The Florida Gators men’s tennis team will be allowed to compete beginning Oct. 1st for the 2020-21 season, coming off of a season where it finished 9th in the final ITA Division I rankings before the season was suspended.
Most athletes dream of making it professionally. But, the percentage who make it are slim.
Coach Shelton said that Florida’s goal is to repeat as SEC regular-season champions.
Florida returned to Gainesville after a two game trip in Alabama to face LSU and host its first SEC game of the season.
It was a battle between the most dominant predators of two different biomes — the swamp and the jungle.
Florida had their second match in Alabama this weekend on Sunday afternoon after a win against Alabama on Friday evening. This time the opponent was Auburn, and, in a match that went down to a tie-breaker, the Gators left the Heart of Dixie with two important conference wins under its belt.
Florida junior Oliver Crawford had just earned match point and held a 5-4 lead over Auburn’s Tim Dollman after taking the first set.
To kick off SEC play this season, Florida traveled to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to take on the Crimson Tide. This was the first time this season the Gators were playing as an unranked team after they fell out of the ITA rankings despite their dominant victory last week against Georgia State last weekend.
The Gators lost two straight doubles points coming into Friday’s match and were on the brink of losing a third.
The weather wasn’t perfect but the play certainly was on Saturday as Florida secured a commanding win over Georgia State at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex. Although originally scheduled for 10 a.m., the game was pushed back to noon due to concerns about the brisk weather in the morning.
After losing their last two matches on the road, Florida bounced back with a strong showing in their home opener versus North Florida on Friday night.
The Gators were in a similar position against Wake Forest like they were Saturday night versus North Carolina after collapsing in doubles for the second-straight match.
Stunned.
Purdue made the Gators earn their doubles point on Sunday morning.
The Gators extended their winning streak to six matches, when they defeated Illinois Friday night in the Land of Lincoln.
The Gators conquered FSU to extend their winning streak over the Seminoles to three games on Saturday night.
Florida is set to take on a ranked opponent for the second time this season.
Florida’s Andy Andrade was on the verge of clinching match point for Florida after winning a nail-biting tiebreaker.
The Gators men’s tennis team is poised to return to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in Madison, Wisconsin, for the fourth-straight year.
Solutions by The State News
