With the sky clear and the sun beating down in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the Florida men’s tennis team bested Vanderbilt 4-1 in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament.
After they won their final two matches of the regular season by a combined score of 14-0, the Gators came into the match very confident, and it showed early in doubles play.
On Court 1, junior McClain Kessler and freshman Duarte Vale thwarted the No. 12-ranked duo of junior Cameron Klinger and sophomore Billy Rowe, 6-2. Kessler’s and Vale’s upset came in their first doubles match on Court 1 all season.
Freshman Oliver Crawford and senior Chase Perez-Blanco clinched the doubles point on Court 3 to give the Gators their first point of the tournament. The 6-3 win over Vanderbilt’s freshman George Harwell and senior Baker Newman was the duo’s seventh-consecutive win dating back to the regular season.
However, Florida saw difficulty in singles.
On Court 5, Vale was overwhelmed by Commodores’ freshman Maxwell Freeman in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. The loss was Vale’s second in a row.
On Court 6, Kessler won in straight sets over Harwell but struggled at one point. He faced a 5-4 deficit in the second before winning three straight games to clinch his match. The 6-2, 7-5 win was the senior’s fourth win in his last five singles matches.
On Court 1, Crawford shined in two hard-fought sets against No. 28 Daniel Valent. The freshman was placed in the top position due to the absence of sophomore Johannes Ingildsen for undisclosed reasons, and he made the best of it. In a singles match with five lead changes, Crawford’s 7-5, 7-5 victory gave Florida its third point.
No. 13 Alfredo Perez clinched the quarterfinals victory for the Gators with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-1 win over No. 25 Klinger. The junior dominated in the first set but stumbled in the second set, at one point trailing 4-1. But Perez bounced back in the third and clinched the match.
While Vanderbilt surged in the second sets on all six courts, the Florida players endured, giving their team the victory.
Among those who did not finish was Perez-Blanco and freshman Andy Andrade on Courts 3 and 4, respectively. Both Gators held leads as the match closed despite each losing the second set.
Florida will play Mississippi State, who beat Ole Miss 4-0 to advance to the semifinals. The match is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.
You can follow Dylan Rudolph on Twitter @dyrudolph or contact him at drudolph@alligator.org
Junior McClain Kessler clinched the Round of 16 match for Florida over Ole Miss on Friday night, sending the Gators to the NCAA Quarterfinals.
