An air of dejection hung like a heavy cloud in Fort Worth, Texas, as Florida men’s tennis packed its belongings in preparation for the long trip home. The Gators were just swept by No. 1 Texas Christian, 4-0, in their eighth match of the 2024-2025 season, leaving Florida winless in its two-match roadtrip to Texas in early February and moving its overall record to 4-4.
Florida men’s tennis’ last losing season was in 2000-2001 when the Gators ended their year on an eight-game losing streak and posted a 9-17 record in Ian Duvenhage’s final season as head coach. Although 4-4 is no dismal start, the Gators’ 2024-2025 roster knew that they would have to perform better heading into the competitive nature of SEC play.
In their return home the following weekend, the Gators breezed by the North Florida Ospreys, 6-1, behind the efforts of freshmen Rafael Segado, Niels Villard and Francesco Cordova.
Florida’s domination of UNF marked a turning point for the Gators despite a rough start against non conference teams like Florida State and Southern Methodist to begin the season. Getting hot at the right time and outscoring its first three conference opponents 17-4, Florida jumped from 4-4 to 8-4 with a strong finish to February.
“We couldn’t have started better to be honest,” Florida coach Adam Steinberg noted following the Gator’s 7-0 sweep of Auburn to open conference play. “Winning in this conference is not easy. You get the first one, it helps a ton just for team confidence, and we got a lot of young guys, they need that.”
However, Florida men’s tennis began to follow a familiar pattern from its first season under Steinberg – producing wins at home while falling short on the road. In 2024, Florida posted a 11-1 home record while going 2-11 in matches on the road or at a neutral site. This year, Florida notched a 9-2 home record but went 3-7 in away matches and 3-3 in matches held at a neutral site.
Unable to win five straight, Florida fell to No. 4 Texas in its first match of March. From there, Florida’s struggles on the road continued. Already 0-3 in road matches, UF was swept at both No. 16 Oklahoma and No. 15 Texas A&M, 4-0 and 7-0, respectively, in early March.
Now 8-7 (3-3 SEC), Florida returned home to reverse its losing skid and dominate Arkansas 4-1. The Gators trailed Arkansas early after losing the doubles point but rallied to sweep the match in singles on courts six, three, five and four, respectively, delivering an important win in front of a crowd filled with spectators.
The crowd is one of the most overlooked aspects of collegiate tennis when anticipating the outcome of a matchup. Because tennis is a game of momentum — shifting with every point and every bit of wavering confidence — spectators introduce a psychological element that can influence a player’s performance at any moment.
Steinberg attributed Florida’s high-energy and success at home to fans who made The Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex an electric environment to play in, stimulating Florida players and rattling opposing teams.
“A great atmosphere, the support, the crowd really helped us,” Steinberg said following Florida’s thrilling win over Auburn. “It was awesome and I think the guys really appreciated that and all the Gators came out.”
Although the Gators entered a late-March roadtrip winless (0-5) in away matches, Florida seemed to find its groove, winning three matches on the road against Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Louisiana State before falling to Mississippi State. With a four-match winning streak in March, the Gators improved to 12-8 (7-4 SEC).
Steinberg’s Gators continued to impress in a tough conference, picking up a 4-3 win over Georgia in a thrilling comeback in Gainesville on April 3. However, only two days later, Florida came up just short against No. 18 Tennessee, falling just shy of a second straight upset with a 4-3 loss.
Florida led Tennessee 3-0, but the Volunteers answered with four straight points to defeat the Gators on Florida’s Senior Day. From there, Florida’s struggles on the road continued when it fell to No. 15 South Carolina 4-1 to end the regular season with a 13-10 (8-6 SEC) record.
The Gators run in the SEC Tournament was short lived. Florida earned a first round bye and defeated Arkansas 4-2. However, less than a week after its final regular season match against South Carolina, Florida faced the Gamecocks in the third round of the SEC Tournament.
South Carolina surged past Florida 4-1 for the second time this season, denying the Gators a spot in the semifinals and eliminating them from the SEC Tournament.
With Florida’s season on the line in the NCAA Tournament and the Gators sitting at 14-11, sophomores Henry Jefferson, Kevin Edengren and Adhithya Ganesan stepped up against South Florida in the Orlando Regional hosted by UCF at the UTSA National Campus.
Florida won 4-1 against the Bulls and set its sights on Central Florida, who eliminated the Gators in the NCAA Tournament’s first round last season.
However, the Knights eliminated the Gators for a second straight year, this time in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Florida failed to build momentum on UCF’s home courts and quickly lost the doubles point. From there, Ganesan was the only Gator to win a match as Florida fell 4-1 and ended its season with a 15-12 record.
With a season full of highs and lows, one thing stood above the rest – the crowd. While the year ultimately ended sooner than any Gator would have hoped, the home crowd’s momentum-shifting cheers stood out as a consistent force for Florida and a key takeaway from the spring season.
“The support from the fans, the excitement here for tennis again, you can feel it and see it, so I’m really proud of the team for that,” Steinberg said following Florida’s loss to Texas.
One thing is for certain: with enthusiasm for Florida tennis on the rise, the energy is there and the foundation is being laid for something bigger.
Contact Curan Ahern at cahern@alligator.com and follow him on X at @CuranAhern.
Curan is the men's tennis beat reporter and a second-year journalism sports & media major. He enjoys spending his free time with pets, at the beach and fishing.
