March 18, 2005
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The No. 33 TCU men's tennis team fell by a 5-2 count Friday in Gainesville, Fla., to the No. 8-rated Florida Gators. It was the Horned Frogs' fifth loss in a row, dropping their record to 5-6 on the year. The Gators improved to 10-4 with the victory.
TCU got off to a strong start by winning the doubles point. Jordan Freitas and Jacob Martin were the first pair to win at the No. 2 position against Chris Brandi and Vladimir Obradovic, 8-5. The clincher came at three doubles, where Radu Barbu and Andrew Ulrich were 8-5 winners over Jordan Dolberg and Ryan Sherry.
Florida responded in singles when No. 29-ranked Greg Ouellette downed Freitas by scores of 6-2, 6-0 at the No. 3 slot. Obradovic, ranked 78th, put Barbu away, 6-3, 6-2, to put the Gators ahead 2-1. Sherry pulled UF within one of completing the come-from-behind victory when he beat Ulrich in straight sets at No. 6 singles, 6-0, 6-2.
TCU's top-ranked player at 21st, Fabrizio Sestini, picked up the Frogs' lone victory in singles when he upended No. 41 Hamid Mirzadeh at one singles, 6-2, 7-5, to close the gap to 3-2. Sestini is 7-4 this season against ranked opponents and has three victories over players ranked among the top 10.
Nestor Briceno won in three sets, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, against TCU's Rafael Abreu at the No. 4 spot to give the Gators their 10th victory. Martin lost to No. 51 Brandi at five singles, 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-3, in the final match of the day.
The Frogs travel to Tallahassee, Fla., for their next match against No. 28 Florida State (9-5) Sunday at noon CST.
#8 Florida (10-4) def. #33 TCU (5-6), 5-2
SINGLES
1. #21 Fabrizio Sestini, TCU, def. #41 Hamid Mirzadeh, UF, 6-2, 7-5
2. #78 Vladimir Obradovic, UF, def. Radu Barbu, TCU, 6-3, 6-2
3. #29 Greg Ouellette, UF, def. Jordan Freitas, TCU, 6-2, 6-0
4. Nestor Briceno, UF, def. Rafael Abreu, TCU, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
5. #51 Chris Brandi, UF, def. Jacob Martin, TCU, 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-3
6. Ryan Sherry, UF, def. Andrew Ulrich, TCU, 6-0, 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 6, 1, 4*, 5
DOUBLES
1. Mirzadeh/Ouellette, UF, def. #13 Abreu/Sestini, TCU, 8-5
2. Freitas/Martin, TCU, def. Brandi/Obradovic, UF, 8-5
3. Barbu/Ulrich, TCU, def. Jordan Dolberg/Sherry, UF, 8-5
Order of Finish: 2, 3*, 1
* Clinching point
