OXFORD, Miss. — The No. 6 Florida men’s tennis team remained unbeaten in Southeastern Conference play Sunday, winning its eighth straight match with a 4-3 decision over No. 14 Mississippi Sunday afternoon at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center.
“It was a hard-fought, extremely close match,” Florida coach Andy Jackson said. “Anytime you can go on the road and beat a top-15 team, especially one with the tradition of Ole Miss, it’s a good day.”
The win provided a strong start to a challenging stretch of the Florida schedule in which the Gators face five top-25 teams in a row, four of which stand in the nation’s Top 15. Florida improved to 13-2 overall and 5-0 in the SEC, while Ole Miss fell to 13-3 and 4-2 SEC.
The doubles point was hotly contested on all three courts, with the Gators striking first from the third position as Daniel Cash and Bob Van Overbeek downed Adrian Forberg Skogeng and Harry Fowler, 8-6.
The other two doubles matches both went to tiebreakers. The No. 38 team of Sekou Bangoura Jr. and Joey Burkhardt fell on the second court. But the 10th-ranked team of Antoine Benneteau and Alexandre Lacroix pulled out the victory over No. 51 Tucker Vorster and Jonas Lutjen to give Florida an early 1-0 lead.
The Gators notched the first win in singles, with Van Overbeek posting a straight-sets victory over Chris Thiemann at No. 4. Ole Miss answered with a victory of its own on the fifth court, with Harry Fowler snapping Bangoura’s eight-match winning streak to cut the Florida lead to 2-1.
The sixth-ranked Lacroix brought the Gators to the cusp of victory, posting a 6-4, 6-4 victory over No. 60 Vorster at first singles. But Ole Miss once again was ready with the counterpunch, with Florida’s Nassim Slilam seeing his team-high 11-match winning streak snapped on the No. 6 court and Burkhardt coming up short against No. 59 Marcel Thiemann on the second court.
With the teams knotted at 3-3, Benneteau landed the decisive blow from the No. 3 position, handing Lutjen at 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 defeat that kept the Gators perfect in league play this season.
“We were able to go on the road and lost at the fifth and sixth positions, which have been strong points for us, and still came away with the win, so we feel good about that,” Jackson said. “Alex, Antoine and Bob all won twice so that’s great.”
The Gators will be in action again this coming weekend, going on a road swing that includes a Friday meeting at No. 23 Vanderbilt and a Sunday showdown at No. 9 Kentucky.
No. 6 FLORIDA 4, No. 14 MISSISSIPPI 3
At Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center, Oxford, Miss
DOUBLES
1. (10) Antoine Benneteau-Alexandre Lacroix (F) def. (51) Tucker Vorster-Jonas Lutjen 9-8 (4); 2. Marcel Thiemann-Chris Thiemann (M) def. (38) Sekou Bangoura Jr.-Joey Burkhardt, 9-8 (1); 3. Daniel Cash-Bob Van Overbeek (F) def. Adrian Forberg Skogeng-Harry Fowler, 8-6. Order of finish: 3, 2, 1. Florida wins the doubles point, 2-1.
SINGLES
1. (6) Alexandre Lacroix (F) def. (60) Tucker Vorster, 6-4, 6-4; 2. (59) Marcel Thiemann (M) def. Joey Burkhardt, 7-5, 6-4; 3. Antoine Benneteau (F) def. Jonas Lutjen, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3; 4. Bob Van Overbeek (F) def. Chris Thiemann, 6-2, 6-3; 5. Harry Fowler (M) def. Sekou Bangoura Jr., 6-2, 6-2; 6. Adrian Forberg Skogeng (M) def. Nassim Slilam, 7-6 (11), 6-1. Order of finish: 4, 5, 1, 6, 2, 3.
Records: Florida 13-2, 5-0 SEC; Mississippi 13-3, 4-2 SEC.