Men’s Tennis Downs USF, 6-1

The seventh-ranked University of Florida men’s tennis team posted a 6-1 victory over the University of South Florida on Sunday at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex. The victory moves the Gators to 7-2 on the season, including 5-0 at home.

“I thought we played a good match and transitioned well from indoors last weekend back to outdoors,” UF head coach Andy Jackson said. “We did a good job of playing in the present and not dwelling on the past or looking ahead to Wednesday’s match against Florida State.”

The Gators jumped to an early lead, sweeping the doubles point. Billy Federhofer and Bob Van Overbeek got the ball rolling for UF, taking the court three victory over Jamal Adderley and Romain Deridder, 8-2, in 36 minutes.

“The top teams in the country have three good doubles teams, so we are trying to handle our business on court three so there’s less pressure on the other guys,” said Van Overbeek.

To clinch the doubles point, No. 10 Antoine Benneteau and Alexandre Lacroix picked up their 20th doubles victory of 2009-10, 8-2, at the No. 1 position. Moments later, the 35th-ranked Sekou Bangoura Jr. and Joey Burkhardt sealed the doubles sweep, downing Wael Kilani and Yannick Yoshizawa on the second court.

The Gator freshmen were tone-setters on the singles court, with Bangoura at No. 5 and Van Overbeek at No. 4 picking up straight-set victories to set the table for UF.

“When we first got here, we had nerves like crazy, but we’re feeling more comfortable now,” Bangoura said of the newcomers’ adjustment to the college game. “We were all really focused today on playing well and getting the Gators the point.”

Jackson agreed with Bangoura’s assessment, noting, “The thing that has changed most for our freshmen has been from the neck up. They’ve had the chance to be in pressure situations and are getting used to that, and they will continue to get better.”

No. 17 Lacroix clinched the victory for Florida at No. 1 singles, downing No. 91 Jamal Adderley, 6-2, 6-4, to pick up his 11th victory over a ranked opponent this season.

No. 110 Burkhardt fell at No. 2 singles to No. 59 Wael Kilani, USF’s highest-ranked player, for the Bulls’ lone point of the day.

Despite the tough loss, Jackson showed no lack of appreciation for Burkhardt’s efforts.

“I know if we had to play again tomorrow, Joey would be ready to go,” Jackson said. “I have a lot of confidence in our team, and one of the guys I have the most confidence in is Joey.”

Benneteau wrapped up the day’s action, finishing off Peter Frank at court three, 6-3, 6-0, keeping Benneteau’s dual match singles record at a sterling 8-0 this spring.

The Gators have a quick turnaround, renewing their rivalry with 18th-ranked Florida State at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

“The jump up in level of play is going to be drastic,” Jackson said. “In the one, two and three singles spots, they’re as good as anybody in the country, and they play well in doubles, also. But of all the problems we have, getting our team to understand the importance of this rivalry is the least of my concerns.”

UF vs. USF

Doubles

No. 1 – (10) Benneteau/Lacroix (UF) def. Estrada/Frank (USF) – 8-2*

No. 2 – (35) Bangoura/Burkhardt (UF) def. Kilani/Yoshizawa (USF) – 8-5

No. 3 – Federhofer/Van Overbeek (UF) def. Adderley/Deridder (USF) – 8-2

Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2

Singles

No. 1 – (17) Alexandre Lacroix (UF) def. (91) Jamal Adderley (USF) – 6-2, 6-4*

No. 2 – (59) Wael Kilani (USF) def. (110) Joey Burkhardt (UF) – 6-1, 6-2

No. 3 – Antoine Benneteau (UF) def. Peter Frank (USF) – 6-3, 6-0

No. 4 – Bob Van Overbeek (UF) def. Mark Oljaca (USF) – 6-2, 6-1

No. 5 – Sekou Bangoura Jr. (UF) def. Romain Deridder (USF) – 6-1, 6-1

No. 6 – Nassim Slilam (UF) def. Juan Carlos Acuna Gerard (USF) – 6-1, 7-5

Order of Finish: 5, 4, 1, 6, 2, 3

*Clinching victory