University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
#26 Florida
VOLS DROP HEARTBREAKING MATCH AT FLORIDA, 4-3
March 09, 2007 | Men's Tennis
March 9, 2007
The Tennessee men's tennis team lost in devastating fashion for the second consecutive week Friday as Florida's Jordan Dolberg defeated UT's Ben Rogers in a third-set tiebreaker to give the Gators a 4-3 win over Tennessee at Florida's Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.
"We put ourselves in position to win," head coach Sam Winterbotham said. "I'm extremely proud of how hard the team fought, we have to get over this hump before the season ends or else we won't accomplish what we want to do."
Dolberg seized control of the match in the first set winning with ease but Rogers was equally as dominant in the second to set up the crucial third and final set. Rogers and Dolberg battled to a six-six tie in the third-set, leading to the climax of the match where Dolberg outlasted Rogers in the tiebreaker 7-5 to capture the match for Florida winning 6-1, 0-6, 7-6(5).
The Vols got off to a good start by capturing the doubles point. UT's Davey Sandgren and Kiril Tcherveniachki won at the No. 3 position over Geoffrey Barton and Nestor Briceno 8-6. Adam Hubble and Ben Rogers clinched the point for Tennessee with an 8-5 victory over Daniel Cash and Billy Mulligan at the No. 2 position. UT is 11-0 this season at the No. 2 position in the doubles lineup.
Florida (6-3, 2-1 SEC) got off to a strong start in singles winning the first set in four of the six singles matches but the Vols (7-4, 1-2 SEC) still managed to extend their lead early in the singles portion.
Derek Stephens, playing inspired tennis since his devastating loss against LSU, gave UT a 2-0 lead with a 6-4, 6-0 win at the No. 4 slot over Mulligan.
The Gator's three-ranked singles player propelled Florida to a 3-2 lead. Thirteenth-ranked Jesse Levine defeated UT's top-ranked singles player Kaden Hensel, ranked 29th, 6-4, 7-6. Nestor Briceno, ranked 106th, defeated UT freshman Davey Sandgren 7-6, 6-4 at the No. 3 position. Greg Ouellette, ranked 20th, completed the Gators' comeback with a three-set win over Bobby Cameron at the No. 2 slot 6-2, 5-7, 6-0.
Tcherveniachki brought the Vols back with a 7-6, 6-1 win over Shaun Young at the No. 5 position. The UT senior is 8-1 in dual-match singles this season.
Three of the Vols' four losses this season have been by a 4-3 score. Both of UT's losses in SEC play have been 4-3 with the deciding match going down to a third-set tiebreaker.
Tennessee looks to salvage the weekend Sunday when it travels to Columbia, S.C., to face the Gamecocks at 1 p.m.
| No. 26 Florida 4, No. 38 Tennessee 3 | |
| Singles | |
| 1. No. 13 Jesse Levine (UF) def. No. 29 Kaden Hensel (UT) | 6-4, 7-6(3) |
| 2. No. 20 Greg Ouellette (UF) def. No. 30 Bobby Cameron (UT) | 6-2, 5-7, 6-0 |
| 3. No. 106 Nestor Briceno (UF) def. Davey Sandgren (UT) | 7-6(5), 6-4 |
| 4. Derek Stephens (UT) def. Billy Mulligan (UF) | 6-4, 6-0 |
| 5. Jordan Dolberg (UF) def. Ben Rogers (UT) | 6-1, 0-6, 7-6(5) |
| 6. Kiril Tcherveniachki (UT) def. Shaun Young (UF) | 7-6(4), 6-1 |
| Order of Finish: 4,1,3,2,6,5 | |
| Doubles | |
| 1. Levine/Ouellette (UF) def. No. 19 Cameron/Hensel (UT) | 8-6 |
| 2. No. 39 Hubble/Rogers (UT) def. Cash/Mulligan (UF) | 8-5 |
| 3. Sandgren/Tcherveniachki (UT) def. Barton/Briceno (UF) | 8-6 |
| Order of Finish: 3,2,1 | |
