The Florida Gators stepped onto a blazing court that registered up to 100 degrees and into their 28th consecutive NCAA Tournament.
Junior McClain Kessler started the match off in doubles with a booming ace that caused him to yell and pump up the crowd. The tone was set.
“We were more prepared for the heat than they were,” Kessler said. “We got on them early, and we knew if we made it tough, we’d have a good chance to put together our stuff.”
The Florida men’s tennis team used its aggressiveness on Saturday to sweep the South Carolina State Bulldogs 4-0 at the Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville and advance to the second round.
The Gators’ doubles teams, which has been their strength all year, overpowered the Bulldogs with early pressure and effective offense.
On Court 3, the Gators’ duo of Kessler and freshman Duarte Vale scorched South Carolina State’s senior tandem of Vladyslav Yanchenko and Aleksander Stupar in a 6-0 shutout.
Freshman Oliver Crawford and senior Chase Perez-Blanco clinched the doubles point soon after with a 6-1 victory over Bulldogs’ freshman pair of Marcelo Rodriguez and Aleska Daskalovic.
“That’s what we try and do,” Crawford said. “We try to play aggressive doubles and take our chances.”
This win was Crawford's and Perez-Blanco’s 15th win this season as a team in doubles.
UF carried its momentum from its strong play into singles against the Bulldogs (10-7, 4-0 MEAC).
Crawford maintained his form in a 6-1, 6-0 straight-set win over Yanchenko on Court 1. This was the freshman’s second career win on Court 1 after he was placed there on April 27 against Vanderbilt.
Kessler followed Crawford on Court 6 with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Stupar to give Florida its third point of the match. The win marked the junior’s 62nd singles win in his career.
Another freshman, Andy Andrade, clinched the first-round match for the Gators (17-9, 9-3 SEC) with a decisive 6-1, 6-0 win over South Carolina State’s Juan Ramirez.
Of Florida’s top four positions, underclassmen manned three of them. Coach Bryan Shelton spoke after the match about the confidence he has in the young core.
“They bring an energy and enthusiasm to the court that that’s special, which makes us a really dangerous team,” Shelton said.
Among those who did not finish were sophomore Johannes Ingildsen, junior Alfredo Perez and senior Chase Perez-Blanco on Courts 2, 3 and 5, respectively. Perez and Perez-Blanco each won their first set against their respective opponents before the match’s close.
Florida will have a quick turnaround, facing the Miami Hurricanes back at the Ring Tennis Complex on Sunday at 1 p.m. Miami played in the previous match on Saturday and swept North Florida 4-0.
Shelton expressed how spirited the Hurricanes were after not making the tournament since 2011, where they were bounced in the second round by Florida after a 4-0 sweep.
“(Miami) has a lot of young guys that are just like us: energized and enthusiastic,” Shelton said. “We’ll be ready to meet the challenge.”
You can follow Dylan Rudolph on Twitter @dyrudolph or contact him at drudolph@alligator.org.
Junior McClain Kessler's helped the UF men's tennis team to victory over South Carolina State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with wins in both doubles and singles play.
