The Gators men’s tennis team is ready to party like it’s 2005.
Florida is now SEC regular-season champion for the first time in fourteen years. It clinched at least a share of the title after beating Auburn 6-1 at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn, Alabama, on Sunday.
The No. 2 Gators will be the sole SEC regular season champions for the first time since 2005 if they can defeat South Carolina on Sunday. A loss to the Gamecocks would create a tie at the top of the standings with Texas A&M, who the Gators beat on March 31 at home, 5-2.
Florida’s 11-0 start in SEC play is its best in 14 years, when it started with the same record. The Gators have won 13 in a row and are 19-2 overall. The last time they finished the season with two-or even three-losses was 1977.
“Everyone came out today ready to go and played very well,” sophomore Oliver Crawford said in a release. “We know we still have to beat South Carolina to win the SEC outright and that’s what we are focused on doing.”
For the most part, UF stuck with the same lineup that had success in the 7-0 win over Alabama on Friday. The only change was freshman Lukas Greif and sophomore Andy Andrade paired on Court 3.
The doubles point came easily against the Tigers (12-17, 0-11 SEC). Senior McClain Kessler and junior Johannes Ingildsen won on Court 1, 6-1.
The point was clinched on Court 2 with a 6-1 win by Crawford and senior Alfredo Perez. Greif and Andrade led 5-1 when their match was stopped after the point was cliched.
Singles play came easily again for the Gators. UF took the first set on five of six courts including 6-0 first-set wins by Kessler and Crawford. Kessler and Perez cruised to wins on Courts 5 and 6, with Kessler winning 6-0, 6-1 and Perez winning 6-1, 6-0.
No. 14 Crawford clinched the win 6-0, 6-1 over Matteo DeVincentis. He improved to 9-2 in SEC play and clinched for the second time this season. He has also won six straight matches.
Auburn picked up its only point in the match when No. 89 Ingildsen fell to Tad Maclean 6-4, 6-0. That was the only point the Tigers got as Andrade clinched a 6-2, 6-2 win. Sophomore Duarte Vale completed the match with a 6-4, 6-7, 1-0 victory in a 10-point tiebreaker. No. 109 Vale improved to 9-0 in SEC play and extended his winning streak to 10 in singles.
This season has been a great improvement for Vale, as he is 12-1 this season after finishing 5-6 in singles in 2018.
“We don’t want to share the title. South Carolina is a very good team and it will be very tough,” Crawford said. “We are looking forward to the challenge.”
Follow Noah Ram on Twitter @noah_ram1 and contact him at nram@alligator.org.
Sophomore Duarte Vale got a 6-4, 6-7, 1-0 singles victory in a 10-point tiebreaker in Florida's win over Auburn on Sunday. He improved to 9-0 in SEC play and extended his winning streak to 10 in singles.
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.
