Not even the weather could prevent the Florida Gators from beating their in-state rivals.
The Fresh from Florida Sunshine Showdown had a lengthy rain delay of over one hour, but that didn’t stop UF from taking down No. 19 Florida State 4-1 when the match resumed indoors at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Florida.
The Gators’ ended the Seminoles’ streak of two consecutive wins at the venue.
No. 4 UF began the match with a crushing 6-0 doubles win from senior Alfredo Perez and junior Johannes Ingildsen over Lucas Poullain and Sebastian Arcila. Freshman Sam Riffice and sophomore Oliver Crawford continued their dominance with a 6-3 doubles win over Richard Thongoana and Chase Wood.
Riffice won his first set outdoors in singles play 6-4 despite initially trailing 0-3. The delay didn’t stop Riffice’s momentum. He cruised to a 6-3 victory in the final set to put the Gators up 2-0. Ingildsen handily beat Thongoana 6-2, 6-1 to set up match point.
But the clinching win didn’t come easy for the Gators.
Sophomore Andy Andrade fell behind in the second set of his singles match 3-5, but he fought back and forced a tiebreaker. Ultimately, Andrade won the set 7-6 over Alex Knaff to clinch the match.
This was Florida’s second-consecutive victory in Lake Nona. It beat UCF on Thursday 6-1.
Coach Bryan Shelton was proud of the way the team fought through adversity.
“Give (Florida State) a lot of credit,” Shelton said in a release. “That team just plays us tough every single time we play them. They are a gritty group that competes really well. They gave us all that we wanted tonight and more. I’m really proud of our guys for how they hung in there.”
UF men's tennis coach Bryan Shelton said he was proud of the way his team fought through adversity in its 4-1 win over Florida State.
Noah is a third year journalism-sports and media student from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He has been with The Alligator since Spring 2019 and has covered men’s and women’s tennis, gymnastics and volleyball. When he isn’t on his beat, Noah is usually sadden over his beloved South Florida sports teams, such as the Heat and Dolphins.
