Men's Tennis Set to Host USC, Ole Miss
Wednesday, March 16, 2011 | Men's Tennis
The 13th-ranked University of Florida men's tennis team (11-3, 4-0 SEC) is set to host two-time defending NCAA champion and current No. 3 Southern California (13-2) at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex on Thursday at 5 p.m. The Gators will then resume their Southeastern Conference slate when Ole Miss (7-4, 2-2 SEC) visits at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
· Video: Head coach Andy Jackson previews USC and Ole Miss
The Gators and Trojans have split four all-time meetings, with the Gators taking the last two. Florida won the teams' only matchup in 10 seasons under head coach Andy Jackson, a neutral site 2003 contest in Louisville, Ky. USC boasts the most all-time NCAA titles in men's tennis with 18, trailed closely by two of UF's previous 2011 opponents, Stanford (17) and UCLA (16).
“[USC is] one of the very best programs and teams in the country,” Jackson said. “They're the two-time defending national champion and have the number one singles player [Steve Johnson] in the country, who is clearly going to be a professional after he's finished with college.”
Florida leads the all-time series against Ole Miss, 33-19, and UF is 3-1 at home against the Rebels under Jackson. The Gators will be looking for their fourth 5-0 SEC start in 10 seasons under Jackson.
“We're 4-0 in the league, which puts us in a pretty decent spot,” Jackson noted. “We're really looking forward to trying to get to 5-0 against Ole Miss on Saturday.”
Admission to all regular-season home matches is free. For fans unable to make it to the match, live scoring and a live interactive blog of the match will be available on www.gatorzone.com.
