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Given the inconsistency of the UF men's tennis team this season, it
was anybody's guess as to how well the Gators would open the
Southeastern Conference tournament Thursday.
Hosting the tournament for the first time since 1999, Florida rode
the back of a supportive home crowd and shut out Arkansas 4-0,
advancing to the tournament quarterfinals for the 10th consecutive
season.
The No. 17 Gators (15-8, 8-4) will take on No. 21 Mississippi State
on Friday at 3 p.m. at Linder Stadium, setting up a rematch of a
tightly contested regular-season meeting.
"The level goes up drastically tomorrow," coach Andy Jackson said.
"We'll see how [we] respond to a completely different level of
match tomorrow. State is among the best teams."
Jackson knows the Bulldogs well, coaching at Mississippi State for
17 years before taking the helm at Florida.
The Gators walloped Arkansas 7-0 in their regular season meeting,
but they came away with a slim 4-3 victory over Mississippi State
in a tough road match in Starkville, Miss.
To make matters more interesting, the fourth-seeded Bulldogs are
the only team that managed to beat top-seeded Tennessee in the
regular season.
The Gators will have their hands full Friday, but they're hoping to
duplicate some of the success they had on the doubles court
Thursday.
In one of the shortest matches of the year, Florida's Billy
Federhofer and Nassim Slilam topped Arkansas' Mike Ward and Nikolas
Zogaj 8-3 on Court 2 in just 31 minutes.
The Gators clinched the doubles point with a Court 3 victory from
Andrew Butz and Bob van Overbeek.
Van Overbeek also provided a straight-sets singles win on Court 4,
coming back strongly from an injury earlier in the season.
"He had quite a bit of tendonitis in his right arm," Jackson said.
"He's got a big serve and a big forehand, but he hasn't been able
to play that way in a couple of months."
Van Overbeek's win put the Gators up 3-0 in the match, setting up
Alexandre Lacroix's match-clinching straight-sets clincher.
Following the match, the Lacroix raised his arms in victory, an
emotional moment for Florida's senior leader who views this SEC
tournament as his last chance to shine at Linder Stadium.
"I know these are my last matches at home, so I'm trying to enjoy
it and be a part of it," Lacroix said. "I was happy for me and for
the team."
WOMEN'S TENNIS
The No. 2 UF women's tennis team will begin action at the SEC
tournament Friday in Knoxville, Tenn., against South
Carolina.
The Gators beat South Carolina just last week, a 5-0 shutout at
Linder Stadium. Florida earned a first round bye after clinching
the regular season crown and watched the Gamecocks take almost five
hours to defeat Ole Miss 4-3 on Thursday.
