The Gators wrap up the fall season this weekend as they head to Bradenton to take part in the Lakewood Ranch Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic.
Florida will be one of the top programs competing against schools from all over the nation, including Arizona, Notre Dame, Alabama and Miami.
The tournament will be a challenge because playing on a hard court results in a truer and quicker bounce than playing on a clay court.
“Aggressive tennis is more effective on hard court where consistent and stable tennis is more effective on clay court,” coach Andy Jackson said. “You need to be able to play on both to be a well-rounded player.”
The team has made great progress during the fall in order to prepare for the spring, Jackson said.
“The fall is about getting ready for the spring,” he said. “We’ve had four of five guys who have beaten nationally ranked players.”
This weekend’s tournament should provide players with the chance to showcase their improvement and end the fall on a high note.
“We want to sort of finish strong if we can because the fall season is not nearly as long or as grinding as the spring,” Jackson said.
While all seven players have had solid fall performances, Jackson said he thinks the players feel they could have done more and are always looking to make improvements.
However, Jackson is particularly pleased with the development of the team’s two freshmen - Michael Alford and Andrew Butz.
Both players have come in and performed well their first semester which has been encouraging, Jackson said.
“I do feel comfortable that they have the possibility to contribute right off the bat and that’s something you don’t ever know until the players get to the campus and start playing,” he said. “Both Andrew and Michael have shown they can contribute in a significant way in the spring.” Through it all, the Gators’ steadiest performer this fall has been the team’s lone senior, Alexandre Lacroix.
The ninth-ranked Lacroix won the Napa Valley Classic in Sept. and made it to the semifinals last weekend at the ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships.
Lacroix has done a great job of learning to be a leader and has also performed well, Jackson said.
