Gators Prepare to Visit Mississippi State
Friday, March 25, 2011 | Men's Tennis
The Florida men's tennis team travels to Starkville, Miss., for an important Southeastern Conference showdown Saturday at 2 p.m. Eastern at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
The 19th-ranked Gators (11-5, 4-1 SEC) take on the Bulldogs looking to reverse course after a pair of closely-fought losses last weekend, while Mississippi State (9-5, 4-1 SEC) comes into the match with four straight wins including a mid-week victory over Nebraska on Wednesday. UF and MSU are among four SEC teams with one or fewer conference losses, and the winner of Saturday's contest will pass the halfway point of the league slate sitting no worse than third place.
The showdown marks a return to Starkville for Florida head coach Andy Jackson, who began his head coaching career as the Bulldogs' women's head coach before taking over the men's program for 13 years from 1989-2001. He remains the all-time wins leader for MSU's men's program, guiding the team to 220 victories and 10 finishes in the NCAA Round of 16 or better.
“I was there for 17 years and wanted to be a Gator, so they haven't forgotten about that,” Jackson said. “They really bring a big crowd out, and they get after Florida every time. … This is their best team in the 10 years that I've been here. Their coach [Per Nilsson] played for me. They have a very talented, young team that started off not very good this year because they didn't have the experience winning. They've got some experience winning now, and they know they can be a top-15, top-10 team.”
Florida assistant coach Jeremy Bayon also played for Jackson at Mississippi State, and Bayon remains in the program's top five in all-time victories and holds the school record with 120 dual match wins (63 in singles, program-best 57 in doubles).
UF currently has two players ranked in the top 40, with senior Alexandre Lacroix (Paris, France) at No. 6 and sophomore Sekou Bangoura Jr. (Bradenton, Fla.) at No. 39. Three Bulldogs also hold national singles rankings, including Artem Ilyushin (84th), George Coupland (85th) and Louis Cant (92nd).
The Gators also have three doubles teams ranked, though the only pairing expected to compete Saturday's match is Lacroix and Bangoura, who are ranked 46th. Mississippi State's tandem of Cant and Malte Stropp holds a No. 69 ranking.
