Gators Men’s Tennis Notches Undefeated Road Trip With Wins Over Ole Miss, Vanderbilt

After falling out of top-25 contention, the Florida men’s tennis team was looking to string together some much-needed SEC road wins. They accomplished this task with a rout of Ole Miss and a narrow victory over Vanderbilt on Thursday and Saturday.

ROAD WARRIORS

Presented by @WellsFargo | #GoGators 🐊🎾 pic.twitter.com/TZGTN5VYMJ

— Gators Men's Tennis (@GatorsMTN) March 18, 2023

03/16 @ Ole Miss

Leave No Question

Despite the Gators and Rebels only being separated by four slots in the ITA Team Rankings, Florida made a statement on Thursday. They secured the team victory before Ole Miss won a single match.

The usual suspects showed out in doubles, with the exception of the Axel Nefve/Will Grant duo. Tanapatt Nirundorn and Nate Bonetto secured Court 2 and Jonah Braswell and Lukas Greif handled Court 3.

Dubs point 🤝 Gators

❌ #18 Grant/Nefve, 3-6
✅ Bonetto/Nirundorn, 6-4
✅ Braswell/Greif, 6-3

UF 1, UM 0#GoGators 🐊🎾 pic.twitter.com/ssXw4vZ75Y

— Gators Men's Tennis (@GatorsMTN) March 16, 2023

The Gators moved on to singles with a critical 1-0 lead, and the momentum did not slow.

Jonah Braswell upped the tally to 2-0 with a win on Court 3 after his opponent retired. Togan Tokac deepened the wound next with his straight-set win on Court 5. Finally, Lukas Greif twisted the dagger with Florida’s fourth team victory on Court 6.

After the team had won, freshman Olek Orlikowski and graduate student Axel Nefve, unfortunately, fell to their opponents. However, the quick win sent the Gators to Nashville with some heat on their rackets.

3/18 @ Vanderbilt

An Uncharacteristic Start

The Gators began their date with the Commodores by doing something they do not often do — lose the doubles point.

The usually stout duo of Nirundorn and Bonetto was suffocated by Vandy’s Michael Ross and Nathan Cox, 1-6. After that, Nefve and Grant, ranked the number 18 doubles team in the nation, lost 4-6 to give up the point.

It became rally time for Florida.

First five will start singles play.

1️⃣ #103 Axel Nefve vs Nathan Cox
2️⃣ #72 Will Grant vs Joubert Klopper
3️⃣ #79 Jonah Braswell vs Michael Ross
4️⃣ Olek Orlikowski vs Siim Troost
5️⃣ Togan Tokac vs Jeremie Casabon
6️⃣ Lukas Greif vs Macsen Sisam

UF 0, VU 1#GoGators 🐊🎾 pic.twitter.com/vfLdQtjjjp

— Gators Men's Tennis (@GatorsMTN) March 18, 2023

Turning It Around

The team began singles play with a chip on its shoulder. After their disappointing outing for doubles, both Axel Nefve and Will Grant won their singles matches in straight sets. Jonah Braswell also joined the club with a straight-set win to make it 3-1 Gators.

https://twitter.com/GatorsMTN/status/1637152780090585091?s=20

Momentum tipped back to Vanderbilt when international freshmen Togan Tokac and Olek Orlikowski both lost tightly contested matches.

It all came down to veteran Lukas Greif on Court 6. His resolve did not waver, and he overpowered Vanderbilt’s Macsen Sisam to win the match for Florida.

https://twitter.com/GatorsMTN/status/1637167659874656256?s=20

Coming Up

Florida continues its SEC schedule with a home match against Arkansas this Friday, March 24 at 5 p.m.