Gators Host Volunteers in NCAA Super Regional

Saturday, May 11

Gainesville, FL

12 PM

Florida Gators

Tennessee

The Gators will take the court at home for the final time this season with a trip to the Elite 8 at stake.

Gators Host Volunteers in NCAA Super Regional

Friday, May 10, 2019 | Men's Tennis

By: Corinne Simpson

WATCH | STATS | BRACKET | MATCH NOTES

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Third-seeded Florida continues its postseason push Saturday with a NCAA Super Regional contest against No. 14 Tennessee at 12 p.m. ET at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.

The winner will advance to the NCAA quarterfinals at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, scheduled for May 16. The remainder of the tournament will be played in Orlando.

Florida and Tennessee will meet for the second time in two weeks, third this season. The Gators took the regular season match in Knoxville 5-2, but were upset by the Volunteers, 4-3, in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament.

This also marks the fourth consecutive year that the Gators have advanced to the Sweet 16, 22^nd overall. However, this is the inaugural season of the super-regional rounds held on the highest seed's campus.

Florida claimed the regional championship last weekend in Gainesville with shutout wins over Florida Gulf Coast and No. 28 Florida State.

In both matches, the Gators relied on the doubles point and two-set singles decisions to sweep the Eagles and the Seminoles.

Florida ended the regular season on a 14-match winning streak and a regular season SEC title, but fell in the semifinals of the conference tournament. All three of the Gators' losses came to teams that earned top-16 seeds in this year's NCAA Tournament (No. 8 USC, No. 12 Stanford, and No. 14 Tennessee). All three teams also advanced to the Round of 16.

Showcasing their lineup versatility in singles, eight players are a combined 108-29 in dual matches and have only lost eight matches at the No. 4, 5 and 6 positions. Johannes Ingildsen and Sam Riffice are a team best 18-5 in dual singles, while Duarte Vale is 14-1, including 9-0 in his last 10 matches.

While doubles have been inconsistent all season, they have produced a 41-22 dual record and have earned the doubles point in 18 of the 26 matches.

Florida has players scattered throughout the latest ITA doubles and singles rankings, with No. 9 Oliver Crawford leading the way in singles and the doubles duo of McClain Kessler and Vale sit at No. 19.

No. 3 Florida vs No. 14 Tennessee
Time & Date: Saturday, May 11 | 12:00 p.m. ET
Location: Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex
Live Streaming/Live Scoring: https://floridagators.com/sports/2018/3/9/tennis-men-live-video-stats.aspx
Tickets: https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/gators/EN/buy/browse?g[0]=33527

Adults: $5
Children: $3

Promotions: "Stay Cool and Beat the Heat" – BZ Gelati will be at the Ring from 10-1 and we will FREE ice cups, cooling towels and cooling zones for all fans.

"#WearBlue and Beat Tennessee" – We are encouraging all fans to wear blue for the tennis match at noon and the baseball game at 3 p.m. as the Gators defend Gainesville against the Volunteers.

Scouting the Volunteers
Tennessee sits at No. 14 in the recent Oracle/ITA rankings and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after its run to the SEC Tournament Championship match. This appearance marks the Volunteers 28^th in program history, second under second-year Head Coach Chris Woodruff. Coming into the match with a 22-7 record, all seven of Tennessee's losses came to NCAA Tournament teams.

The Volunteers advanced to the Round of 16 by virtue of wins over Radford (4-0) and NC State (4-2) in the first and second rounds of the Knoxville Regional, respectively.

Tennessee's lineup includes two players ranked in the latest ITA singles release. No. 23 Timo Stodder is 16-8 at the No. 1 line, while No. 51 Adam Walton owns a 19-3 record between courts two and three. In doubles, No. 6 Stodder and Preston Touliatos are 15-4 on court 1.

Series Information –Florida/Tennessee
Tennessee (22-7 overall, 8-4 SEC)

Series History: Florida leads 43-29 (7-2 under Bryan Shelton)
Home: 22-13 | Away: 14-14 | Neutral: 7-2
Last Time Out: April 30, 2019 (SEC Tournament, Gainesville) – L, 3-4

Florida's NCAA Tournament History

All-Time Record: 53-28
Best Finish: Semifinals (2005, 2000)
Records by Round:
- First Round: 18-3
- Second Round: 18-1
- Round of 16: 7-14
- Quarterfinals: 2-5
- Semifinals: 0-2
- Finals: 0-0
Last Year at the Tournament:
- No. 13 seed
  - 1st Round (Gainesville): vs South Carolina State, W, 4-0
  - 2nd Round (Gainesville): vs Miami, W, 4-0
  - Round of 16 (Winston-Salem, N.C.): vs Ole Miss, W, 4-3
  - Quarterfinals (Winston-Salem, N.C.): vs Texas A&M, L, 3-4