No. 1 Gators Get Third Crack at Vandy

Monday, May 22

Athens, GA

7 PM

Florida Gators

Vanderbilt (NCAA Semifinals)

Florida and Vandy meet in the NCAA Semifinals on Monday at 2 p.m.

No. 1 Gators Get Third Crack at Vandy

Monday, May 22, 2017 | Women's Tennis

Live Scoring & Video Team Draw UF Match Notes UF's NCAA History

Florida and Vandy meet in the NCAA Semifinals on Monday at 2 p.m.

By: Kathy Cafazzo

ATHENS, Ga. – Florida has lost just three times in 30 matches entering Monday's NCAA Championships Semifinals. Two of those setbacks came against the team standing in the Gator's way of playing for the national championship.

Vanderbilt first defeated Florida, 4-2, in the regular-season finale for both teams. That match cost the Gators the Southeastern Conference regular-season title.

Seven days later, the teams returned to the courts in Nashville in the SEC Tournament final and again the Commodores got the best of the Gators, 4-3.

The stakes are even higher on Monday, when the teams play for a third time with a trip to the NCAA Final on the line.

First serve from the Dan Magill Tennis Complex is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Third-seeded and second-ranked Ohio State plays sixth-ranked Stanford in the other semifinal bout.

Match Day at a Glance

Who: #1 Seed Florida (27-3) vs. #4 Seed Vanderbilt (24-5)
When: Monday, May 22 * 2 pm ET (TIME CHANGE!!!)
Where: Dan Magill Tennis Complex * Athens, Ga.
What: 2017 NCAA SEMIFINALS
Note: Two of the Gator's three losses have been against Vanderbilt, most recently the 4-3 setback at the SEC Tournament final. The Commodores have won five of the last six meetings against the Gators.

TIME CHANGE

In an effort to avoid possible late rain in the Athens area, the start time for both NCAA Semifinals matches has moved from 4 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday.

Gators vs. Vanderbilt

UF leads the all-time series against the Commodores, 48-7, including a 4-1 record in NCAA meetings.
Streak: Despite Florida's large lead in the series history, Vanderbilt has won five of the last six meetings between the two teams, including two match ups this season prior to the NCAAs.
Last Meeting: The most recent meeting was a 4-3 Vanderbilt decision in the SEC Tournament final held indoors in Nashville.
Other Regular-Season Match: The two programs squared off in the regular-season finale with the SEC regular-season title on the line. Vandy captured the 4-2 decision and that win coupled with Georgia's home loss to Texas A&M secured the Commodores' first-ever league title.
NCAA Meetings: VU won the last postseason matchup - a 4-3 decision in the 2015 quarterfinal round - with the Commodores advancing to their first NCAA title in program history.

The Road to the Final Four

The Gator's path to the semifinal round included wins against Massachusetts (4-0), Miami (4-1), Texas A&M (4-0) and Oklahoma State (4-1).

A win on Monday would …

Send the Gators to the NCAA Finals for the 14th time in program history and the first time since 2012 (played and won in Athens)
be Roland Thornqvist's 400th coaching victory at Florida
be Roland Thornqvist's 475th career coaching victory
Improve UF's all-time NCAA semifinal record to 14-11

What's Next?

The winner of Monday's match advances to finals where they will play the winner of the match between No. 3-seed Ohio State and No. 6-seed Stanford on Tuesday, May 23 at 5 p.m.
The Gators played both teams during the regular season, with Florida earning a thrilling win against both.

Gators at a Glance

The Gators have won six of their last eight matches.
The Gators have won the doubles point in 25 of 30 matches.
UF improved to 24-1 when winning the doubles point this year. The only loss was in the 4-3 SEC Tournament Final loss at No. 2 Vanderbilt.
The Gators are 2-2 when losing the doubles point, with wins coming against Michigan on Feb. 10 at the National Team Indoors and versus Oklahoma State on February 17 in Gainesville.
Two of the Gator's three losses have been against Vanderbilt, which was awarded the NCAA No. 4 seed.

Florida at the NCAA Championships

The Gators sport an all-time NCAA record of 111-28, including a 19-0 record in the round of 64, an 18-1 mark in the round of 32, a 30-4 record in the round of 16 and a 25-5 leger in the quarterfinals.
UF has advanced to at least the NCAA semifinals 25 times in the last 31 years (including 2017).

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