Top-Ranked Women's Tennis Hosts South Florida Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Monday, February 6, 2012 | Women's Tennis
Florida plays host to its second instate foe of the year, when South Florida visits Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
This is the Gator's only home match during a four-match run, with the team coming off a 5-2 win against fifth-ranked Baylor on Saturday in Waco, Texas.
Florida (3-0) won't play at home again until February 26 against North Carolina.
South Florida (3-1) is coming off a tough 5-2 loss at 11th-ranked Miami on Jan. 29. The 45th-ranked Bulls have already earned a 6-1 win against No. 55 Ohio State, as well as a 5-2 victory over Syracuse.
Florida is 49-1 all-time against South Florida, including a 28-0 record in Gainesville. The last meeting between the two programs was a 5-2 Gator win on Feb. 8, 2011 in Gainesville. Florida's lone loss in the series was a 5-3 setback on April 1, 1986, in Tampa. Since that loss, the Gators have won 22 consecutive matches against the Bulls.
Florida owns an impressive 190-33 record against in-state rivals and has reeled off 12 straight victories against Sunshine State opponents, with the most recent a 7-0 sweep against UCF on February 1st in Gainesville.
UF's active 24-match win streak is the seventh-longest in program history. Next on the list is the 31-match streak set from Feb. 20, 1991 thru May 11, 1991 with the loss to UCLA in the NCAA Semifinals.
Florida is 2-0 at home this year and sports an overall program-record home winning streak of 97, which includes 17 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.
Florida also has won 104 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.
Florida boasts a remarkable 430-25 all-time home record when playing in Gainesville, including a 1-0 record in 2011-12.
Individually, junior Allie Will (Boca Raton, Fla.) is inching closer to her 100th career singles victory, as she enters Tuesday's match with a 91-10 all-time record, a winning percentage second in program history only to Gator great Lisa Raymond. Will, who has compiled a 53-3 dual match singles mark and is on pace to become the 22nd Gator to reach the milestone win, is 8-0 overall this year.
Senior Joanna Mather (Duluth, Ga.) enters Tuesday's match with 84 career singles wins, as well as a team-best 88 doubles victories. Junior Lauren Embree (Marco Island,Fla.) sports a 69-11 career singles record, including a 46-4 record in dual matches.
