Nestor Briceno flung his racket into the air, threw his hat as high as he could and screamed at the top of his lungs.
That was the senior's reaction after he kept the No. 18 UF men's tennis team's Southeastern Conference hopes alive by clinching the dual match against No. 10 Tennessee on Tuesday.
Briceno outlasted his opponent and every other court in a three-set thriller that broke the 3-3 tie between the Gators (8-4, 3-1 SEC) and Volunteers (13-2, 2-2 SEC).
"I had a big talk in the locker room already. If it came down to me, then there's no way I was gonna lose in front of all the guys," Briceno said. "It's all about who can talk the talk and walk the walk."
Already up a set and serving at 5-5 in the second, Briceno lost his serve, and his opponent, Kaden Hensel, ranked No. 117 nationally, ultimately forced him to a decisive third set.
"It's always a pressure situation," he said. "I just take my time; try to stall a little bit. You come to Florida to do this, and I dream to do this every day."
Briceno and his opponent exchanged three breaks in a row in the final set, allowing the senior to serve for the match at 5-3. He saved three break points in the last game and was finally able to close out the match, 7-6, 5-7, 6-3.
"(Senior) Greg (Ouellette) and Nestor, I have a huge amount of confidence in because they've been there four years and have been nothing but tough and really good in that situation," UF coach Andy Jackson said.
The Gators got off to a hot start in doubles, winning all three courts by scores of 8-4, 8-4 and 8-5. They handed Tennessee just its second loss of the season in doubles.
Freshman Tyler Hochwalt continued his solid play by capturing the first singles court, 6-1, 7-6 to give the Gators a 2-0 lead.
"He won a match that I think he would have lost six weeks ago," Jackson said. "He got a little bit flustered at the end of the second (set) and regained his composure. He's showing some progress."
Ouellette, No. 3 nationally, defeated another top-ranked opponent in J.P. Smith, No. 17 nationally, 6-4, 6-4. He increased UF's lead to 3-1.
The Volunteers battled back, however, taking two three-set matches from freshmen Alex Lacroix and Jeff Dadamo before Briceno closed the door.
"I thought we played very sharp in doubles, and then I felt that, like all young teams the first time that they play really good in the doubles, we kind of fell a little bit into the trap thinking that we won four points winning doubles," Jackson said. "We lost a little bit of energy, but I think that's something we have to go through. After that, we were really tough as the match went on."
The Gators' win against the Volunteers keeps them alive in the conference race with their toughest match left coming on Friday at No. 5 Mississippi.
"It's very big, because I don't believe that it's going to be an undefeated season (in the SEC)," Jackson said. "I honestly think two losses can win it, and we've got one. So as long as we can stay at one loss as opposed to two, I feel like we're still in it."
Briceno didn't take much time to let this win sink in before he started looking ahead.
"My mind's already on the next match against Ole Miss," Briceno said. "[This win]'s huge. Now we kind of put the ball in Georgia's court. But our big challenge is going to be Ole Miss."
