The No. 7 men’s tennis team will be hosting the ITA Kick-Off Weekend tournament beginning today at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.
The Gators (2-0) welcome UC Santa Barbara, Troy and North Carolina State to Gainesville. The winner of the tournament will advance to Seattle to compete in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in February.
Florida’s first test will come today at 10 a.m. against UC Santa Barbara (0-2), a team that has been heavily tested early this year.
The Gauchos come in having already played matches against No. 6 UCLA and No. 21 Pepperdine. Gators coach Andy Jackson said his team isn’t taking its first opponent lightly.
“We’re a little concerned about playing that early on a weekday, but we’re going to try to bring some energy,” he said. “One of our goals this season is to advance to the Indoor Championships in Seattle, and we have to beat Santa Barbara to get there.”
The Gators will be led by senior Alexandre Lacroix, who is ranked No. 4 in the ITA’s singles rankings, and No. 28 Sekou Bangoura Jr.
Also emerging for the Gators is freshman Andrew Butz, who was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week on Wednesday.
“Andrew had his first taste of success at this level, so now his challenge is to back it up,” Jackson said.
Troy (0-1) and North Carolina State (2-2) will play at 1 p.m.
The winner of the two matches will face off in the championship match on Saturday at 1 p.m. The consolation match will be at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
