A rainy morning opened up to a cozy evening as an energetic crowd experienced a memorable College MatchDay on Feb. 1, sponsored by the Central Florida Expressway Authority. In their fourth meeting at the USTA National Campus, No. 2/3 Florida delivered a 4-1 victory over in-state rival No. 21/22 Florida State to even the series at 2-2 in Orlando.

“It was just a great match. I want to thank the USTA and everyone here who put this thing on,” said Florida head coach Bryan Shelton. “FSU has a solid squad. (Head coach) Dwayne Hultquist and (assistant coach) Chris Doerr have done a great job of putting a fantastic team together that can compete hard with high character. Our guys were pushed tonight, and it was fun to battle in this type of environment and atmosphere. Playing in these types of matches with all of the nerves is something that will help us down the road. It’s a big night. We look forward to this matchup every year.

“Our guys have figured out how to really engage with the fans, and bring them into the match and be a part of it. It was great because you could feel their energy tonight, especially in the middle two courts where Andy (Andrade) and Duarte (Vale) fed off of the fans behind them, and vice versa. It was a great night for tennis.”

Florida (7-1) opened up a 1-0 lead on Florida State (6-2) thanks to victories at the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles positions. With the doubles point in hand, the Gators had momentum in singles where they snagged a 3-0 lead thanks to wins from Vale and Johannes Ingildsen. However the Seminoles craved a comeback, and the remaining four matches were tight. Right after Loris Pourroy put FSU on the board though, Andrade sealed the Florida win seconds later to give the Gators the spotlight.

The College MatchDay series returns with a historic college rivalry moving to the tennis courts. USC and Notre Dame will collide in a women’s match on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 5 p.m. ET, and festivities get underway at 4 p.m. The match will air live on Tennis Channel Plus, and will be carried on Tennis Channel on Sunday, Feb. 16, at 6 p.m. ET.

For College MatchDay ticket information, click on Ticketmaster.com.

No. 2/3 Florida 4, No. 21/22 Florida State 1

Doubles

No. 1 Oliver Crawford / Sam Riffice (UF) vs. Sebastian Arcila / Alex Knaff (FSU) 5-3

No. 2 Will Grant / Johannes Ingildsen (UF) def. Juan Martin Jalif / Johannes Ingildsen (FSU) 6-4

No. 3 Josh Goodger / Duarte Vale (UF) def. Richard Thongoana / Marcus Walters (FSU) 6-3

Order of Finish: 3, 2

Singles

No. 1 Alex Knaff (FSU) vs. Oliver Crawford (UF) 6-3, 4-4, unfinished

No. 2 Sam Riffice (UF) vs. Juan Martin Jalif (FSU) 6-3, 4-6, 0-0, unfinished

No. 3 Duarte Vale (UF) def. Marcus Walters (FSU) 6-4, 6-3

No. 4 Andy Andrade (UF) def. Sebastian Arcila (FSU) 6-1, 6-4

No. 5 Loris Pourroy (FSU) def. Josh Goodger (UF) 6-3, 7-6(3)

No. 6 Johannes Ingildsen (UF) def. Rana-Roop Singh Bhullar (FSU) 6-2, 6-4

Order of Finish: 6, 3, 5, 4

2020 College MatchDay

Feb. 1 – Florida def. Florida State, 4-1 – Men

Feb. 15 – Notre Dame vs. USC – Women – 5 p.m.

March 1 – Florida State vs. Ohio State – Women – 4 p.m.

*All Times Eastern and Subject to Change