College Tennis News - Florida Men's Tennis Falls at South Carolina, 4-3

The Florida men’s tennis team got tripped up in its first Southeastern Conference road match, falling to South Carolina, 4-3, in Columbia on Friday night. UF drops to 7-5 on the season and is now 1-1 in league play. The Gamecocks improve to 11-5 and 1-1 in the conference.

The Gators got off to a promising start in doubles. On court one, the UF pair of Stephane Piro and Bob van Overbeek jumped out to a quick lead and beat South Carolina’s Chip Cox and Tsvetan Mihov, 8-4. Billy Federhofer and Gordon Watson then clinched the doubles point for Florida with an 8-4 win over Kyle Koch and Harry Menzies on court two.

In singles, Florida extended its lead with a 6-3, 6-3 win from Federhofer at No. 6 singles. South Carolina responded, as Koch defeated Watson at No. 5 singles, 6-4, 6-3. After exchanging points on courts one and three, the Gators held a 3-2 lead with two matches still on court.

After winning the first set on No. 4 singles, Mike Alford couldn’t hang on against the Gamecocks’ Thiago Pinheiro, losing 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

The final match on court was between UF’s Diep and South Carolina’s Andrew Adams at No. 2 singles. Diep easily won the first set, 6-1, but Adams fought back and took the second set, 7-5. In the deciding set, Adams outlasted Diep 6-3 to clinch the team victory.

Florida returns to action with another road trip next weekend. The Gators will face Georgia in Athens on Friday, March 15, and then travel to Knoxville to take on Tennessee on Sunday, March 17.

#34 South Carolina 4, #29 Florida 3

Doubles (Order of Finish: 2, 1)

1. Stephane Piro/Bob van Overbeek (UF) def. (33) Chip Cox/Tsvetan Mihov (SC) 8-4

2. Billy Federhofer/Gordon Watson (UF) def. Kyle Koch/Harry Menzies (SC) 8-4

3. Michael Alford/Florent Diep (UF) led Ben Barnette/Thiago Pinheiro (SC) 6-5 DNF

Singles (Order of Finish: 5, 6, 3, 1, 4, 2)

1. (105) Tsvetan Mihov (SC) def. (104) Bob van Overbeek (UF) 7-6 (5), 6-4

2. Andrew Adams (SC) def (62) Florent Diep 1-6, 7-5, 6-3

3. Stephane Piro (UF) def. Chip Cox (SC) 7-6 (1), 6-4

4. Thiago Pinheiro (SC) def. Michael Alford 4-6, 6-2, 6-2

5. Kyle Koch (SC) def. Gordon Watson (UF) 6-4, 6-3

6. Billy Federhofer (UF) def. Harry Menzies (SC) 6-3, 6-3