It's Tulsa time for Gator tennis

Florida freshman Erik Corace has the evidence to prove how rapidly he has matured this season.

He made his case on a hot and windy Sunday at Linder Stadium when he stormed back from a 5-2 second-set deficit to defeat Miami's Barnabas Carrega 6-1, 7-6 (7-2) to clinch No. 9 Florida's 4-1 win over the 19th-ranked Hurricanes in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Earlier this season, Corace lost the decisive singles match that resulted in Florida's 4-3 defeat at Miami on Jan. 29.

"He's come a long way," senior Nestor Briceno said. "He's learned a lot. When we played them in (January) he would have never been able to do that. He's just grown so much. I'm so proud of the guy. He's someone to look forward to in the coming years."

The win sends Florida (17-7) to the NCAA round of 16. The Gators will play No. 7 Texas Friday at 4 p.m. in Tulsa, Okla. It is the seventh straight season the Gators are in the round of 16 and 15th time in 18 years.

"You set some goals at the beginning of the season," Gator coach Andy Jackson said. "Try to win the SEC. Try to host an NCAA regional. Try to get to Tulsa. Then when you get to Tulsa you try to win it. This team has every intention of winning four more matches."

The youthful Gators fielded four freshmen in their singles lineup Sunday. But none shined brighter than Corace, who clinched the match just as Miami appeared to be seizing the momentum.

Florida's Greg Ouellette was battling cramps and starting a third set on court one while Miami's Keith Crowley seemed destined to take Florida's Tyler Hochwalt to a third set on court five.

"The momentum was changing very quickly and that's a credit to Miami," Jackson said. "It's not something that surprises me. They were getting to us. For Erik to close it out was huge for us."

Corace trailed 5-2 in the second set, but stormed back to force the tiebreaker, in which he never trailed.

"I felt pretty confident," Corace said. "I was the one who came back. (Carrega) had all the pressure on him."

While Corace lost the decisive match against Miami earlier in the season, it came against Hurricanes sophomore J.C. Whitner, who was not in the lineup Sunday. Still, Corace's effort showed just how far he has come this season.

"He showed me that he has improved a whole lot," Jackson said. "His composure is better. His maturity is a lot better."

Both teams battled tough conditions Sunday. The match was delayed 44 minutes at the start due to rain. Then, a burst of rain approximately 30 minutes into the match resulted in a second delay of 40 minutes. When play resumed, the players battled windy conditions and heat throughout the afternoon.

"It was brutal out there with the 20 mile-per-hour winds," Briceno said. "It wasn't about tennis today. It was about getting the first serve in then seeing who was tougher."

Florida captured the doubles point then got a quick, 6-0, 6-3 win from freshman Jeff Dadamo on court four. Briceno followed with a 6-1, 6-4 win at court two. Miami's David Rosenfeld beat Florida's Alex Lacroix, 7-5, 6-2 on court three before Corace closed out the match.

"Payback was great today," Briceno said.