NASHVILLE, Tenn. — No. 6 Florida downed Vanderbilt, 7-0, Friday in men’s college tennis action at the Currey Tennis Center. The victory extended Florida’s winning streak to nine matches.
Florida (14-2, 6-0 SEC) posted the win against the first Eastern Division foe on its SEC slate. UF has now recorded seven straight wins in the all-time series against Vanderbilt (10-8, 2-5 SEC).
“We have a lot of respect for Vanderbilt, and we came out very sharp,” Florida coach Andy Jackson said. “We know that they are a team we could lose to. Yes, we dominated the match, but I think that’s because we knew that this is a team capable of beating us. We just had a good day, and Vanderbilt had a bad day.”
The Gators won the doubles point in dominant fashion. The 49th-ranked Florida duo of Sekou Bangoura Jr. and Joey Burkhardt notched the first win of the day, a blistering 8-1 victory over No. 53 Ryan Lipman and Bryant Salcedo. The doubles point clincher came soon after from Bob Van Overbeek and Billy Federhofer.
“Federhofer and Van Overbeek played very well today,” Jackson said. “That was a key for us today because that took the pressure off us and helped us get on a roll going into singles.”
No. 12 Antoine Benneteau and Alexandre Lacroix wrapped up the sweep of doubles action, boosting their doubles record to 26-3 in 2009-10.
Singles action followed suit as the Gators posted straight-sets victories on all six courts. Benneteau and Lacroix were the first two finished, setting the table for Van Overbeek to clinch the Florida victory, topping Adam Baker, 6-3, 6-2.
Bangoura, Nassim Slilam and Burkhardt then notched victories on their respective courts to complete the Gator sweep. Bangoura rallied from a 5-3 deficit in the second set to take four straight games and close out court six.
Florida plays its final SEC road match Sunday at No. 10 Kentucky at 1 p.m. The Gators’ final three SEC matches are all at home.
No. 6 FLORIDA 7, VANDERBILT 0
At Currey Tennis Center, Nashville, Tenn.
DOUBLES
1. (12) Antoine Benneteau-Alexandre Lacroix (F) def. Adam Baker-Alex Zotov, 8-3; 2. (49) Sekou Bangoura Jr.-Joey Burkhardt (F) def. (53) Ryan Lipman-Bryant Salcedo, 8-1; 3. Billy Federhofer-Bob Van Overbeek (F) def. Alex DiValerio-Vijay Paul, 8-5. Order of finish: 2, 3, 1. Florida wins doubles point, 3-0.
SINGLES
1. (7) Alexandre Lacroix (F) def. (37) Ryan Lipman, 6-4, 6-2; 2. Joey Burkhardt (F) def. (114) Vijay Paul, 7-5, 6-3; 3. Antoine Benneteau (F) def. Alex Zotov, 6-2, 6-0; 4. Bob Van Overbeek (F) def. Adam Baker, 6-3, 6-2; 5. Nassim Slilam (F) def. Alex DiValerio, 6-3, 6-3; 6. Sekou Bangoura Jr. (F) def. Charlie Jones, 6-2, 7-5. Order of finish: 3, 1, 4, 6, 5, 2.
Records: Florida 14-2, 6-0 SEC; Vanderbilt 10-8, 2-5 SEC.