Florida’s No. 7 men’s tennis team captured a 6-1 victory from Alabama on a windy Sunday at Linder Stadium/Ring Tennis Complex. The victory is Florida’s seventh in a row and moves the Gators to 12-2 overall and 4-0 in the Southeastern Conference.
“It was great that we were able to get an SEC point without playing our best and in difficult conditions,” Florida head coach Andy Jackson said. “Those windy conditions make it hard to play at a high level. We want to play well, but in those conditions you just have to get through.”
Florida’s 16th-ranked pair of Antoine Benneteau and Alexandre Lacroix got the Gators rolling with an 8-3 victory at No. 1 doubles over Michael Davis and Saketh Myneni. The Gators wrapped up the doubles point on Court 2 as Sekou Bangoura Jr. and Joey Burkhardt, currently ranked 43rd nationally, broke Alabama’s serve at 7-7 and served out the match to win 9-7.
“We kept telling ourselves to make them play, make them volley and earn the point,” Bangoura said. “The pressure was on them since it was their serve, so we just had to keep putting it back to them.”
The 121st-ranked Benneteau provided Florida its first singles point of the afternoon, cruising to a 6-4, 6-2 win at the No. 3 position. After Burkhardt fell on Court 2, Bob Van Overbeek got Florida back on track with a straight-sets win over Michael Thompson at No. 4 singles to put the Gators ahead, 3-1. Bangoura then clinched the match for Florida from the No. 5 position, breaking serve at 5-3 to give the Gators the victory.
With the victory in hand, two Gators played on into a third set. No. 6 Lacroix battled with the 38th-ranked Myneni until the Tide player was forced to retire with the third set tied at three games apiece. Lacriox now holds a seven-match winning streak that includes six ranked opponents and four top-50 foes. Nassim Slilam (Paris, France) closed out the match for Florida, posting a 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3 win on Court 6 to extend his winning streak to 11.
Florida’s 4-0 start in SEC play is its best since 2005, when the Gators won their first nine league games before finishing 10-1 and winning a share of the SEC crown. The Gators will be back in action at home Wednesday at 4 p.m. to make up their match with Florida State that was rained out Feb. 24.
No. 7 FLORIDA 6, ALABAMA 1
At Linder Stadium/Ring Tennis Complex, Gainesville, Fla.
DOUBLES
1. (16) Antoine Benneteau-Alexandre Lacroix (F) def. Michael Davis-Saketh Myneni, 8-3; 2. (43) Sekou Bangoura Jr.-Joey Burkhardt (F) def. Ricky Doverspike-Michael Thompson, 9-7; 3. Jarryd Botha-Trey Walston (A) def. Daniel Cash-Bob Van Overbeek (UF), 9-7. Order of finish: 1, 2, 3. Florida wins doubles point.
SINGLES
1. (6) Alexandre Lacroix (F) def. (38) Saketh Myneni, 6-4, 4-6, 3-3 (retired); 2. Ricky Doverspike (A) def. Joey Burkhardt, 6-1, 6-4; 3. (121) Antoine Benneteau (F) def. Jarryd Botha, 6-4, 6-2; 4. Bob Van Overbeek (F) def. Michael Thompson, 6-2, 6-4; 5. Sekou Bangoura Jr. (F) def. Houssam Yassine, 6-3, 6-3; 6. Nassim Slilam (F) def. Ian Chadwell, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3. Order of finish: 3, 2, 4, 5, 1, 6.
Records: Alabama 7-8, 1-3 SEC; Florida 12-2, 4-0 SEC.