LEXINGTON, Ky. – Florida men’s tennis coach Andy Jackson found out a little something about his sixth-ranked Gators Sunday at the Boone Tennis Complex in a 4-3 victory over No. 10 Kentucky. It was Florida’s third conference road victory in eight days and the Gators’ 10th straight triumph.
The Gators lost the doubles point and had to rally from a 3-2 deficit but did with a pair of three-set singles wins by first senior Antoine Benneteau at No. 3 (6-4, 3-6, 6-3 over Brad Cox) and finally sophomore Nassim Slilam at No. 5 (6-3, 4-6, 7-5 over Alberto Gonzalez). Slilam broke serve at 6-5 for the victory.
“It was a fantastic match and extremely close,” Jackson said. “We were very tough in crucial situations at the end. It was huge to have three first-year guys come through for us under pressure. It was our most complete team win of the season.”
The victory improved Florida to 15-2 overall and 7-0 in the SEC and set the Gators up for a big weekend at home against No. 3 Tennessee and No. 8 Georgia.
It was apparent from the start that most every point would be important in the match of SEC powers. The Wildcats (16-7, 6-3 SEC) clinched the doubles point when junior Alberto Gonzalez and senior Alex Lambropoulos beat Florida’s No. 49-ranked team of sophomore Joey Burkhardt and freshman Sekou Bangoura Jr., 8-6, at No. 2 and sophomore Alex Musialek and freshman Anthony Rossi defeated Florida freshman Bob Van Overbeek and senior Daniel Cash, 8-5, at No. 3 to clinch the point.
It was only the second time this spring that Florida lost the doubles point. Florida gained some momentum coming out of the doubles play as the No. 12 team of seniors Benneteau and Alexandre Lacroix beat Kentucky’s 13th-ranked doubles team of junior Brad Cox and sophomore Eric Quigley, 9-8, by winning the tiebreaker, 7-5.
Trailing 1-0, Bangoura got the Gators even with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Graeme Dyce at No. 6 singles.
Kentucky went up 2-1 when No. 13-ranked Quigley beat No. 7 Lacroix, 7-6 (5), 6-4 at No. 1 singles.
The Gators tied the match at 2-2 when Van Overbeek beat Rossi in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 4 singles.
But the Wildcats took a 3-2 lead in the match when No. 44-ranked Musialek beat Burkhardt, 7-6 (2), 6-3, at No. 2 singles.
Benneteau, however, evened things up once again with his 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Cox at No. 3 singles.
That left it up to Slilam, the sophomore from Paris. Slilam took an early lead in the third set but Gonzalez rallied to tie the set at 5-5 before taking a five-minute injury timeout.
“Nassim showed an enormous amount of toughness today,” Jackson added. “On the road, he was forced to wait several minutes and then was able to hold serve to go up 6-5 and then had some fantastic passing shots at 6-5 to break serve.”
Not many teams can survive losing the doubles point and seeing their No. 1 singles player lose, but then Florida has manufactured victories in different ways this season.
“If you are going to win championships, you are going to have to find different ways to win,” Jackson noted.
Now it’s back home for the final three matches of the season with No. 3 Tennessee coming in Friday at 3 p.m. followed by No. 8 Georgia Sunday at 1 p.m. Both the Volunteers and Bulldogs are 8-0 in the SEC East, while Florida is just 7-0 because its match with Mississippi State was rained out on March 21.
“We’re very eager to play Tennessee on Friday,” Jackson said. “It will be two of the top teams in the country who are both undefeated in the SEC, so hopefully there will be a big crowd there to support us.”
Admission to all home tennis matches is free.
No. 6 FLORIDA 4, No. 10 KENTUCKY 3
At Boone Tennis Complex, Lexington, Ky.
DOUBLES
1. (12) Antoine Benneteau-Alexandre Lacroix (F) def. (13) Brad Cox-Eric Quigley, 9-8 (5); 2. Alberto Gonzalez-Alex Lambropoulos (K) def. (49) Joey Burkhardt-Sekou Bangoura Jr., 8-6; 3. Alex Musialek-Anthony Rossi (K) def. Bob Van Overbeek-Daniel Cash, 8-5. Order of finish: 2, 3, 1. Kentucky wins doubles point, 3-0.
SINGLES
1. (13) Eric Quigley (K) def. (7) Alexandre Lacroix, 7-6 (5), 6-4; 2. (44) Alex Musialek (K) def. Joey Burkhardt, 7-6 (2), 6-3; 3. Antoine Benneteau (F) def. Brad Cox, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3; 4. Bob Van Overbeek (F) def. Anthony Rossi, 6-3, 6-4; 5. Nassim Slilam (F) def. Alberto Gonzalez, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5; 6. Sekou Bangoura Jr. (F) def. Graeme Dyce, 6-3, 6-1. Order of finish: 6, 1, 4, 2, 3, 5.
Records: Florida 15-2, 7-0 SEC; Kentucky 16-7, 5-3 SEC.
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
EAST DIVISION Conf / Over
Tennessee 8-0 / 20-1
Georgia 8-0 / 16-4
Florida 7-0 / 15-2
Kentucky 5-3 / 16-7
Vanderbilt 3-5 / 11-8
South Carolina 1-7 / 9-9
WEST DIVISION Conf / Over
Mississippi 4-4 / 13-5
Auburn 4-4 / 8-9
Alabama 3-5 / 10-10
Louisiana State 2-6 / 5-12
Mississippi State 1-6 / 8-9
Arkansas 1-7 / 9-11
RESULTS
SUNDAY / April 4
No. 6 Florida 4, No. 10 Kentucky 3
No. 3 Tennessee 5, No. 47 Mississippi State 2
No. 8 Georgia 5, No. 16 Mississippi 2
No. 33 Alabama 4, No. 50 Arkansas 0
No. 35 Vanderbilt 6, No. 38 South Carolina 1
No. 45 Auburn 5, No. 46 Louisiana State 2
FRIDAY / April 2
No. 6 Florida 7, No. 35 Vanderbilt 0
No. 3 Tennessee 7, No. 16 Mississippi 0
No. 8 Georgia 5, No. 47 Mississippi State 2
No. 10 Kentucky 4, No. 38 South Carolina 3
No. 10 Kentucky 4, Cumberlands 2
No. 33 Alabama 4, No. 46 Louisiana State 3
No. 45 Auburn 4, No. 50 Arkansas 3
SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY / April 7
Illinois at Kentucky, 2:30 p.m.
Murray State at Kentucky, 6 p.m.
FRIDAY / April 9
Tennessee at Florida, 3 p.m.
Georgia at South Carolina, 2 p.m.
Vanderbilt at Arkansas, 2:30 p.m.
Auburn at Mississippi, 3 p.m.
Kentucky at Louisiana State, 3 p.m.
Alabama at Mississippi State, 4 p.m.
SUNDAY / April 11
Georgia at Florida, 1 p.m.
Kentucky at Arkansas, 12:30 p.m.
Vanderbilt at Louisiana State, 1 p.m.
Tennessee at South Carolina, 1 p.m.
Alabama at Mississippi, 2 p.m.
Auburn at Mississippi State, 2 p.m.
TUESDAY / April 13
South Florida at Louisiana State, 4 p.m.
WEDNESDAY / April 14
Alabama at UAB, 2 p.m.
Ohio State at Mississippi, 3 p.m.
Alabama at Samford, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY / April 17
South Carolina at Florida, 1 p.m.
Vanderbilt at Kentucky, 1 p.m.
Mississippi State at Mississippi, 2 p.m.
Georgia at Tennessee, 2 p.m.
Louisiana State at Arkansas, 2 p.m.
Auburn at Alabama, 6 p.m.
THURSDAY / April 22
to SUNDAY / April 25
SEC Men’s Tennis Championship at Kentucky