University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
#13 Florida
Tiebreakers Costly for Vols in SEC Finale
April 17, 2016 | Men's Tennis
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Tennessee men's tennis lost four first-set tiebreakers in singles and could not swing momentum back, falling to No. 13 Florida 6-1 at Linder Stadium to end the regular season Sunday.
The Vols (11-16, 0-12 SEC) lost a tight doubles point but came out with solid play across the courts in singles. Four of six first sets went to tiebreakers, but Florida (15-6, 10-2) won all four en route to taking control and eventually clinching the match at 4-0.
Freshman Srdjan Jakovljevic again came away with a victory for the Vols. The midyear newcomer from Novi Sad, Serbia, beat Chase Perez-Blanco 5-7, 6-4, [10-6] on court 4 to end the afternoon.
Jakovljevic finished the spring 8-4 in SEC play, the most wins by a Tennessee freshman since Rhyne Williams (10-1) and Tennys Sandgren (11-0) in 2010.
"The truth is, it's not acceptable for Tennessee to be in the position we are this year," Tennessee head coach Sam Winterbotham said. "With that being said, I thought the effort was very good today. We had four tiebreaks in the first set. With a little more confidence, we could have turned that into four first-set leads.
"I'm proud of Srdjan and what he's done this spring. As a first semester guy coming in and going 8-4, mainly at No. 3, that's one heck of an accomplishment."
Florida won the doubles point as the No. 1-ranked team of Diego Hidalgo and Gordon Watson clinched with a 6-3 victory over 22nd-ranked Luis Valero and Jack Schipanski at the top of the lineup. The Vols and Gators played close first sets to start singles, but Florida won all six opening sets and kept momentum going.
Freshman Jack Heslin saved six match points but lost to Maxx Lipman 7-6(2), 6-2 on court 6. Gordon Watson defeated Vol junior Jack Schipanski 6-4, 6-4 on court 5 to give Florida a 3-0 lead.
Freshman Timo Stodder saved a pair of match points on his final service game, but No. 38 Elliott Orkin served out a 7-6(2), 6-3 win on deciding point on court 3 to clinch the match at 4-0.
The match importantly signaled the return to singles play for sophomore Igor Smelyanski, who started the year at the top of the Vols' lineup but has missed a majority of the matches because of a leg injury. After the team result was decided, he retired down 7-6, 5-2. He has played only three SEC singles matches this season and his first two conference singles matches this weekend.
Tennessee starts the SEC Tournament on Wednesday at South Carolina, taking on Auburn in the opening round.
"Now we have to turn our attention to the SEC tournament," Winterbotham said. "It's great to see Igor back in the lineup. He definitely gave us a boost, and we hope to carry that into the tournament."
Florida 6, Tennessee 1
Singles
1. #13 Diego Hidalgo (FLA) def. #71 Luis Valero (UT-M) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
2. Alfredo Perez (FLA) def. Igor Smelyanski (UT-M) 7-6 (7-3), 5-2
3. #38 Elliott Orkin (FLA) def. Timo Stodder (UT-M) 7-6 (7-2), 6-4
4. Srdjan Jakovljevic (UT-M) def. Chase Perez-Blanco (FLA) 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-6)
5. Gordon Watson (FLA) def. Jack Schipanski (UT-M) 6-4, 6-4
6. Maxx Lipman (FLA) def. Jack Heslin (UT-M) 7-6 (7-2), 6-2
Doubles
1. #1 Diego Hidalgo/Gordon Watson (FLA) def. #22 Jack Schipanski/Luis Valero (UT-M) 6-3
2. #62 Elliott Orkin/Maxx Lipman (FLA) def. Jack Heslin/Igor Smelyanski (UT-M) 6-3
3. Srdjan Jakovljevic/Timo Stodder (UT-M) vs. Alfredo Perez/Chase Perez-Blanco (FLA), 5-5 unf.
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (6,5,3,1,2,4)
