Crucial match at home for the women....playing for 3rd in the conference and possibly a regional host. Really need this one to at least stay connected with top level teams For the men, should be a day to clinch the regular season conference title....with TAMU the regular season finale their bigger test Women win at #1 doubles, lose at #3.....comes down to a tiebreak on 2 which Auburn takes Shelton didn't play doubles today, not in singles lineup either. No idea if it's health or just recent very poor play.
Looks pretty tight in singles Kessler 3-2 Zein was down 0-2 but now 2-2 Briggs 2-2 Dudney en fuego up 5-0 Dahlstrom 2-2 Berlin was up 1-0, loses the next 4 games. Most games are close, she just can't get the key points So UF in control of 1, AU in control of 1, and 4 on serve
Kessler 4-6.....would think she can turn this one Zein 6-6 Briggs 3-6 1-3....she is going down again, needs to be at 4 Dudney 6-0 5-1.....nice day Dahlstrom 5-5 Berlin 4-6 1-0...this match is winnable Lot of work to do, but still in play Mens doubles 6-3 on 1, 6-3 on 2, 5-6 on 3 (3 played poorly Friday as well) Singles underway, Goodger stays at 5 and Grief gets a shot at 6 after Bonetto and Shelbayh scuffled last 2 matches(and out quickly 2-0)
Dudney gets the W, Briggs takes an L Kessler 3-3 down a set Zein wins tb, 1-1 in 2nd Dahlstrom 5-7 1st Berlin 4-6 2-2 UF needs 3 of remaining 4 Shelton 2-2 Riffice 1-3 Vale 3-3 Andrade 4-1 Goodger 4-2 Grief 5-0
Womens match went south fast, each player lost 2 quick games Kessler 5-5 Zein 2-4 Dahlstrom 1-3 Berlin 3-5 Fat lady warming up Men Goodger Grief and Vale all finish solid first sets Andrade was up a break, now 4-4 Riffice loses set 2-6 Shelton down 4-5.....struggled all weekend
If RT had any self respect or cared about UF he would resign. But I said the same thing the last 2 years and he’s still here. And I don’t think SS has the balls to fire him either but hope I am wrong. Not that I root for people losing their jobs, but the program comes first and today was exhibit A on how far it’s fallen. Not even competitive at home against Auburn in tennis.
Kessler loses 5-7 Dahlstrom loses 1-6 Berlin loses 3-6 Zein 1 point away from losing her 2nd set Well, it was a crucial match at home and UF gets demolished. Tells you all you need to know about the program. Will now be a 4th/5th place finish in conference, and clearly a second tier program. Barring a miracle postseason or some type of viable plan to fix, IMO they should think long and hard before extending coach. This just isn't UF tennis
I've been told this is the contract year. I think it will be very interesting. What they have coming in vs leaving doesn't add up to improvement next year, at least as it stands now.
Welcome back to the court Lucas, double bagel on 6....nice outing Shelton in a TB Riffice reels off 3 straight to lead 3-1, down a set Vale down 2-3 in 2nd Andrade down 1-2 in second Goodger up 4-3
Zein loses her second set and the super tiebreak....Auburn 6-1 in Gainesville Auburn is also younger than UF, their top 4 will all be back next season
Shelton loses first set TB, roars back for 6-0 2nd Riffice lose 2-6 1st, wins 6-2 2nd, 2-2 3rd Vale gets a break for 5-3, gets broken back for 5-5, gets a break to win 7-5 Andrade loses his second 2-6, up 2-1 in3rd Goodger got ofrced to a 2nd set tb, trailed 2-4 but won 5 straight to clinch
Shelton beaten badly in a super tiebreak......sure didn't expect to see him go 0-2 this weekend Riffice at 3-3 in 3rd Andrade recovers from a bad set and up 4-1 in 3rd
Riffice wins 7-5 in the third Andrade wins 6-2 in 3rd Business-like weekend, not overly sharp it appears but took care of business. Regular season title clinched outright!
Historic time in Gator Men's Tennis as we have never won three conference titles three years running. Only Georgia has also accomplished that feat. Lukas Greif is finally back to full health and practiced enough to be ready to go in our singles lineup. He will be a factor moving forward. This just makes our lineup that much deeper heading into championship season.
Congrats to all involved! Any health issues with Shelton? Didn't seem sharp this weekend in singles. Big sister has had an awful stretch....hope it's not contagious
Ben is a team guy and will do whatever is needed to assure the team is victorious, no matter what it might mean for his individual rankings etc. In this day and age, he is a rare breath of fresh air and a class act.
In 2018, the train came off the tracks for the Auburn's women's tennis program and it finished 1-12 in the SEC. Not sure what caused that program to take a step so far back, but the coach resigned, and they hired an assistant from Kansas. Three years later, the Auburn women's tennis program looks like it is better than UF's women's tennis program. Interesting side note, a local player named DJ Bennett signed to play for Auburn in 2022. At one point, she was one of the best Junior players in the U.S.
One thing we know, a tennis team can derail, or become elite VERY quickly.....and in the portal age that window is even more accelerated. Right person running a program can win instantly
