A look at Florida’s lower-ranked and unranked matchups

As Florida prepares for its seven remaining top 30 matchups, it needs to capitalize on opportunities ahead against lesser-ranked opponents.

Despite rankings not having any significance come gametime, seen with No. 33 Georgia’s domination of the Gators, Florida (6-5) looks to ease back into things with the lighter schedule.

Of these seven games, five opponents rank in the top 75.

Wrangling the Wildcats

The Gators first faced Kentucky during the ITA Kickoff Weekend Jan. 23, where Florida clinched a 4-2 win on the first day of the tournament thanks to freshman Andreas Timinis' heroics.

No. 41 Kentucky (8-4) looks to exact revenge through its four top-100-ranked singles players, with junior Eli Stephenson leading the charge at No. 16. In doubles, the Wildcats have two pairings ranked at No. 23 and No. 59. Their match will take place at the Hillary J. Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington, Kentucky, on Friday at 5 p.m.

Surveying South Carolina

The Gamecocks are on a six-week win streak and are undefeated in conference and on the road. No. 22 South Carolina has three top-70-ranked singles players in senior Luca Andrade Da Silva, junior Sean Daryabeigi and freshman Paul Barbier Gazeu. The Gamecocks follow suit with three ranked doubles pairings.

UF has a dominant history with a 21-6 record and undefeated with 12 wins at home against the Gamecocks. But South Carolina (9-1) holds the recent advantage with a 4-1 win in 2025 and a two-game win streak.

The Gators will look to break that streak March 1 at 12 p.m. at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.

Reviewing the Rebels

With a 13-game win streak on their side against Ole Miss, the Gators hope to extend that run on March 13 at 5 p.m. at home. Florida is 21-6 all-time against No. 34 Ole Miss (12-2) and has a 10-2 home record against the Rebels.

The Rebels look to change the record books and will be looking for their only two doubles-ranked pairings to do the trick. No. 40 senior Isac Stromberg and sophomore Kai Milburn, alongside No. 87 sophomore pair Loan Lestir and Matthieu Chambonniere, will bear the pressure.

Observing the Ospreys

Originally scheduled to face off on Feb. 7, the Gators will now get a chance to face another in-state rival, UNF (6-3), on March 15 at 5 p.m. for a doubleheader.

The Ospreys are winless against the Gators, with their most recent matchup concluding 6-1. The Gators have only allowed 3 points in their five games against UNF.

UNF is riding the momentum with a five-game win streak and hopes to make program history with a win against UF.

Assessing Alabama

Alabama and Florida share the same 0-2 SEC record, but the Crimson Tide has struggled overall, sitting at a 3-7 overall record. The Gators have a historic tendency to outlast the rolling tide with a 23-5 record to show for it. UF last defeated Alabama in 2025, 4-3, and has an 11-2 away record against the Crimson Tide.

Sophomore Matic Kriznik is the sole singles-ranked player for Alabama, ranked No. 90. He is accompanied by the No. 18 freshman junior doubles pairing of Jacob Olar and Andrii Zimnokh.

Florida will face Alabama on March 20 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, at 2 p.m.

Tracking Tennessee

The Volunteers have recently dominated the Gators, with four consecutive wins, two of which were 6-1 and 4-1 defeats for Florida. No. 66 Tennessee (6-6) has kept the matches close most of the time, with a slight edge to UF, 17-14 all-time.

One singles player for the Volunteers is ranked, senior Alejandro Moreno, who sits at No. 58.

The Gators look to snap that losing streak on March 22 in Knoxville, Tennessee, at a time to be announced later.

Viewing Vanderbilt

For their fourth-to-last game of the regular season, UF will face the Commodores on April 2 at 5 p.m. at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.

The Gators are 25-4 with a 13-0 home record against the Commodores. No. 37 Vanderbilt is on an 11-game losing streak versus Florida.

Contact Ethan Feinberg at efeinberg@alligator.org. Follow him on X @thefeinline.

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