Junior Alfredo Perez’s roar echoed inside the Perry Indoor Facility at the Ring Tennis Complex on Sunday. He had just turned the bad fortune of a serve’s awkward bounce off the net into an aggressive backhand winner. The shot kept Perez alive in the first set tiebreaker of a highly competitive match he’d eventually win, 7-6(6), 6-2, over South Florida senior Grayson Goldin.
The Gators dominated the Bulls 4-0 in the final round of the Florida Regional ITA Kick-Off Weekend after also sweeping South Alabama in Saturday’s semifinal. With the two wins, Florida will advance to next month’s ITA National Indoor Championship.
Rain forced the match’s singles play to move indoors after UF secured the doubles point with victories at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions.
“The conditions inside are certainly a lot faster,” Florida coach Bryan Shelton said. “For our guys, it’s really important to strike first.”
And for the most part, they did. Perez, sophomore Johannes Ingildsen and freshman Andy Andrade were the only Florida players to compete in the day’s singles action due to limited indoor space. All three played with intense passion.
“Our energy and competitive spirit are just really, really good,” Shelton said.
Ingildsen improved to 2-0 on the year in singles with a 6-3, 6-3, defeat of junior Alberto Barroso-Campos on the No. 2 singles court.
Following was Perez, who entered Sunday’s match looking to improve after disappointing performances on the No. 1 singles court from the week before.
“The match meant a lot to me,” Perez said. “I wanted to do my part for the team because I haven’t done my part the last couple matches.”
With the win, Perez remains undefeated in singles this season, but said he thinks he can continue to improve going forward.
Andrade won the fourth and final point for the Gators, marking the second consecutive match clinched by a freshman. After playing well in his first two matches of the dual season, Andrade battled in three sets against USF sophomore Jakub Wojcik. A final score of 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, brought the match to a close and finalized UF’s bid to the upcoming national event.
Three dual matches into the season, Shelton remains most impressed by the comradery among this year’s team.
“When you see your teammates there for you, pushing and encouraging you, you want to go even deeper,” he said.
The Gators will now prepare for Saturday’s matchup against Florida State, which will be held at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
Follow Benjamin Brandt on Twitter @bhb1227 and contact him at bbrandt@alligator.org.
Junior Alfredo Perez persisted through a grueling singles match that lasted an hour and 45 minutes against USF Sunday afternoon.
