GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Vanderbilt concluded its season-long five-match road trip on Sunday with a 5-2 loss at No. 9 Florida. The loss was the sixth in a row for the 37th-ranked Commodores.
Held at Linder Stadium, Florida (11-3, 2-0 SEC) won the doubles point and three of the first four completed singles matches to earn the win over the Commodores (4-8, 0-2 SEC). The loss was Vanderbilt’s 10th in a row at Florida.
It was the fourth straight match Vanderbilt has lost by the score of 5-2. Each opponent Vanderbilt has faced during its losing streak is currently ranked in the top 31.
Vanderbilt dropped the doubles point for the fourth match in a row, as the Gators took a 1-0 lead in the match. The Gators would then win the first two completed singles matches to take a 3-0 lead in the match.
Vanderbilt pulled within two, 3-1, when Alex Zotov posted a 6-2, 6-4 win over Florida’s Erik Corace in the No. 6 position. The win was Zotov’s third in a row and sixth in his last seven matches.
Not long after Vanderbilt got on the board for the first time, Florida’s Joey Burkhardt was able to clinch the overall match with a, 6-3, 1-6, 6-1, win over Vijay Paul in the No. 3 position.
Earning Vanderbilt’s final point was Adam Baker, who defeated Florida’s Johnny Hamui, 6-2, 7-5, in the No. 4 position. The win snapped a two-match losing skid for Baker.
Vanderbilt will return to the friendly confines of the Currey Tennis Center on Friday to face No. 30 LSU at 2 p.m.
