As counter-intuitive as it may sound, success and failure for the Gators begins at the bottom.
The No. 11 Gators have had an up-and-down season thus far, but one catalyst to their success has been the play of their No. 6 singles players.
When the No. 6 player wins, the Gators are 9-3 this spring, including tournament play. When that player loses, they are 0-5.
Despite a victory from the last spot in the singles lineup, Florida lost to No. 12 Mississippi State 4-3 Friday. For the fifth time this year, the man occupying that No. 6 spot was junior Billy Federhofer. He defeated Mississippi State’s Zach White 7-6 (9-7), 6-7 (7-3), 14-12, improving his record for the season to 4-2. Despite the team’s loss, Federhofer is happy with his singles play.
“I feel like right now I’m playing really well,” he said. “Tennis is the kind of thing where you can’t always expect to play well, but I feel like I’m competing well and I’m well-conditioned, so I’m feeling pretty good at the moment.”
Federhofer has been joined at that spot by sophomore Michael Alford and junior Andrew Butz, and the three have combined to go 11-4 this season, including 9-3 in dual matches. In Florida’s close matches, those decided by a score of 4-3, the Gators’ success has usually been reflected by the play of its No. 6 players. In the two such wins, the Florida’s No. 6 player has won. In one of the two losses, that player lost.
Federhofer, though, feels that both individually and at the team level, there is plenty of confidence because of those close matches. Even after Friday’s loss, in which the Gators lost the doubles point and never recovered, they feel like they can hang with anyone.
“I think we’ve had a couple tough losses because they were so close, but I’m actually pretty proud with how things have been going because it shows that we’re right there with the best teams, literally points away,” he said.
Also playing the Bulldogs, the No. 2 women’s team won in Starkville, Miss., 7-0, their ninth shutout of the season. The Gators did not drop a set, dominating their unranked opponent from start to finish.
