No. 24 Florida Men’s Tennis Falls to No. 18 Texas A&M
The No. 24 Florida Gators men’s tennis team fell 4-1 to No. 18 Texas A&M on Friday as SEC play continued at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex. The loss moves Florida to 7-7 overall and 1-4 in conference play.
Florida started strong, securing the doubles point for the first time in four matches. Henry Jefferson and Tanapatt Nirundorn opened up on Court 1 with a 6-4 win over Texas A&M’s Togan Tokac and Theo Papamalamis.
Andreas Timini and Kevin Edengren clinched the point shortly after on Court 3, edging Lathan Skrobarcek and Alex Frusina 7-6 (7-1). Despite the early advantage, tight competition and momentum swings were seen across the courts.
Texas A&M took the lead back in singles play.
Jefferson was the first Gator to fall, losing to Papamalamis 6-4, 6-2 on Court 1 to even the match at 1-1. The Aggies then took the lead on Court 5 where Togan Tokac defeated Edengren 6-2, 6-0.
On Court 6, Timini dropped a 7-5, 6-4 match to Skrobarcek, pushing Texas A&M ahead 3-1 and putting the Aggies one win away from clinching the match.
All eyes turned to Court 2, where No. 31 Pablo Perez-Ramos battled No. 86 Alex Frusina in the match that ultimately decided the contest. Frusina dominated the first set 6-2, but Perez-Ramos responded in the second. The set went to a tiebreak, where the Gator pulled out a 7-6 (7-2) win to force the match to a third set.
With Florida trailing 3-1 overall, Perez-Ramos needed the win to keep the Gators alive. The match carried a tense atmosphere as both players exchanged words throughout the contest, with Frusina even directing comments toward the Florida crowd.
Despite the comeback effort, Perez-Ramos ultimately fell 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2, securing the Aggies’ fourth point and the match victory.
Florida coach Adam Steinberg praised Perez-Ramos’ effort after the match.
“He has the biggest heart in the world,” Steinberg said. “He’s injured out there with his wrist and he’s still battling and fighting. To get through that second set was unbelievable and was a huge lift to the team.”
Two other singles matches were left unfinished when the match was decided. On Court 3, Lorenzo Claverie won the first set against Tiago Pires 6-1 before Pires forced a third set after winning the second-set tiebreak. The match stood at 4-2 in the final set when play stopped. On Court 4, Tanapatt Nirundorn also split the first two sets against Markus Molder, winning the opener 6-2 before dropping the second in a tiebreak.
Steinberg emphasized the importance of unity following the loss.
“We just need to really stay together as a team, no excuses, no blame,” Steinberg said. “Like I said, find that belief. I think that’s the one thing that’s missing.”
Florida will host No. 7 Texas Christian University on Tuesday at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
Category: Gators Tennis
