No. 2 Florida Hosts No. 3 Baylor Saturday at 1 p.m.
Thursday, February 3, 2011 | Women's Tennis
The second-ranked Gators easily have their toughest match of the young season this week when the team plays host to third-ranked Baylor on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Admission for all regular-season home matches is free.
The first 100 fans in attendance at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex will receive a free commemorative cup celebrating the Gator's 2010 Southeastern Conference championships.
A free post-match clinic for children ages 12 and under also will take place immediately following the match between two of the nation's top teams.
The Gators and Bears enter Saturday's match with similar 3-0 overall records, both earning victories last weekend that earned a berth into the ITA National Team Indoor Championships held Feb. 18-21 in Charlottesville, Va.
The Gators have won all three previous meetings against the Bears, with the last a 4-2 victory in the 2007 NCAA Championship Round of 16 played in Athens, Ga.
Florida enters the February 5th match against Baylor having won 94 consecutive regular-season home matches - not including SEC Tournament or NCAA Championship events. The current streak is the longest of its kind in program history, passing the 71 in a row compiled from 1994-2001. The Gators last regular-season setback at Linder Stadium was on April 7, 2002, when Georgia defeated Florida, 4-3.
Florida also sports an overall program-record 85-match home win streak, which includes 15 wins in postseason play (SEC and NCAA Tournament). The Gators set a new standard with their 6-1 victory over Mississippi State on March 29, 2009, passing the previous record of 60. The last time the Gators fell at home was on May 15, 2004, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Miami (Fla.), 4-3.
Baylor's lineup features three players who have earned a national singles ranking, headlined by junior Sona Novakov, who is ranked No. 19.
Five different Gators are nationally ranked in singles, with sophomore Allie Will (Boca Raton, Fla.) leading the charge at the No. 7 spot, while Will comprises half of the country's No. 1-ranked doubles team, pairing with freshman Sofie Oyen (Belgium) atop the lineup.
