Going into the match, freshman Luke Johnson didn’t know he was going to be in a deciding-match scenario.
Johnson, who was a late addition to the lineup at the No. 6 singles position, needed to defeat Tennessee’s John Collins to avoid a second straight Gators loss.
Johnson dropped the first set, but rallied back in the second to tie the match at 1-all. He was up 3-0 in set three before Collins stormed back to take the next four games. The freshman, however, took care of business in the end. Johnson carried the No. 35 Gators (8-6, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) to a 4-3 upset victory over the No. 6 Volunteers (15-6, 2-3 SEC), giving the Volunteers their first home loss all season.
The freshman was the one to lose in the deciding match on Friday, but this time he was the one to come out on top.
Early on in the match, Florida put a point on the board after Gordon Watson and Billy Federhofer defeated John Collins and Edward Jones in doubles play. Tied at 1-1, Watson and Federhofer needed to squeak out a 9-7 victory to gain an early advantage over the Volunteerss, who are strong in singles.
After a loss against Georgia on Friday, Florida’s Stephane Piro made easy work of Brandon Fickey to extend Florida’s lead to 2-0.
Federhofer has been the most reliable tennis player for this up and down Gators team. Federhofer hasn’t lost since Feb. 9, and he has five victories in that time period. He followed in Piro’s footsteps to continue his hot streak, winning in straight sets. Florida was up 3-0 before Tennessee kicked it into high gear.
Watson, who was scratched from the lineup on Friday, returned to action today. But Watson couldn’t fend off Jones, who defeated Watson 7-5, 6-2.
On court one, Florida’s Florent Diep took on No. 6 Mikelis Libietis. Diep, who took over the No. 1 spot on Friday for struggling senior Bob van Overbeek, couldn’t pull out a victory, losing in straight sets. Van Overbeek showed some resiliency by winning his second set after overcoming a first set loss.
But van Overbeek was non-existent in the third set. Tennessee’s Hunter Reese shut out van Overbeek 6-0 in the third set to tie the match at 3-all. The senior has eight consecutive losses that date back to Feb. 9.
But in the end, it was the freshman Johnson who bailed out the senior to give his team a much-needed victory.
“The biggest thing was that, in the end, we got the job done,” coach Bryan Shelton said in a release.
Senior Billy Federhofer returns a volley during Florida’s 5-2 win against Miami on Jan. 19 at Linder Stadium. Federhofer hasn't lost a match since Feb. 9.
