Tag: mens tennis

Florida men’s tennis earns win over Georgia Bulldogs on Sunday

The Gators needed four-straight singles wins to dig themselves out of an early 0-2 deficit to earn the win over the No. 34-ranked program.

The Florida men’s tennis team earned its first win away from the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex this season with a 4-2 win over the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens on Sunday. The No. 32 Gators needed four-straight singles wins to dig themselves out of an early 0-2 deficit to earn the win over the No. 34-ranked program.

The doubles team got off to an uncharacteristically slow start, dropping sets two and three to earn the loss. Aidan Kim and Nate Bonetto put up a dominant 6-3 set on court one, but Georgia’s Mahjoob-Perez Peña tandem set the tone for the rest of the doubles match by storming back from 4-2 to take court three 6-4, thus earning a 1-0 lead heading into singles.

Kevin Edengren collected his second crucial court-six win for Florida in as many matches while Adhithya Ganesan returned to the Gators’ singles lineup for the first time since March 8 to knot the teams up at 2-2. Aidan Kim posted the most impressive comeback of the day on court two, dropping his first set, 6-1, but turned things around with a five-game winning run to claim set two, 6-1, before holding serve to win set three, 7-5.

Sophomore Tanapatt Nirundorn secured the fourth point for Florida with a win in his own three-set battle on court five, taking his match 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, to secure the victory for the Orange and Blue.

The Gators return to Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex on Friday, April 5, against the Vanderbilt Commodores at 5 p.m. ET.

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PHOTOS: Highlights from Ben Shelton’s first ATP Tour win in Japan

It’s always great to be a Florida Gator, even in the land of the rising sun.

Former Florida Gators tennis standout [autotag]Ben Shelton[/autotag] earned the first ATP Tour title of his nascent professional career on Sunday morning Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, where he defeated Aslan Karatsev 7-5, 6-1.

The former Gator used an enormous comeback in his semi-final match against Marcos Giron to reach the finals, which also helped propel him to the trophy stand in Tokyo. The momentum from the semis must have carried over, as Shelton dispatched Karatsev in just 84 minutes.

“That meant a lot to me and my team,” Shelton said. “We have been working really hard since the beginning to build my game and win titles on the ATP Tour. I made some deep runs lately. You see the great champions, they finish weeks off. They win titles, they don’t just get to finals. They are able to maintain their level throughout the week. I am not saying I am anywhere there yet, but to be able to do it for one week, put together five matches in a row in Tokyo is really special.”

Shelton is the sixth first-time tour-level winner of the season and the first player since Lorenzo Musetti in Hamburg in 2022 to win his debut ATP Tour title at a 500 event. Additionally, the young American is the youngest Tokyo champion since Lleyton Hewitt in 2001, who was 20 years old when he won his first title.

He joins father Bryan Shelton as an ATP Tour titlist, becoming the fourth father-son duo to win tour-level singles titles in the Open Era (since 1968).

Roundtable: The best Florida Gators sports moments from 2021

Take a look at what the Gators Wire staff thinks looking back on 2021.

We have officially crossed over into the new year, leaving behind a tumultuous 2021 while heading into a hopefully more optimistic 2022. While the sports world bounced back from the effects of COVID the year prior, the pandemic still continued to plague many aspects of life, hardly giving any sense of a return to normalcy.

It was a pretty tough year for the University of Florida as well, as I laid out in an opinion column back in early November. Aside from all of the political issues the institution dealt with, the athletic program saw the loss of the legendary soccer coach Becky Burleigh to the pros, the dismissal of its women’s basketball head coach Cam Newbauer amidst accusations of abuse from his players, and of course, the grand finale of head football coach Dan Mullen getting sacked.

But it was not all bad.

Florida still remains the preeminent school for collegiate athletics and had plenty of memories to celebrate as well. Here is a look at the Gators Wire staff’s favorite moments from 2021.

Gators News: Five programs score on signing day bonanza

A quick look at all of the signing day action yesterday.

It is that time of year again when the sports programs get an early start on signing their top recruits ahead of next season. For Florida, five programs were active on Wednesday, with the lacrosse team adding a whopping eight signatures, while the men’s and women’s basketball teams signed three and two, respectively, and men’s tennis and gymnastics both bringing in a top recruit. No sports were in action yesterday nor will any be today, so let us take a look at the newest members of the Gator Nation.

Gators News: Football falls, remaining sports lift Florida up

The football team may have flailed, but some other sports picked up the slack this weekend.

Well Gator fans, this past weekend was a bit of a rough one as the football team traveled to South Carolina only to lay an egg against the Gamecocks, sending its season into a downward spiral that has already seen two coaches dismissed from the program. The good news — besides the fact that the much-maligned defensive coordinator Todd Grantham is finally gone — is that the women’s and men’s tennis teams, as well as the women’s basketball team, gave the Gator Nation a reason to continue being proud. Here is the wrap-up from this past weekend.

Gators News: A few Florida sports on tap for the upcoming weekend

Take a look at all of the action around the Gator Nation this weekend.

The weekend is nearly here and with it comes a slate of sports to keep Gator Nation satiated for the next few days. On tap, we have volleyball’s big win last night, plus both the men’s and women’s tennis teams are in action while the women’s basketball team warms up for the season with an exhibition game. Unfortunately, the swimming and diving team had its dual meet canceled, but there is still the football game scheduled for Saturday night. It should be a fun weekend for Florida fans, so let us dive right into things.

Gators News: Weekend roundup for Florida sports during football bye

A bit of a slow sports weekend in the absence of Gators football.

It was a bit of a slow weekend around the Swamp as the Gators football team had a bye and only four teams were in action. However, for those programs that did compete, it was a winning one for Florida sports. Both the men’s and women’s teams had student-athletes perform well while the soccer team scored a shutout win and the baseball team split an exhibition doubleheader. Here is a look at the latest from the Gator Nation.

Gators News: Weekend of Florida sports includes tennis, soccer and softball

Four Gators sports to keep an eye on this weekend.

The weekend is nearly upon us, and despite the absence of Gators football on Saturday, there are a few Florida sports teams to keep an eye on these next few days as both the men’s and women’s tennis team are in action, while the soccer team lost a close one last night and plays again on Sunday, and the softball team hosts a fall exhibition. Without further ado, here is a look at what’s on tap.

Gators News: Volleyball, soccer and men’s tennis on tap

Three Gators sports to report on today, featuring volleyball, soccer and men’s tennis.

The week is winding down, but unfortunately, there is no college football pot of gold waiting at the end of this rainbow as the gridiron Gators have a bye this weekend. However, we still have a few athletic programs to report on, including the volleyball team which snagged a big win last night, the soccer team that could really use a win tonight, and the men’s tennis team which hosts the ITA Regionals Championships over the next several days. Here is a look at the latest before we dive into the weekend tomorrow.

Gators News: Homecoming weekend roundup for Florida sports

Here’s homecoming weekend’s Gators sports news update

Welcome back from a weekend jam-packed with Gators sports! It was a successful one on the gridiron for the football team, who tossed a shutout against the visiting Vanderbilt Commodores while the men’s tennis team had another champion crowned.

However, it was a tougher weekend for the volleyball, soccer and men’s golf teams, all of which were handed defeats over the past few days. Nonetheless, the Gator Nation trudges on for the pride of the Orange and Blue. Take a look at the weekend roundup below.