The conditions were not ideal for the Gators men’s tennis team in its 4-1 win over No. 21 Alabama.
Heavy rain throughout Friday forced the match to the indoor courts at the Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville, where it was hot and sticky inside.
Florida has struggled indoors this season. Both of its losses, to then-No. 5 USC on Feb. 15 and then-No. 10 Stanford on Feb. 17, were indoors at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Chicago.
It seemed like that odds were stacked against the Gators.
That didn’t matter.
The No. 3 and top-seeded Gators defeated the ninth-seeded Crimson Tide on Friday to move on to the SEC Tournament semifinals on Saturday. It was Florida’s second win of the year over Alabama who it beat 7-0 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on April 5. UF has now won 15 in a row and 17 consecutively at home.
“It’s tennis, you have to adjust a little bit if you play indoors,” senior Alfredo Perez said about. “At the end of the day, you have to go out there and compete.”
Florida continued its new success in doubles. It started the same lineup that won against South Carolina on Sunday and the positive results continued. Sophomores Duarte Vale and Andy Andrade were the first to win, defeating Alabama’s Sam Fischer and Zhe Zhou 6-4 on Court 3. Junior Johannes Ingildsen and senior McClain Kessler picked up a 7-5 win and the point was clinched on Court 2.
Singles was a different setup from what the Gators or Crimson Tide are used to due to the indoor play. There are only three indoor courts, meaning only three of the six singles lineups could be used at a time. Despite this, Florida was still dominant. No. 50 Andy Andrade was the first to pick up a win, cruising past Riccardo Roberto 6-1, 6-3 on Court 3.
It was also the 50th career win for Andrade. and he reflected on what it meant.
“It’s a good accomplishment for sure,” he said. “I’m winning matches for the team so that makes me feel good. I can’t stop now; I have to keep going.”
No. 11 Crawford made it 3-0 with a 6-4, 6-1 win over No. 46 Mazen Osama. After that win, the atmosphere grew more tense inside. Freshman No. 52 Sam Riffice saw his 12-match winning streak come to an end to Edson Ortiz in a 4-6, 6-4, 4-6 defeat.
The Gators’ hope for a clinch then rested with Perez, who won the first set of his match 6-4 but was in the middle of a back-and-forth second set with Patrick Kaukovalta. Vale was also playing on Court 1, but he had lost the first set 2-6. Perez did finally break serve and defeat Kaukovalta 7-5 to clinch the match.
“It was a fast match, very big serves on each side,” Perez said. “It played well today and was very consistent.”
Florida will now turn its attention to No. 13 and fourth-seeded Tennessee. The Gators beat the Volunteers 5-2 on March 17 in Knoxville, Tennessee. The match on Saturday will begin at 3 p.m. at the Ring Tennis Complex.
Follow Noah Ram on Twitter @noah_ram1 and contact him at nram@alligator.org.
Oliver Crawford got a 6-4, 6-1 win over Mazen Osama in the Gators win over the Crimson Tide Friday.
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.
