GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Sunday afternoon the No. 41 Vanderbilt men’s tennis team suffered a 7-0 setback to the 12th-ranked Florida Gators.
The outing began with UF clinching a competitive doubles point with wins at two then one doubles. VU’s Pen Binet and Panu Vitanen squared off in the Swamp against Maxx Lipman and Elliot Orkin. The Gators walked away with the first victory on the day, 6-4.
At No. 1 doubles, No. 39 Lachlan McPhee and Billy Rowe nearly completed a top 10 upset on court one, however the Gators sixth-ranked pairing of Alfredo Blanco and Johannes Ingildsen escaped with a 7-5 victory. On court three, Daniel Valent and Baker Newman led Joshua Wardell and Chase Perez-Blanco, 6-5, at the clinch.
In singles, VU earned two first set victories, but the Gators powered back to nab wins on all six courts.
No. 106 Orkin earned Florida its first singles win, defeating Rowe in the freshman’s second career match at No. 3 singles, 6-3, 6-1. Following Newman’s 6-3, 6-1 loss to Perez-Blanco, Florida’s Lipmann clinched the overall victory on court five against Virtanen, 6-4, 6-3.
In the No. 1 spot, Valent faced off against the highest ranked player in the SEC, No. 7 Perez. While the Commodore challenged the Gator throughout the first set, Perez earned pivotal points late in the set to take the match, 7-5, 6-1.
McPhee and Alex Ross pulled off first set victories on courts four and six for the black and gold. Up against Ingildsen, McPhee nabbed his opening set 6-4, but fell in the second and 10-point tiebreaker, 6-1, 1-0.
Florida completed the sweep against Vanderbilt at No. 6 singles. Ross opened his match fighting past Joseph Guillin, 7-5, but like his teammate McPhee, the Commodore overpowered in his following sets, 6-2, 1-0.
Vandy looks to rebound from the loss at home this Thursday, as the squad takes on the Kentucky Wildcats at 4 pm.
