Florida Welcomes SEC East Foes Kentucky, Vanderbilt
Thursday, March 31, 2011 | Men's Tennis
The 15th-ranked University of Florida men's tennis team welcomes a pair of Southeastern Conference Eastern Division opponents to Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex this weekend, hosting No. 14 Kentucky on Friday, April 1, at 3 p.m. and Vanderbilt on Sunday, April 3, at 1 p.m. It marks the final home weekend of the regular season for the Gators, who will later play host to this spring's SEC Tournament.
The Gators (12-5, 5-1 SEC) enter the weekend looking to sustain momentum from last Saturday's 4-3 road win at Mississippi State, beginning with Friday's matchup against a strong Kentucky squad (18-6, 3-3 SEC) that has won five of its last six matches. UF holds an all-time 41-11 edge in the series, including a 10-1 mark under head coach Andy Jackson. Heading into Friday, Jackson has led the Gators to 10 straight wins against his alma mater, where he was a three-year letterwinner from 1982-84.
“Kentucky is ahead of us in the race to host an NCAA Regional,” Jackson said. “They also went to Ole Miss and Mississippi State and won very easily, where we obviously struggled mightily with both Ole Miss, who we lost to, 4-3, and Mississippi State, who we beat, 4-3. So we understand how tough Kentucky is and how big a match it is for them and for us, and we're looking forward to playing.”
UF takes 35-8-1 series mark into Sunday's showdown with Vanderbilt (10-7, 1-5 SEC), including seven consecutive wins and a 10-2 record under Jackson. The Commodores picked up their first league win last weekend, knocking off Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
Prior to Sunday's match, Alexandre Lacroix (Paris, France) will be honored as part of the team's Senior Day. Lacroix is the Gators' all-time leader in doubles victories (95) and is the seventh player in school history to reach 100 singles wins. However, it won't be the last time Lacroix appears on UF's courts, as the aforementioned SEC Tournament comes to Gainesville April 21-24 and Florida remains in contention to host an NCAA Regional.
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.
