Coach Andy Jackson’s 100th home win at Florida could come against his former team.
After a second rain out against FSU, the No. 7 Gators (12-2, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) men’s tennis team returns to conference play against No. 46 Mississippi State (8-6, 1-3 SEC) on Sunday at 1 p.m in Gainesville.
Jackson, in his ninth season at UF, coached at Mississippi State from 1989 until 2001. At MSU, Jackson's team finished in the top 25 all 13 seasons, including seven consecutive top-10 finishes from 1992 to 1998.
UF enters the match with a 4-0 start in SEC play, the school’s best since 2005.
This early success can be attributed to strong contributions from both the top and bottom of the lineup.
No. 6 junior Alexandre Lacroix has won his last seven matches at the No. 1 position. Six of the seven wins are over ranked opponents.
A combined record of 25-2 from the No. 5 and No. 6 positions has also helped set up many of those wins.
Sophomore Nassim Slilam has a current streak of 11 straight wins, 10 at the No. 6 spot and one at the No. 5 spot.
This season’s four conference victories have all come against SEC West teams.
On Sunday, the SEC West opponent will be coming into Gainesville with a two-game winning streak, including a 4-3 win over USF in Tampa.
The FSU match being delayed affected Florida’s preparation going into Sunday’s match.
Jackson said the team did not practice Thursday and will have a very light practice today.
Freshman Bob Van Overbeek said the team will be focused and does not think Wednesday was a negative experience.
“Even though it was a switch from playing SEC opponents, it does not really throw off our rhythm,” Van Overbeek said. “FSU is a good team. It felt like playing another SEC team.”
