Gators Men’s Tennis Falls to No. 16 UNC Tarheels in Day Two of ITA Kickoff Weekend

The Florida men’s tennis team went winless in the ITA Kickoff Weekend after falling to the North Carolina Tarheels 4-2 on Day Two of play.

Match day!

🆚» No. 16 UNC
🕚» 11 a.m.
📍» Chewning Tennis Center, Chapel Hill
📺» https://t.co/2kFoVLCvO6
📈» https://t.co/t2Dl48toOJ#GoGators pic.twitter.com/XVd7nUOTjC

— Gators Men's Tennis (@GatorsMTN) January 28, 2024

Doubles

The Gators started off strong in doubles, with freshman Adithya Ganesan and sophomore Tanapatt Nirundorn winning their match 6-3.

Billy and T tie doubles at 1 apiece!

Jordan/Kittay (UNC) def. Kim/Jin (UF) – 6-2
Ganesan/Nirundorn (UF) def. Jansen/Poling (UNC) – 6-3

Johnson/Bonetto down 6-5 on court 3. pic.twitter.com/OtPvE6BlSM

— Gators Men's Tennis (@GatorsMTN) January 28, 2024

Jeremy Jin and Aidan Kim fell to Phillip Jordan and Benjamin Kittay 6-2 in their match up.

Despite being up early, captains Nate Bonetto and JanMagnus Johnson lost to Peter Murphy and Patrick Schoen 7-5.

Singles

Bonetto bounced back in singles, giving the Gators their first point after defeating Schoen in straight sets 6-1, 7-5.

Bonetto scores the first win of the day for Florida! 🐊

UNC up 2-1#GoGators pic.twitter.com/wwdRoN0YYL

— Gators Men's Tennis (@GatorsMTN) January 28, 2024

Ganesan scored the second singles point for Florida. He took down Kittay in straight sets 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.

Ganesan recorded his fifth straight sets singles win in five dual matches this year for the Gators. The court three regular is the only player on the team to play in all five of Florida’s dual match singles rounds and be undefeated.

Billy keeps rolling! Ganesan wins his 5th straight singles match… all in straight sets!!! 🐊

Ganesan (UF) def. Kittay (UNC) 7-6[5], 6-4

UNC leads 3-2#GoGators pic.twitter.com/K0baoslhns

— Gators Men's Tennis (@GatorsMTN) January 28, 2024

Those would be the only wins for the Gators, as Kim, Jin, Niduron and Johnson would lose their respective matches.

What’s Next

The Gators will look to bounce back on February 3 against the rival Florida State Seminoles in College Matchday at Lake Nona.