DALLAS, Texas – Both No. 23 Florida and No. 16 Clemson Men’s Tennis programs fell in the first round of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. This led both teams to play with a passion that made matches on every court exciting to watch.

The tone of Florida’s play dramatically changed in the doubles matches. Among the team’s cheering, the Gators pulled ahead early in the dual with a 1-0 lead with wins on courts one and three. The duo of Lorenzo Claverie and Henry Jefferson on court one took down Clemson’s No. 56 Viktor Markov and Henrik Bladelius 6-3. The pairing of Kevin Edengren and Andreas Timini on court three took the doubles point for the Gators with a 6-3 victory over Yannic Nittmann and Matisse Farzam of Clemson. Tanapatt Nirundorn and Pablo Perez Ramos left their match unfinished against Clemson’s Noa Vukadin and Manuel Plunger at 4-5 in the set.

In singles, Ramos on court two closed out early with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Marko Mesarovic from Clemson. The Tigers tied the Gators at 2-2 with wins over Nirundorn on court five and Ganesan on court one. Jefferson retook the lead after a 7-6(3), 6-3 win over Noa Vukadin. Claverie competed until the end on court two, but ultimately fell to Matisse Farzam in some long two set tie breaks. With the score coming even at 3-3, Edengren fought through three sets to clinch the win for the Gators. Edengren started down a set against No. 76 Edoardo Cherie Ligniere (6-7(2-7)), but grinded through the final two sets to take the win at 6-4, 6-4.

Coming off this win, the Gators take on the SMU Mustangs at 5 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 15 in their final match of the tournament.

Straight from the Court

Coach Steinberg opening statement…

• “Yeah, this was a special one. I mean, to get a win here, I’ve been to this championship man times and it’s when you get that first one it obviously feels great. I know all the coaches say it and it’s true, every match is a war. I heard the coach of Virginia talking about that after his match, and you know Clemson has a great team, so we’re really excited to get one.”

Coach Steinberg on Kevin Edengren’s come back win to clinch the match…

• “For him, he’s been really struggling. He had a really good year for us last year, and he’s had a tough first part of the year. So, I haven’t really had a chance to tell him how happy I am for him because I know how hard he works, how much this means to him. Tennis is such a huge part of his life and I’m just ecstatic that it came down to him and he was able to do it because he needed that.”

Kevin Edengren on how his teammates helped him clinch the match for the Gators…

• “That’s the biggest part, I think. When you’re down and when things don’t go your way, you can just look at your teammates. They’re giving you plenty of support, which builds you and reminds you to keep going. I’m not only playing for myself, I’m playing for them too.”

Match Results
Doubles

ORDER OF FINISH: 1, 3 (2 – UNFINISHED)
Singles

• Court 1: No. 67 Viktor Markov (Clemson) def. No. 54 Adhithya Ganesan (UF) (7-5, 6-4)
• Court 2: No. 50 Henry Jefferson (UF) def. Noa Vukadin (Clemson) (7-6(3), 6-3)
• Court 3: Matisse Farzam (Clemson) def. Lorenzo Claverie (UF) (7-6(10-8), 7-6(5))
• Court 4: No. 32 Pablo Perez Ramos (UF) def. Marko Mesarovic (Clemson) (6-1, 6-4)
• Court 5: Henrik Bladelius (Clemson) def. Tanapatt Nirundorn (UF) (6-3, 7-5)
• Court 6: Kevin Edengren (UF) def. No. 76 Edoardo Cherie Ligniere (Clemson) (6(2)-7, 6-4, 6-4)

ORDER OF FINISH: 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 6

Mustang Material

The Mustangs entered ITA National Indoors as the tournament’s host site. The team is not ranked in the top 25 by the ITA, however they have the NCAA Singles National Champion Trevor Svajda ranked at No. 1 in singles. SMU holds a record of 5-4 for the season and is 2-4 against the Gators, with a 4-3 win over Florida in the 2024-25 season.  

Match Information

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