GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida men’s tennis team defeated No. 29 Arkansas 4-1 at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex on Saturday afternoon. Despite losing the doubles point, the Gators regained momentum in singles taking courts three through six.

In doubles action, the Razorbacks gained a quick advantage after Kevin Edengren and Ben Weintraub fell 6-3 to J. Marino Jakic and Brendan Boland.

On court two, Jeremy Jin and Adhithya Ganesan evened things up with a 7-6 win against Benni Emesz and Bozo Barun.

The doubles point came down to court one which featured No. 19 Henry Jefferson and Tanapatt Nirundorn. The pair faced Connor Smillie and Jakub Vrba with the point being decided in a super tiebreak. The Gators attempted a comeback but fell 7-6 (8-6), giving Arkansas a 1-0 lead.

On the singles side, UF used courts three through six to secure the victory. Freshman Ben Weintraub opened he scoring column for the Gators. Weintraub recorded a 6-4, 6-2 straight set win over Arthur Bellegy to level the score at 1-1.

JanMagnus Johnson was the next Gator to log a point as he faced Vrba on court three. Johnson took the first set 6-2, but Vrba attempted to force a third after tying the second 6-6. Johnson maintained control in the super tiebreak to record a 7-6 (7-1) win. The victory put Florida in the lead 2-1.

Edengren put the Orange and Blue within one point from the match win with his straight set win over Emesz. Edengren cruised to a 6-2 victory in the first set and kept his momentum in the second, claiming a 6-4 win.

No. 90 Jefferson sealed the match for Florida. Jefferson manned court four as he faced Jakic. The first set went into a tiebreak, with Jefferson tallying a 7-6 win. Jefferson left little room for doubt in the second set as he sealed the 6-2 victory.

Singles competition

1. #95 Adhithya Ganesan (UF) vs. Bozo Barun (ARKM) 6-4, 3-6, 3-1, unfinished

2. #62 Jeremy Jin (UF) vs. Lukas Palovic (ARKM) 7-5, 2-3, unfinished

3. JanMagnus Johnson (UF) def. Jakub Vrba (ARKM) 6-2, 7-6 (7-1)

4. #90 Henry Jefferson (UF) def. Marino Jakic (ARKM) 7-6, 6-2

5. Kevin Edengren (UF) def. Benni Emesz (ARKM) 6-2, 6-4

6. Ben Weintraub (UF) def. Arthur Bellegy (ARKM) 6-4, 6-2

Order of finish: 6,3,5,4

Doubles competition

1. Connor Smillie/Jakub Vrba (ARKM) def. #19 Tanapatt Nirundorn/Henry Jefferson (UF) 7-6 (8-6)

2. Jeremy Jin/Adhithya Ganesan (UF) def. Benni Emesz/Bozo Barun (ARKM) 7-6 (7-1)

3. . Marino Jakic/Brendan Boland (ARKM) def. Kevin Edengren/Ben Weintraub (UF) 6-3

Order of finish: 3,2,1

NEXT UP:

The Gators are back on the road as they head to Oxford to face Ole Miss on Friday, March 21.

ITA RANKINGS

As a team, Florida cracked into the ITA rankings sitting at No. 27. Three Gators are ranked in singles competition: Jeremy Jin at No. 62, Henry Jefferson at No. 90, and Adhithya Ganesan at No. 95. UF also has two ranked doubles pairs. Tanapatt Nirundorn and Henry Jefferson  sit at No. 19, followed by Nirundorn and Ganesan at No. 68.

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