After a week-long rest between matches, the Gators came out swinging. Florida looked to close out its last home-game stretch strong, with the fans at its back.
As they fell early in doubles, the Gators needed to win four straight, and for the first time this season, they nearly did.
Junior Henry Jefferson was the last Gator standing, rallying from a deficit in the final set to keep the match competitive. He pressured sophomore Orel Kimhi late, but the Sooner closed it out 6-4 to seal the dual match.
No. 21 Florida (11-10, 4-6 SEC) was bested by No. 15 Oklahoma (15-5, 7-4 SEC) 4-3, snapping its three-game win streak.
The match started well for the Gators, who took the early lead on all three doubles courts. But as balls spun and points tacked on, Oklahoma bounced back and recaptured the doubles portion.
This theme would set the stage for the remainder of the match.
The only Gators to come out victorious in the doubles portion were the No. 22 doubles pairing of senior Tanapatt Nirundorn and junior Henry Jefferson, who showed exactly why they earned that ranking as they took down the Sooners 6-3 on court one.
As the remaining two courts entered their 11th games, the third position duo advanced to a 6-5 lead. Junior Kevin Edengren and freshman Andeas Timini could not get the job done as they fell 7-6 (7-4) in the deciding tiebreaker set.
Senior Pablo Perez Ramos and junior Adhithya Ganesan fell first in a tough 7-5 match.
The end of the doubles portion marked the 10th time the Gators needed to win four straight singles matches.
That would not come as most of the Gators fell in their first sets, and the overpowering Oklahoma play was too much to handle.
Despite several first-set losses, the Gators remained determined.
Ramos lifted spirits with his 6-4 first-set victory, the first singles success of the day. He avoided what looked like the Gators' first shutout loss of the season with his 7-6 (7-2) straight-set win to grab Florida's first point.
On court four, junior Jeremy Jin felt this impact as he concluded the last first set of the dual match with a grueling 7-6 victory over freshman Johan Rodriguez. He went on to score the second straight set victory of the match with his 6-1 final set.
Though Edengren tacked on his own 6-2 first-set loss, he quickly turned things around. The Swede dominated in his last two sets with a quick 6-1, 6-2 comeback win to grab Florida’s second point of the day.
But from this point on, it all fell apart for Florida.
Ganesan was the first to be defeated in a straight set loss, 6-2, 6-4. Claverie fell just short as he lost his first set 6-4 and second set 7-6.
Florida will have just under two hours to prepare for its next opponent, North Carolina A&T (10-6), in the final match of the weekend doubleheader. First serve is set for 5 p.m. Sunday at the Alfred A. Ring Complex.
Contact Ethan Feinberg at efeinberg@alligator.org. Follow 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.)
