Gainesville, FL. – Top-ranked Florida (17-1, 11-0 SEC) defeated No. 22 Kentucky (15-6, 5-5 SEC) 5-2 on Sunday afternoon to secure the Southeastern Conference regular season championship.
This marks the program’s 10th regular season conference championship and the second under Head Coach Bryan Shelton. Additionally, today’s victory represents the University of Florida’s 250th SEC title.
The Gators have secured 14 consecutive victories and have completed the home segment of the regular season with an undefeated 10-0 record at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex. Additionally, the team has achieved 25 straight SEC regular season home match wins since March 5, 2017, setting a new conference record.
Dirk Nowitzki Demonstrates Commitment to Tennis Through His Foundation
Additionally, UF has a 55-5 home record since the start of the 2017 season.
Florida overcame an early setback in doubles to rally strongly, securing five of six singles matches to achieve victory over a competitive Wildcats team.
Team captains Duarte Vale and Sam Riffice earned key wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions, respectively, while Blaise Bicknell (No. 4), Ben Shelton (No. 5), and Josh Goodger (No. 6) also secured wins.
Goodger clinched the overall match after recovering from a 0-6 first set to win the next two sets 6-3, 6-3. Both Goodger and Bicknell remain undefeated this season.
With one regular-season match remaining, the Gators are scheduled to face South Carolina on Friday at 6 p.m. ET.
Singles Results: 1, 4, 5, 3, 6, 2
1. #3 Duarte Vale (UF) def. #7 Liam Draxl (UK) 6-2, 6-2
2. #17 Sam Riffice (UF) def. #31 Gabriel Diallo (UK) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
3. #60 Millen Hurrion (UK) def. #8 Andy Andrade (UF) 6-3, 6-3
4. #34 Blaise Bicknell (UF) def. #97 Joshua Lapadat (UK) 6-3, 6-0
5. Ben Shelton (UF) def. Yasha Zemel (UK) 6-1, 6-4
6. #94 Josh Goodger (UF) def. Alexandre Leblanc (UK) 0-6, 6-3, 6-3
Doubles Results: 1, 3, 2
1. #20 Cesar Bourgois/Gabriel Diallo (UK) def. #16 Will Grant/Johannes Ingildsen (UF) 7-5
2. Millen Hurrion/Liam Draxl (UK) def. Josh Goodger/Duarte Vale (UF) 7-6 (9-7)
3. Andy Andrade/Ben Shelton (UF) def. Alexandre Leblanc/Joshua Lapadat (UK) 7-5
Photo/FloridaMensTennis