No. 7 Men's Tennis Welcomes Mississippi State
Saturday, March 20, 2010 | Men's Tennis
The seventh-ranked University of Florida men's tennis team (12-2, 4-0 SEC) returns to action at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex on Sunday at 1 p.m., when they will host SEC Western Division foe Mississippi State (8-6, 1-3 SEC).
The Gators' Wednesday match against Florida State was suspended in progress due to weather, so UF will once again be attempting to give head coach Andy Jackson his 100th home win as the Gator head coach.
Florida's 4-0 start in SEC play is the team's best since 2005, with all four wins coming against SEC Western Division foes.
Florida is led by the nation's sixth-ranked singles player in Alexandre Lacroix (Paris, France), who sports a 26-6 record during the 2009-10 season and has won seven straight matches, including four against top-50 opponents.
The Gators also benefit from a deep team this spring that has seen a 25-2 combined record from the No. 5 and 6 singles positions, bolstered by an active team-high 11-match winning by Nassim Slilam (Paris, France), primarily at the sixth spot.
The Gators lead the all-time series with MSU, 31-15, and are 8-0 against the Bulldogs under Jackson, who coached the MSU men from 1989-2001 and is the winningest coach in the program's history. The last time MSU defeated UF was in Jackson's last season leading the Bulldogs.
Florida assistant coach Jeremy Bayon also played at MSU under Jackson from 1997-2000 and still stands near the top of the program's record books, ranking No. 9 singles victories (88), No. 2 in doubles wins (82) and No. 5 all-time in combined wins (170). During Jackson's time at MSU, he also coached the Bulldogs' current head coach, Per Nilsson.
Admission to the match, which is Florida's last at home until April 9, is free.
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