The Florida men’s tennis team returns home today to play Ole Miss.
The No. 9 Gators (10-6, 5-1 SEC) will welcome the Rebels (9-7, 1-5 SEC) to the Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville at 5 p.m.
UF continues to shine through its doubles play.
With its win in doubles over Vanderbilt on March 18, UF has won the doubles point in six of its last seven matches. The Gators are also 9-1 on the year when they win the doubles point.
For the fifth consecutive week, the Gator duo of junior Alfredo Perez and sophomore Johannes Ingildsen are ranked No. 1 in the country for doubles. The pair has looked impressive with an overall record of 6-1 together, including a perfect 4-0 record in the SEC.
The doubles team of senior Chase Perez-Blanco and freshman Oliver Crawford jumped to No. 8 in doubles after another strong week. Crawford attributed the duo’s success to the senior leadership of his partner.
“Chase (Perez-Blanco) is a great player,” Crawford said. “It makes it so much easier to have him with me in doubles.”
Crawford has won eight consecutive matches and is undefeated (10-0) in SEC singles and doubles.
Ole Miss has three doubles teams that are nationally ranked including the No. 20 tandem of sophomore Tim Sandkaulen and junior Fabian Fallert. Even with all the talent on the roster, Ole Miss has still struggled in its past few matches.
The Rebels’ doubles teams have lost the doubles point in three straight matches, a significant reason why Ole Miss is currently on a four-match losing streak.
In singles, the Rebels are led by No. 28 Sandkaulen and No. 41 senior Gustav Hansson. However, Sandkaulen has lost three of his last four matches in singles.
Coach Bryan Shelton has emphasized making the plays in big moments in practice this week. He believes that while the team has improved every week, there is still a lot more work to be done.
“We know we haven’t even reached our peak yet,” Shelton said. “There are still many places we can improve on, and I know we will.”
Follow Dylan Rudolph on Twitter @dyrudolph and contact him at drudolph@alligator.org.
Junior Alfredo Perez (left) and sophomore Johannes Ingildsen (right) are onto the quarterfinals of the NCAA Doubles Championships along with fellow Gators pairing of junior McClain Kessler and freshman Duarte Vale.
