at mfaiello@alligator.org.
Florida men's tennis player Alfredo Perez emigrated from his hometown of Artemisa, Cuba, to live in Miami when he was 10-years-old.
