The Gators men’s tennis team had been waiting for this.
It had been waiting for a month to show the home crowd at the Alfred Ring Tennis Complex that it’s one of the best teams in the country.
It did not disappoint.
The No. 9 Gators dominated the No. 40 Ole Miss Rebels 6-1 on Friday night at the Ring Tennis Complex and improved to 41-22 all-time against the Rebels. It was the Gators’ first home match since the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Jan. 26th and 27th, and it was their first home SEC match this season.
Any worry about Florida having a letdown after a crushing Arkansas 6-1 on Sunday went away quickly.
The Gators won the doubles point for the second match in a row. Sophomores Oliver Crawford and Andy Andrade won their match 6-3 to clinch the point. Senior Alfredo Perez and junior Johannes Ingildsen took the first doubles also 6-2.
Sophomore Duarte Vale beat Ole Miss’s Jan Soren Hain, 6-2, 6-0. Crawford ended his four-match losing streak with a 2-set decision over Tim Sandkaulen 6-3, 6-1.
Freshman Lukas Greif then had the opportunity to clinch the match for the Gators.
Greif won with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Simon Junk. It was the second time he has clinched a match this season.
Victories also came from fellow freshman Sam Riffice, who beat Fabian Fallert 6-4, 6-3 and from Andrade, who won a tough battle, losing the first set but winning the next two, to give the Gators six points.
The only loss came from Ingildsen, who lost a 10-point tiebreaker. It was only his second loss of the season.
Follow Noah Ram on Twitter @noah_ram1.
Junior lost a 10-point tiebreaker Friday, but the Gators men's tennis team topped Ole Miss 6-1.
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.
