No. 11 Men's Tennis Readies for Florida Atlantic
Friday, February 5, 2010 | Men's Tennis
The University of Florida's No. 11 men's tennis team welcomes Florida Atlantic for a 1 p.m. match on Saturday at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.
Florida (3-1) enters the showdown against the Owls coming off a pair of shutout wins last weekend that vaulted the Gators into the upcoming ITA National Team Indoor Championship, which takes place Feb. 12-15 in Charlottesville, Va. The Gators hope to use the match against Florida Atlantic (1-1) to continue their recent success as they head into the national event.
“We're feeling like things are going in the right direction, but we have a very long way to go,” head coach Andy Jackson said. “Keeping our focus is one of the things I'm least worried about. Building confidence and building momentum, those are our bigger concerns. We're going to be excited to play anybody, and Florida Atlantic has a good, solid team. We're going to be ready to play.”
Junior Alexandre Lacroix (France), the No. 7 player in the nation, has held down the No. 1 singles position for Florida in all four dual matches this season, posting a 3-1 mark there (18-5 overall). Fellow veterans senior Antoine Benneteau (France) and sophomore Joey Burkhardt (St. Augustine, Fla.) have provided a steadying influence on the lineup, both holding a 4-0 singles mark in dual matches while filling the fourth and fifth positions for Florida.
Coupling that experience with several newcomers – sophomore Nassim Slilam (France) and freshmen Sekou Bangoura Jr. (Bradenton, Fla.), Billy Federhofer (North Miami, Fla.) and Bob Van Overbeek (Boca Raton, Fla.) – the Gators have proven to be a force this spring, with their only loss coming in a hard-fought road match against sixth-ranked Baylor. Meanwhile, in its three victories, UF has won by a combined score of 18-0.
In addition to the success Florida is enjoying in singles, doubles play has also continued to be a strong suit for the Gators. Lacroix and Benneteau comprise the 10th-rated pair in the land, holding a 15-1 mark in 2009-10 that includes an active six-match winning streak, which encompasses three dual match wins at the No. 1 position. Bangoura and Burkhardt sport a 4-2 mark this spring that includes a win against a top-10 foe, and Federhofer and Van Overbeek picked up their first career dual match doubles victory last Sunday against Georgia Tech.
The meeting between UF and FAU is the first since 1980 and just the fourth all-time. Florida has won all three previous matches, including its lone home match in series history in 1971.
Admission on Saturday is free. Results and live scoring will be available on www.GatorZone.com.
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