Nine months and one day.
That was the amount of time that had passed since Florida’s men’s tennis team last won a match before Sunday’s season-opening doubleheader against No. 63 Troy and unranked Stetson.
The No. 24 Gators handily defeated the Trojans 6-1 and the Hatters 7-0 at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville.
It was an all-around team performance from the Gators, with Florida winning 15 out of the 18 singles and doubles matches that were played.
“I thought that we handled it pretty well,” UF coach Bryan Shelton said. “Any time you get started in a new season, you don’t expect to go out there and play perfectly, but overall I thought our guys made some nice adjustments throughout the matches.”
Florida’s McClain Kessler and Alfredo Perez, UF’s only two freshmen, made their collegiate regular season debuts on Sunday.
Perez played in two matches, one singles and one doubles, winning both without much difficulty. Perez defeated Troy’s Giovani Samaha in straight sets with a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
He was then paired with redshirt sophomore Joshua Wardell in his doubles match, defeating Stetson’s Graham Ball and Gonzalo Arroyo 6-1.
“I think Alfredo is an exceptional talent and he’s only going to get better,” coach Shelton said.
Kessler also contributed a solid performance, defeating Troy’s Pablo Moreno 6-3, 6-3. The freshman also defeated Stetson’s Simon Julin and Coilin MacNamara 6-4 along with his doubles partner, UF sophomore Jordan Belga.
“I thought I came out a little nervous today, but I think it actually helped me play better,” Kessler said. “Overall I felt I was pretty solid and I got the Ws.”
Kessler played his best in his final match against Stetson’s Ball. Kessler started out slow against Ball and quickly found himself trailing 4-2 in his first set.
“I knew at that point I had to get super fired up,” Kessler said.
Yelling and shouting to pump up the crowd, Kessler went on to win five of the next six games, completing an impressive comeback and winning the set 7-5. Kessler had all the momentum from there, and would seal the match with a dominant 6-0 win in the second set.
“I just kept thinking to myself, I’ve got this match,” Kessler said. “The fire and the energy was always there, and that’s what helped me win.
The Gators also saw an impressive performance from their top doubles tandem, No. 3-ranked seniors Diego Hidalgo and Gordon Watson.
Hidalgo and Watson made quick work of their opponents, Troy’s Filip Mansson and Andre Baldo, defeating them 6-1.
The Gators don’t play again until Jan. 22 at the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Austin, Texas.
“He’s a really good player, and he has a great serve and great volleys,” Hidalgo said of Watson. “We compound well on the court together.
Follow Dylan Dixon on Twitter @dylanrdixon
Diego Hidalgo returns a serve during Florida's 6-1 win over Troy on Jan. 17, 2016, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
