The UF men's tennis team that showed up to play Sunday looked like it was the one that had played in the national championship match a year ago rather than its opponent.
The No. 14 Gators outlasted last year's national runner-up, No. 9 Illinois, in a thrilling 6-1 victory that took more than four hours to complete.
UF (5-2) was finally able to defeat an Illini team that had dominated them five times over the last seven years.
This time, the Gators, with four freshmen and two seniors, decided to return the favor.
"We've been to Illinois and gotten beat bad indoors exactly like this, where things are really close," UF coach Andy Jackson said. "This match could easily be 6-1 Illinois."
UF focused more on doubles in practice during the last two weeks, and it showed, as the team played its best doubles of the year and set the tone early for the rest of the match.
The Gators, who were swept off the doubles courts their last time out against Florida State, won courts one and three handily, giving UF a 1-0 lead.
The first-time duo of senior Greg Ouellette and freshman Jeff Dadamo, both left-handers, rolled by the No. 20 doubles team, 8-3.
Senior Nestor Briceno and freshman Alex Lacroix sealed the doubles point with an 8-4 win.
Freshmen Tyler Hochwalt and Johnny Hamui continued the momentum for UF in singles. Hochwalt raced to a 6-2, 6-3 win, followed by Hamui's 6-1, 6-4 triumph.
With UF up 3-0, Lacroix was unable to serve out his match to clinch the match for the Gators. Instead he was broken and eventually forced to a third set.
The last four matches all went to decisive third sets, and UF needed just one to win.
"Yeah, I was worried from the very beginning," Jackson said. "I knew (the Illini) were never going to stop."
Illinois claimed its first point after UF freshman Jeff Dadamo fell 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1.
Three matches remained up for grabs to decide the winner.
Ouellette finally broke through late in his third set against the No. 13 player in the nation. He struggled with his opponent's serve all match long, and after failing to convert on three break-point chances in his previous return game, the match seemed destined for a tiebreak.
Then Ouellette saw one more break chance at 5-5, and with that, he elicited the crowd's loudest response of the day by punching a backhand past his opponent, securing the break. He then served out the match, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, and clinched the dual match for the Gators.
"I was so excited," said Ouellette, who picked up his 100th career win. "That was one of the happiest matches I've had. Since I've been here, we haven't beaten Illinois. It was just such a good feeling to be able to get the win. The biggest thing is that the team was able to get it done. Freshmen are just really stepping it up. I have so much more faith in them than at the start of the year."
Lacroix won his match about a minute after Ouellette finished, and Briceno finished off his opponent in a third-set tiebreak to post the 6-1 score.
UF won't have much time to relax, as it will face No. 22 Pepperdine on Monday at 3 p.m.
The No. 5 UF women's tennis team also picked up a win against one of the nation's top teams on Sunday.
The Gators (6-1) defeated No. 27 Texas in Austin, 5-2.
