Despite giving up the doubles point against Mississippi State on Friday, Florida’s ranked singles players pulled the weight of its 4-1 victory.
On the doubles court, UF went 1-2 against MSU. First to finish was Mike Alford and Diego Hidalgo, who defeated Rishab Agarwal and Zach White (MSU) 8-5.
Even though Florida grabbed the first doubles point, it couldn’t keep the momentum, as Florent Diep and Gordon Watson were defeated by No. 63 Jordan Angus and Malte Stropp (MSU) 8-5 on the No. 1 Court.
With the series tied at 1 for the doubles point, it was up to Maxx Lipman and Elliot Orkin to clinch the match for the Gators, but the two were defeated by Florian Lakat and Tassilo Schmid (MSU) 8-7 (2) to give Mississippi State the doubles point.
Entering singles down 1-0, the Gators immediately began to play the type of tennis that coach Bryan Shelton has been asking them to play all season.
Florida was relentless, with Lipman defeating White 6-2, 6-3 and freshman Elliot Orkin defeating Agarwal 6-4, 6-4 shortly afterward to give Florida a 2-1 lead.
No. 108 Diep defeated his Stropp (MSU) in three sets, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 to extend UF’s lead to 3-1. Clinching the match for Florida was Mike Alford, winning his match against Robin Haden (MSU) in a 6-3, 7-5 decision.
“I’m very proud of our guys to get such a very tough road win after losing the doubles point” Shelton said. “We continue to work hard every single day and we are seeing progress in both doubles and singles.”
Follow Britnee McCoy on Twitter @TheReporterGirl
