Fresh off a loss to Tennessee in the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals, the Gators men’s tennis team ended its season with another disappointing defeat on Friday.
No. 15 Florida (15-11) fell 4-3 to unranked Denver (12-11) in the first round of the NCAA Regionals at Linder Stadium.
“I give them all the credit in the world,” coach Bryan Shelton said in a release. “They were prepared to play and they competed like champions.”
The Gators appeared poised to advance early in the match. The 20th-ranked doubles team of Stephane Piro and Bob van Overbeek defeated the Pioneers’ duo of Enej Bonin and Jens Vorkefeld 8-4. Florent Diep and Gordon Watson followed with a win on Court 3 to secure the first point of the match.
“Although we got the doubles point, the match was far from over in their minds,” Shelton said.
Florida came into the match with a 13-1 record when winning the doubles point, but statistics didn’t help the Gators on Friday.
Watson was first off the court in singles, tacking on a point for Florida in singles, but Bonin followed by getting Denver on the board with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Piro on Court 1.
Junior Mike Alford put the Gators in position to win with a two-set victory against Denver freshman Henry Craig on Court 4 to give Florida a 3-1 advantage.
But the Pioneers rallied.
Vorkefeld and Diep fought in a tiebreaker on Court 2, with Vorkefeld taking the set 7-6. Diep fell 6-3 in the second to cut the Gators’ lead to one, and Max Krammer took down No. 111 van Overbeek on Court 3 to even the score, placing the Gators’ hopes on senior Billy Federhofer.
After falling 7-5 in the first set, Federhofer fought back with a 6-1 victory. Looking to extend his college career, the senior went to a match-deciding third set.
Unfortunately for the Gators, Denver junior Alex Clinkenbeard dominated Federhofer, winning the final set 6-1.
“Our guys just fought their tails off,” Denver coach Danny Westerman said in a release. “It’s been an unbelievable, roller-coaster year.”
The last time the Gators lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament was in 2001, when Florida fell to Oklahoma State 4-1.
“They came into our place, on our courts, and got it done,” Shelton said.
Contact Adam Lichtenstein at alichtenstein@alligator.org.
Senior Billy Federhofer prepares to backhand the ball during Florida’s 7-0 win against St. John’s on Jan. 26 at Linder Stadium. Federhofer dropped his last set 1-6 to end the Gators' 4-3 loss in the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
