University of North Florida
MISSISSIPPI
UNF falls short vs. #5 Ole Miss
3/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 2, 2006
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The North Florida men's tennis team may be the new kid on the Division I block, but the Ospreys didn't play like it on Thursday afternoon at the UNF Tennis Complex.
UNF (6-4) took fifth-ranked Ole Miss (8-1) to the wire before falling 5-2 in a match that UNF head coach Igal Buberman said proves his team can compete with any team in the country, despite being in just its first season of Division I competition.
The Ospreys served match point in doubles but fell just short of capturing an early lead against the Rebels when Jose Terrera and Matias Sigal lost 9-7 at the No. 2 position to Ole Miss' Bram ten Berge and Jakob Klaeson. The Ospreys also took the victory at the No. 3 position when Elad Gabay and Eduardo Pereira posted an 8-6 victory.
From there, the Ospreys nearly pulled off a stunner in singles play but couldn't get over the hump despite getting wins from Terrera and Gabay.
Terrera upended 68th-ranked Bram ten Berge at the No. 3 position (6-3, 6-3) and Gabay toppled Ole Miss' Robbye Poole at the No. 5 spot (6-4, 3-6, 6-4). Pereira suffered through cramps to drop a hard- fought decision to 12th-ranked Erling Tveit at the No. 1 position (6-3, 3-6, 6-2), however, and the Rebels also captured hard-fought wins at the Nos. 2, 4 and 6 spots to claim the victory.
"I am so very proud of our guys," Buberman said. "It takes guts to step up to the challenge and believe that you can beat the No. 5 team in the country. Our guys believed they could win, and they were so very close. If we had won the doubles point, it would have made a huge difference. We went into singles knowing that we had to take the match the distance. Our guys did it, though, and it showed in the scores."
UNF had won five of six matches coming into Thursday, including a 3-0 start in Atlantic Sun Conference play. Although the Ospreys dropped to 0- 4 against ranked foes this season with Thursday's loss, Buberman said the Ospreys continue to improve each match and are really starting to take shape for the season's stretch run.
"I really believe we are starting to come together as a team," Buberman said. "It makes me proud to know our guys cherish healthy competition and sportsmanship. This is something I needed as a coach, to keep me going and to show me that we are headed in the right direction."
UNF returns to action this weekend at home when it faces A-Sun foe Mercer on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
