Following two notable losses to conference opponents on the road last week, the Florida Gators men’s tennis team (9-7, 4-3 SEC) entered Saturday’s match with a business-like demeanor knowing that SEC competition was heating up.
After a week off from matches following its 4-0 and 7-0 losses to Oklahoma and Texas A&M, respectively, Florida looked to break its three-match losing streak and grab a much-needed win at home. On Saturday it did just that, besting Arkansas (14-7, 3-4 SEC) in a dominant singles showing, 4-1.
Despite huge wins over conference opponents Texas A&M and Alabama, Arkansas was stunned on Thursday at No. 25 South Carolina. The Gamecocks’ 4-0 sweep of the Razorbacks stunted Arkansas’ momentum, thwarting what would have been a three-game win streak for UA. Fast forward to Saturday, Arkansas arrived in Gainesville looking to get back on track and stun the Gators in the Swamp.
The doubles point was hard fought, as each match started out in a series of 3-3 ties. In the end, Arkansas edged out the doubles point in a tiebreaker.
On court three, UF sophomore Kevin Edengren and freshman Ben Weintraub stole the first game from junior Marino Jakic and freshman Brendan Boland. However, the Razorbacks quickly battled back to even the match. From there, Jakic and Boland won three straight games, breaking the UF pair in the eighth game to win 6-3 and give Arkansas an early doubles advantage.
UF sophomores Adhithya Ganesan and Jeremy Jin took a back-and-forth doubles match against seniors Bozo Barun and Benedikt Emesz into a tiebreaker on court two. The Arkansas pair seemed to have an answer for every Florida point throughout the match, but the Gator pair took the tiebreaker by storm 7-1 en route to a 7-6 win, leaving the doubles point to be decided in a court one tiebreaker.
No 19 junior Tanapatt Nirundorn and sophomore Henry Jefferson displayed an impressive serve and return game in their match against sophomore Connor Smillie and freshman Jakud Vrba on court one, including some impressive returns from Jefferson to keep the match alive.
With the doubles point in the hands of the No. 19 doubles pair in the nation, Florida pushed back from an early deficit to take a 5-3 tiebreaker lead. However, the Razorback pair was too strong to overcome, as Smillie and Vrba surged back to regain the lead. A Nirundorn double fault ultimately sealed Arkansas’ 8-6 tiebreaker victory and secured the doubles point.
Already faring better than in its trip to South Carolina Thursday, Arkansas entered singles looking to grab a much-needed SEC road win. However, it was Florida who made a statement as each of the six Gators took a victory in set one. Eventually, Florida erupted from down 1-0 to take down the Razorbacks 4-1.
Weintraub impressed in his match against Arkansas senior Arthur Bellegy on court six to tie the match 1-1. The freshman’s 6-4, 6-2 win moved him to 3-1 in his first spring season of singles play at Florida.
UF senior JanMagnus Johnson defeated No. 124 Vrba in straight sets on court three. Despite struggling to break his opponent in the second set, Johnson charged to a 7-1 tiebreaker victory to solidify his 6-2, 7-6(1) victory and put Florida ahead 2-1.
Edengren bested Emesz on court five mere seconds after the conclusion of Johnson’s match. Edengren controlled set one, taking a 6-2 victory over the senior before clawing his way to a 6-4 victory. His straight-set win fired up the Gators and brought Florida one point away from victory.
No. 90 Jefferson’s duel with Jakic on court four did not disappoint as a highly-contested first set went into a tiebreaker. The tiebreaker lasted 16 games as the Gators emerged victorious 9-7 to win the first set 7-6(7). From there, Jefferson had all the momentum as he rushed to a 6-2 victory in set two and clinched Florida’s 4-1 win over Arkansas.
No. 62 Jin went unfinished with No. 82 sophomore Lukas Palovic on court two after winning the first set 7-5.
On court one, No. 95 Ganesan went unfinished in set three with Barun after UF clinched the match.
Following the match, Weintraub noted the importance of his win that helped the Gators jump ahead in singles, explaining that his initial success spurred Florida’s momentum going forward.
“It’s pretty big for me, I didn’t get much opportunities till now,” he said. “After a loss in doubles, I feel like it gave a boost to the team throughout the whole thing and we all won the first sets.”
Following Saturday’s victory, Florida will head back on the road to face conference rival Ole Miss in Oxford on March 21.
Contact Curan Ahern at cahern@alligator.com and follow him on X at @CuranAhern
Curan is the men's tennis beat reporter and a second-year journalism sports & media major. He enjoys spending his free time with pets, at the beach and fishing.
