McClain Kessler had only moments to realize what had happened before his teammates piled on top of him. A double fault by Ole Miss’s Zvonimir Babic ended a dream run for the Rebels and advanced the Gators to the quarterfinals. Kessler threw his hat in the air with joy and relief, Babic threw his at the wall with anger and frustration.
The Florida men’s tennis team escaped Ole Miss in the Round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Friday with a 4-3 triumph. The match that was moved to the indoor courts in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, due to heavy rain in the area.
Early in doubles, the Gators (19-9) were uncharacteristically passive.
After an impressive performance in doubles in round two, junior Alfredo Perez and sophomore Johannes Ingildsen played well in their top-25 matchup against the No. 22-ranked duo of sophomore Tim Sandkaulen and senior Grey Hamilton. The 6-2 victory was the pair’s 11th win of the season.
But UF had trouble began on Court 2. The Florida tandem of freshman Oliver Crawford and senior Chase Perez-Blanco fell behind 4-2 before fighting back to tie. However, the Rebels’ duo of junior Filip Kraljevic and Babic put it away 6-4 to end Crawford and Perez-Blanco’s doubles win streak at nine matches.
The doubles point came down to the match on Court 3. The Ole Miss pairing of junior Fabian Fallert and freshman Finn Reynolds, who won both of its matches in the first two rounds, got the better of junior McClain Kessler and freshman Duarte Vale in a tightly contested match that ended 7-5 to give the Rebels the doubles point. This was the first time that Florida lost the doubles point since April 28 against Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament.
Florida adjusted well in singles play and was much more aggressive at the net.
On Court 1, Crawford won in commanding fashion over Ole Miss’s Gustav Hansson to tie the match at 1-1. The 6-1, 6-1 win was the freshman’s second in a row and third in postseason competition.
The Rebels (16-13) reclaimed the lead on Court 4 after freshman Andy Andrade saw difficulties for the entire match. In the 6-1, 6-4 straight-set loss to Hamilton, Andrade never held a lead. The loss snapped a five-match win streak for the freshman.
Perez-Blanco, much like his doubles partner, tied up the match for his team with a 6-3, 6-4 win on Court 5. Against Kraljevic on COurt 3, Perez followed with a straight-set win to give the Gators a 3-2 lead. The 6-4, 6-2 victory was Perez’s sixth straight win in singles.
On Court 2, Ingildsen went down with an apparent leg injury during the third set. After he was treated on the court, Ingildsen attempted to return. The sophomore couldn’t finish the match, which ended 3-5 by default in the third set.
With the match tied, all eyes were on Court 6. Kessler’s 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory came with solid footwork and aggressive play after he dropped the first set. The captain’s win to push his team into the quarterfinals was also his sixth-consecutive win in singles.
"It's just my favorite moment,” Kessler said in a release. “I feel like nine out of 10 times when I'm in that moment I'm going to come through because for some reason I feel like I play better because everyone has their eyes on me.”
Florida will play another conference rival, Texas A&M on Sunday. The Gators lost twice to the Aggies both in SEC play and at the National Team Indoor Championships in Seattle on Feb. 16. This will be the Gators seventh quarterfinals in program history. First serves are scheduled for 4 p.m.
You can follow Dylan on Twitter at @dyrudolph and contact him at drudolph@alligator.org.
Junior McClain Kessler clinched the Round of 16 match for Florida over Ole Miss on Friday night, sending the Gators to the NCAA Quarterfinals.
