Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
We inform. You decide.
Friday, March 29, 2024
<p>The Gators men's tennis team earned a Final Four bid after defeated Baylor on Thursday.</p>

The Gators men's tennis team earned a Final Four bid after defeated Baylor on Thursday.

It’s not supposed to be this easy.

Don’t tell that to the No. 4 Gators, who came out aggressive on Thursday and never let up. They defeated No. 6 Baylor 4-0 in Orlando to advance to the Final Four of the men’s NCAA tennis tournament.

“We've got guys playing well all over the place,” coach Bryan Shelton said in a release. “It's not just one guy, but it's across the board. I think it was just a great team win."

Florida jumped out to an early advantage by sweeping doubles play. Florida’s Johannes Ingildsen and McClain Kessler defeated the No. 1 duo in the country, Jimmy Bendeck and Sven Lah, 7-5. Oliver Crawford and Alfredo Perez beat Will Little and Matias Soto 6-4 to put the Gators up 1-0 in the match.

Singles play was a similar story.

Florida breezed past Baylor with wins on Courts 2, 5 and 6 to clinch the victory. Those wins came courtesy of Kessler, No. 54 Sam Riffice and No. 59 Andy Andrade.

The Gators will face Texas in the semifinal on Saturday at noon with a spot in the program’s first ever national championship game on the line.

“I feel like our tanks are full right now,” Shelton said. “This is the time.”

Follow Sam Campisano on Twiiter @samcampisano and contact him at scampisano@alligator.org.

The Gators men's tennis team earned a Final Four bid after defeated Baylor on Thursday.

Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox
Support your local paper
Donate Today
The Independent Florida Alligator has been independent of the university since 1971, your donation today could help #SaveStudentNewsrooms. Please consider giving today.

Powered by SNworks Solutions by The State News
All Content © 2024 The Independent Florida Alligator and Campus Communications, Inc.