Coming off its first loss of the season, the No. 7 UF men's tennis team will play in the first round of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Indoor Championships on Friday.
The Gators were one of 15 hosts of ITA Kickoff Weekend on Jan. 30-31, beating No. 48 Arizona and No. 15 Texas A&M to advance to Chicago.
UF (5-1) lost its first road and indoor dual match to Illinois on Tuesday in the final singles match of the night, and it only gets tougher for the Gators this weekend.
They will face No. 11 Stanford at 1 p.m. The Cardinal (3-0) has 12 indoor championships, the most in the NCAA. No. 13 Illinois hosts the tournament.
Six of the other 15 competing teams already appear on UF's schedule. The Gators swept No. 10 Baylor on Jan. 25.
Florida State, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee round out the teams that UF may play more than once. No. 5 Virginia also returns to the championship to defend its crown.
The finals are scheduled for Monday.
WOMEN PLAY ITA INDOORS: The UF women's tennis team is in Madison, Wis., on Friday for its side of the ITA Indoor Championships.
The Gators (4-1) have a tough test in the opening round against No. 3 UCLA at 4:30 p.m.
The women are also looking to get back to their winning ways after losing 4-3 to North Carolina on Sunday, dropping UF from No. 7 to No. 10.
Of the 16-team field, all are ranked in the top 15 with the exception of host Wisconsin (No. 68).
"It's been since '03 we had a championship year, so we're looking forward to going back," UF coach Roland Thornqvist said.
