No. 6 Men's Tennis Readies for No. 13 Illinois
Friday, February 26, 2010 | Men's Tennis
The sixth-ranked University of Florida men's tennis team welcomes No. 13 Illinois to Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Fighting Illini (4-4) represent the Gators' fifth top-15 opponent of the season.
Florida (7-2) holds a 5-0 home record this spring, including last Sunday's 6-1 victory over USF. UF's scheduled Wednesday match was postponed this week due to weather and has been rescheduled for March 17 at 4 p.m.
No. 17 Alexandre Lacroix (Paris, France), who has posted a 21-6 singles record in 2009-10, including 6-2 at the No. 1 position in dual match play, leads the UF attack. Lacroix also sports an 11-4 mark against ranked opponents.
On the doubles court, Lacroix and Antoine Benneteau (Boulogne-Billancourt, France) hold an impressive 20-1 record and are in the midst of an 11-match winning streak. The duo sits at No. 10 in the ITA's national rankings.
Benneteau has also been thriving on the singles court, with an active nine-match winning streak that includes his 8-0 record in dual match play. Benneteau has appeared on the third, fourth and fifth singles courts at various times for UF this spring.
The Gators' depth has also been on display this spring, as evidenced by their combined 15-2 mark at Nos. 5 and 6 singles in dual match play. Sekou Bangoura Jr. (Bradenton, Fla.) leads the Gators with four appearances at No. 5 singles and is 3-1 in that slot. Nassim Slilam (Paris, France) has a team-high six appearances in the No. 6 position and has compiled a 5-1 mark there.
Florida has brought home SEC Freshman of the Week honors in each of the past two weeks, with Bob Van Overbeek (Boca Raton, Fla.) garnering the recognition most recently for his play the week of Feb. 17-23. Previously, Bangoura earned the nod for his performance during the week of Feb. 10-16.
In each of the past three meetings between Florida and Illinois, the home team has won the match. The meeting with Illinois will be UF's first against a Big Ten opponent since a Feb. 14, 2009, win against Michigan.
Admission to Sunday's match is free.
-UF-
