NASHVILLE, Tenn. – On a perfect weather day in Music City, Vanderbilt’s 35th-ranked men’s tennis team suffered just its second home loss of the season when it was unable to pull the upset over No. 6 Florida on Friday, falling 7-0 to the Gators at the Currey Tennis Center.
The loss dropped Vanderbilt to 10-8 overall and 2-5 in the SEC, while Florida improved to 13-2 overall and 6-0 in the SEC. The loss was the second in a row for the Commodores, who will now play a crucial home match against South Carolina at 1 p.m. Sunday.
“The guys have goals and postseason aspirations, and Sunday is a must in terms of that,” Head Coach Ian Duvenhage said. “We need to come to practice and learn the lessons from this match, and then we’ve got to let it go because we can’t carry it with us.”
Florida was able to sweep all three doubles matches to win the doubles point and take a 1-0 lead in the match. The Commodores are now 0-7 this season when they do not win the doubles point. Vanderbilt’s only other loss at home this season was a 6-1 setback against Ole Miss on March 5.
The Gators extended their lead to two when Antoine Benneteau defeated Alex Zotov, 6-2, 6-0, in the No. 3 position. It was the first time this season Zotov had played this high in the lineup and also marked the first time he has lost two straight matches this season.
No. 7 Alexandre Lacroix of Florida gave the Gators a 3-0 lead when he defeated No. 37 Ryan Lipman, 6-4, 6-2, in the No. 1 position. Clinching the match for Florida was Bob Van Overbeek, who defeated Adam Baker, 6-3, 6-2, in the No. 4 position.
Florida took a 5-0 lead when Sekou Banoua defeated Charlie Jones, 6-2, 7-5, in the No. 6 singles slot. After dropping the first set, Jones held a 5-3 lead in the second set before losing four straight games.
Nassim Slilam gave Florida a 6-0 lead when he defeated Alex DiValerio, 6-3, 6-3, in the No. 5 position. Florida’s final point came when Joseph Burkhardt downed Vanderbilt’s Vijay Paul, 7-5, 6-3, in the No. 2 position.
Vanderbilt will wrap up its 2010 home schedule Sunday when the Commodores host No. 38 South Carolina on Senior Day. Vanderbilt seniors Scott Lieberman, James Moye and Vijay Paul will be recognized before the match.
