Jan. 26, 2004

Gainesville, FL - The University of Florida men's tennis team started the 2004 dual match season on a strong note as the third-ranked Gators blanked The Citadel, 7-0, on Friday evening in Gainesville. The win marked UF's 16th-straight opening day win and second consecutive season opening shutout.

"It was good to come out and play tonight to get ready for a severe test against Florida State on Sunday," said UF head coach Andy Jackson. "We have got to get better in doubles and will work on that tomorrow, but there is only so far you can go in one day. I thought Hamid (Mirzadeh) played solid in what turned out to be a tough match."

Florida got off to a fast start by claiming the doubles point. On court three, senior Trey Johnson and sophomore Ryan Sherry got UF a match away from the 1-0 lead as they defeated The Citadel's Carl Hocker and Derek Jose, 8-1, with the win coming in 32 minutes. Eleven minutes later and sophomore All-American and junior Vladimir Obradovic used the same score to defeat The Citadel's David Lara and Warren Woolfolk. At the top of the lineup, sophomore All-American Hamid Mirzadeh and Chris Brandi also came away with an 8-4 win against Matt Stubbs and John Williams. The story was the same in the singles matches as Obradovic took a win over Warren Woolfolk on court three (6-0, 6-1). Moments later, Ryan Sherry defeated Derek Jose in straight sets as well (6-0, 6-1) to give Florida a 3-0 advantage. Holmia clinched the win for the Gators with his 6-2, 6-3, win over John Wlliams on court two.

Florida will wrap up the weekend on Sunday, Jan. 25, as the Gators host Florida State. The match is set to begin at 1 p.m. at the UF tennis complex.

Florida Men's Tennis vs. The Citadel

Friday, January 23, 2004

Singles

Hamid Mirzadeh (UF) vs. Matt Stubbs (The Citadel), 6-1, 7-6 (4)

Janne Holmia (UF) vs. John Williams (The Citadel), 6-2, 6-3

Vladimir Obradovic (UF) d. Warren Woolfolk (The Citadel), 6-0, 6-1

Stefan Tell (UF) vs. Carl Hocker (The Citadel) 6-2, 6-3

Chris Brandi (UF) vs. David Lara (The Citadel), 6-1, 6-1

Ryan Sherry (UF) d. Derek Jose (The Citadel), 6-0, 6-1

Doubles

Mirzadeh/Brandi (UF) vs. Stubbs/Williams (The Citadel), 8-4

Obradovic/Holmia (UF) d. Lara/Woolfolk (The Citadel), 8-1

Johnson/Sherry (UF) d. Hocker/Jose (The Citadel), 8-1