The mood in the locker room after Florida’s match against LSU was mixed, feeling excited while also feeling relief.
Relief that the No. 2 Gators didn’t blow this match against the Tigers before a huge match on Sunday against top SEC contender and No. 7 Texas A&M at home at noon.
UF defeated LSU on Friday 5-2 at the Ring Tennis Complex to improve to 16-2 overall and 8-0 in SEC play on the season.
Normally this season, Florida has easily handled teams like No. 32 LSU, but that didn’t happen on Friday night.
It lost the doubles point. Despite junior Johannes Ingildsen and senior Alfredo Perez winning on Court 3, 6-1, sophomore Duarte Vale and senior McClain Kessler fell on Court 1, 6-3.
The point then came down to Court 2 where sophomore Oliver Crawford and freshman Sam Riffice made a furious comeback, forcing a tiebreaker after trailing 5-3. LSU (14-6) took the tiebreaker 9-7 and the doubles point.
The Gators then had to rely on what has been their strongest point, singles play. They struggled to get going there as well. Two of the Florida’s strongest singles players, Vale and sophomore No. 29 Andy Andrade both lost their first sets.
No. 97 Ingildsen helped get the Gators back to their standard. Ingildsen handled Malik Bhatnagar in straight sets 6-1, 6-1 on Court 4, evening up the score at one.
No. 15 Crawford gave the Gators the lead with a 6-4, 6-3 over Rafael Wagner on Court 1. Lukas Greif then brought the Gators one step closer to clinching with a 6-2, 6-4 win on Court 5.
Both teams still had an even chance of winning the match though. Andrade was trailing in the second set after losing the first. Riffice was trailing in the second set and seemed to be heading to a third set, and Vale was in a third set.
The Tigers briefly made it 3-2 when Boris Kozlov defeated Andrade. Vale responded after a first set 6-3 “loss” with a 6-1 win in the second and finally a clinching 6-2 win in the third set. Vale is now 7-0 in SEC play and clinched for the second time this season.
Defending SEC player of the week No. 51 Riffice finished the match with a 6-4, 4-6 and 6-2 win.
The Gators are now 8-0 at the Ring Tennis Complex this season.
Vale is unfazed by the Texas A&M, though.
“I think those types of matches are the reason you play sports,” he said after the win. “Everyone is going to be really excited for it and hopefully it’ll be a great match.”
Follow Noah Ram on Twitter @noah_ram1 and contact him at nram@alligator.org.
Johannes Ingildsen beat Malik Bhatnagar in straight sets in Florida's win over LSU.
Noah is a third year journalism-sports and media student from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He has been with The Alligator since Spring 2019 and has covered men’s and women’s tennis, gymnastics and volleyball. When he isn’t on his beat, Noah is usually sadden over his beloved South Florida sports teams, such as the Heat and Dolphins.
