The clock struck 10:26 p.m. on Sunday, and the Gators men’s tennis team had finally clinched a 4-1 victory over Florida Atlantic University to claim the ITA Kickoff Weekend title and earn a spot in the ITA National Indoor Championships in Chicago.
Florida faced off against FAU inside the Perry Indoor Tennis facility after rain delayed the tournament and forced all matches inside. After eight hours of delays, both teams took what usually serves as Florida’s practice courts and began doubles play.
It wasn’t a pretty start for the Gators, though.
For the first time this season, Florida was trailing after failing to claim the doubles point. McClain Kessler and Duarte Vale fell to Jason Legall and Ignacio Garcia on the main court (1-6), while Gabriel Sidney and Mehdi Laalej clinched the doubles point for the Owls after defeating Johannes Ingildsen and Alfredo Perez (5-7). Oliver Crawford and Sam Riffice won on court three (6-1), but the effort still wasn’t enough.
“(FAU) came out firing (in doubles play),” coach Bryan Shelton said in a release. “That is always the question. Are you going to hang your head or are you going to bounce back quickly?”
Florida seemed to turn its indoor complex into a trampoline park with how quickly it bounced back in singles play.
Crawford started it off for the Gators coasting to an easy victory over Legall on court one (6-2, 6-1). Sophomore Andy Andrade also made quick work of Kirac Bekisoglu, cruising to a swift win for Florida’s second point (6-1, 6-2).
Riffice helped put it out of reach for Florida, controlling most of his match and defeating Sidney (6-3, 6-3) for the Gators’ third point.
The next three matches ensued with Ingildsen, Vale and Kessler all taking the courts for Florida. Both Kessler and Ingildsen recorded first set wins, but neither were required to finish. Vale finished the quickest, defeating Garcia in straight sets (6-4, 6-1) to claim the match victory for Florida.
"Overall, I thought that was one of the best parts of the match with how we responded so quickly,” said Shelton in a release. “We just jumped on them quickly in the singles, and I think that is a sign of a very competitive team.”
This is Florida’s eighth trip to the National Indoor Championships in the 11th annual rendition of the tournament. The Gators also remain undefeated in singles play on the season after blanking William & Mary on Saturday and dominating FAU on Sunday. Shelton said he was pleased with his team’s performance and what it could do for the team moving forward.
“It felt like an SEC match,” he said, “which is great experience for our guys to have that level of intensity out there on the court and to have an opponent that is swinging away and coming after us.”
Follow Victor Prieto on Twitter @victorprieto_11 and contact him at vprieto@alligator.org.
Sophomore defeated FAU's Jason Legall 6-2, 6-1 in Florida's 4-1 win on Sunday.
