The Florida men’s tennis team opened its fall season with two notable tournaments, securing 11 wins across both events. Seniors Henry Jefferson and Kevin Edengren carried the load for Florida, recording multiple victories through the first tournament.
The season began on Sept. 19 with the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s (ITA) All-American Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Six Gators participated, tacking on numerous wins to their respective career stats.
As play ended Friday, the Gators looked ahead to their next opportunity: the Farnsworth Invitational hosted by Princeton. Two Gators represented Florida in both singles and doubles competition and secured two singles and one doubles victory. The tournament concluded on Sunday, with the two Gators securing their first wins of the season.
ITA All-American Championships
Across the week-long tournament, Florida tallied eight wins. Jefferson started off strong for Florida in the consolation bracket and kept momentum for the main draw. The Brit used his 6-foot-6 frame to command the court and overpower his opponents.
He defeated Ohio State freshman Denis Patek in straight sets to advance to the round of 32. His next opponent, Spanish junior Bryan Hernandez Cortes of Mississippi State, ended his streak, as the Bulldog won 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Jefferson rebounded with a technical victory in the consolation bracket against Purdue’s junior Nour Fathalla. The Gator breezed to a quick 6-2 first-set victory, and Fathalla pulled out of competition, allowing Jefferson to advance. As the senior looked to continue, South Carolina sophomore Paul Barbier Gazeu stood in the way. The Gamecock ended Jefferson's run with a powerful 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 bout.
Edengren failed to advance past the round of 64. The Swede defeated Texas Tech’s Thiago Guglieri 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, then beat Baylor’s freshman Radek Chodora 6-3, 7-6(4) in straight sets. He eventually fell in the round of 64 to Wake Forest freshman Emanuel Ivanisevic, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Andreas Timini, Florida’s sophomore from Cyprus, first fell to Texas Tech’s junior Imran Daniel Abdul Hazli, 6-1, 6-2 in the round of 256. He then evened out his record with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 win over Princeton’s Milan Markovits in the round of 128 PQ consolations.
Aussie freshman Ty Host began his collegiate debut with a 6-2 straight-set loss to North Carolina’s sophomore Ian Mayew. Host would find success against Miami’s senior Jakub Kroslak, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, for his first recorded collegiate singles win.
His teammate, freshman Chen Ye, was also defeated in straight sets in his first two collegiate appearances. He lost to Oklahoma’s junior Alejandro Melereo, 7-5, 6-4, and to Nebraska’s junior Jan Sebesta, 6-4, 6-0.
The last freshman to fall was Alaa Trifi, who lost in his solo debut 7-5, 6-3, to Texas Christian’s junior Albert Pedrico Kravtsov, tallying a singles record of 6-8 for Florida.
In doubles competition, the Gators posted a 50% win-loss rate. Jefferson and Host first defeated the Tarheel duo, Will Mayew and Sebastian Sec, 6-1, 4-6, 10-5. They were then equalized 7-6(6), 6-3 by Indiana Hoosier duo Braeden Gelletich and Sam Landau.
Last season, Edengren and Timini established themselves as a dominant doubles pair. They posted a team-high record of 15-7. They opened the doubles season with a close 6-3, 6-3 loss to Virginia duo Keegan Rice and Luca Preda. But the Gators’ chemistry was evident as they came back to even out their record 1-1 with a 6-3, 7-6(3) win against Ohio State duo Preston Stearns and Alex Fuchs.
As play concluded Friday, the Gators took eight victories at the ITA All-American Championships.
Farnsworth Invitational
Nearly 1,300 miles away in Princeton, New Jersey, the Gators quickly began their second stretch of tournament play at the Farnsworth Invitational on Friday. Only two Gators represented Florida at this event: Ye and redshirt freshman Roman Sancilio.
Sancilio made his season debut appearing in four matches to kick off the invitational, across singles and doubles. Dartmouth sophomore Kornel Halmos first defeated him in a 6-1, 6-3 scuffle. He then avenged his loss with a dominant 6-1, 6-0 win over Princeton’s senior Evan Wen. But Dartmouth remained undefeated against the Gator as junior Denny Bao struck down Sancilio 7-5, 6-4 to close out the weekend.
The young Chinese star finally found his first win of the season, defeating Dartmouth freshman Enrique Collar 7-5, 3-6, 6-4. Princeton’s senior Aleksandar Mitric avenged his fellow Ivy League player, as he beat the Gator 7-5, 6-0.
In doubles, UF won only one match, an 8-7(5) win over Princeton duo Mitric and Wen.
They fell 8-5 to Dartmouth’s Collar and Halmos, 8-7(6) to Dartmouth’s Adrian Treacy and Malhar Patel and 8-1 to Purdue duo Lorenzo Balducci and Liam Channon.
Florida will resume tournament play with the Bedford Cup in Orlando on Friday.
Contact Ethan Feinberg at efeinberg@alligator.org. Follow him on X @thefeinline.
Ethan Feinberg is a senior sports journalism student in his third semester at The Alligator. He is currently the Fall 2026 men’s tennis reporter. 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.)
