Before the first serve, the Gators felt left out.
With all three of the other teams ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Top 25, Florida (3-0) was the odd one out.
Yet, they showed out.
With only two courts remaining, each in their third set, Florida freshman Andreas Timini was called upon to win it all in both rounds. With Florida men’s tennis head coach Adam Steinberg at his back, Timini sealed the deal with an impressive 6-0 and 6-2 final set victory against Kentucky (3-2) and Columbia (2-2).
Coming off a hard-fought first win last week, the Gators faced their first-ranked opponents of the season, No. 23 Kentucky and No. 13 Columbia, in the season's first tournament-style play.
“We’re going to be going up against the best in the country,” Steinberg said Jan. 17. “But the guys understand the goals here at Florida to be number one will never change.”
Coming into this tournament, Florida was seeded No. 2, bested by Columbia, with Kentucky and Illinois (1-2) following. Florida showed exactly why it was the No. 2 seed, stomping opponents on various courts.
The Gators dominated Kentucky in the doubles matches.
The doubles started with junior Henry Jefferson and senior Tanapatt Nirundorn on court one, junior Adhithya Ganesan and senior Pablo Perez Ramos on court two and senior Lorenzo Claverie and Timini on court three.
The Gators on court two took the lead early and cruised into their first win of the day, 6-1. However, Jefferson and Nirundorn could only watch the action on the other courts as they fell 6-3, so the doubles point against the Wildcats was up to Claverie and Timini. Down after each game against a tough Kentucky freshman-senior pair in Nicolas Arseneault and Jaden Weekes, the duo rallied back.
UF won the doubles point, with the Gators securing an exciting 8-6 victory.
The dominance continued onto the singles courts as Florida took the first step forward.
Starting in his first spring season, Claverie showed promise. He went on to take a first-set victory, 6-3, but was quickly matched in play.
He had the chance to put the game away, but as the day progressed, Arseneault advanced 7-6. Their third set went unfinished, thanks to Timini's late-game heroics.
Additional courts were simultaneously taken over by the Gators.
Ganesan’s momentum did not slow down. He commanded the court and won straight sets 6-3 and 6-2. Putting the second score on the board for Florida.
Meanwhile, over on court four, Ramos started off strong but began to fade quickly. He went up 6-1 and had to fight to survive for the second set. He prevailed, winning 6-4 against the SEC rival.
With the win, Weekes and Stephenson brought Kentucky’s only two points.
However, Columbia proved tougher, winning 6-4 to secure the first point of the dual match. Ultimately, handing Florida its first doubles match loss of the season.
"I told them to take a deep breath and everyone relax," Steinberg said. "If we're going to be a great team, we're not going to win every doubles point all year, and we're going to lose doubles points on the road. We're going to have to learn how to respond the right way."
The only duo to show signs of a win in the doubles was Ganesan and Ramos, but their match was abandoned. However, the Gators did not let that affect them. Where they lacked in the doubles, they made it up with strong performances in the singles matches.
In Ganesan's match against Lions’ senior Nicolas Kotzen, he came out victorious, winning 6-3 and 6-4, getting the first point for Florida.
Ramos had an easier matchup, and he did not let off the gas as he beat Columbia’s first-year Abhishek Thorat, 6-2 and 6-4. Putting the second point on the board for Florida.
As the other five matches were playing, two gators fell in the first set, and it seemed like a third would come from Nirundorn.
However, he made an incredible comeback to keep the Gators in the game. He remained determined and won the first set 7-5. He carried this momentum on to win 6-3 in the second set.
In the match against the Lions, sophomore Thanaphat Boosarawongse defeated Jefferson 6-4, but he answered right back with the same score in the second set. His third set was abandoned, again thanks to Timini’s hard-fought win.
After the victories this weekend, Florida will compete in the ITA National Championship starting Feb. 13.
In the meantime, Florida will resume regular season play for its second in-state rivalry match against Florida State University at 5 p.m. on Jan. 30th at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
Contact Ethan Feinberg at efeinberg@alligator.org. Contact him on X @thefeinline.
Ethan Feinberg is a senior sports journalism student and the Spring 2026 men’s tennis reporter. He has previously written stories and produced audio sessions for WRUF, covering high school football. Ethan enjoys watching and playing sports like football and basketball, working out, fishing, cooking, and having a good laugh with his friends and family. His favorite sports teams are the New England Patriots, Miami Heat, Florida Panthers, and the Miami Marlins. (Drake "Drake Maye" Maye is the GOAT.)
