Saturday, January 25
Gainesville, FL
11 AM
Florida Gators
vs
USF vs. Fresno State
The Gators are 10-1 in doubles, having yet to drop a doubles point, as UF's 14th-ranked No. 1 duo of Oliver Crawford and Sam Riffice sit at 2-0 entering ITA Kickoff Weekend.
No. 2 Florida Welcomes USF, Temple and Fresno State for ITA Kickoff Weekend
Thursday, January 23, 2020 | Men's Tennis
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Alfred A. Ring Complex serves as one of 15 host sites for the 12th annual ITA Kickoff Weekend on January 25-26, as the No. 2 Florida men's tennis team will welcome USF, Temple and Fresno State to Gainesville to compete in its regional pod. Each of the 15 regional host institutions will welcome three other teams for the single-elimination event, with the winners advancing to the National Team Indoors held in Madison, Wis. on Feb. 14-17. Host sites were selected based on the final 2018-19 Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings.
The Gators are slated to open against Temple on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 2 p.m. at Linder Stadium.
This season marks the fourth consecutive year and 11th occurrence overall in which Florida has served as the regional host site for ITA Kickoff Weekend, as the Gators have claimed the past three ITA Kickoff titles in dominant fashion. Last season, the Gators downed FAU, 4-1, on Jan. 27 to secure its berth into the 2019 National Team Indoors in Chicago, Ill.
Additionally, Florida has advanced to the National Indoor Championships eight times (2010-2014, 2017-19).
Opening round contests pit the No. 1 seed (Florida) versus the No. 4 seed (Temple) on Saturday at 2 p.m., while the No. 2 seed (USF) is slated to face the pod's No. 3 seed (Fresno State) earlier at 11 a.m. The two losing teams will square off in Sunday's consolation match at 10 a.m., followed by the championship match at 2 p.m.
Florida enters ITA Kickoff Weekend coming off a dominant weekend of competition last Sunday in downing UCF, 6-1, and Stetson, 7-0, to hold a 4-1 record on the year thus far. The Gators have yet to drop a doubles point through five matches, holding a 10-1 overall mark in dual doubles action. The duos of Will Grant/Johannes Ingildsen (3-1), Oliver Crawford/Sam Riffice (2-0) and Duarte Vale/Josh Goodger (2-0) lead the way amongst the Gators' doubles corps.
The Gators have also been solid in singles action, tallying 23 wins in 30 matches, led by junior Duarte Vale (4-1) and freshman Blaise Bicknell (4-0). Riffice and Josh Goodger both follow with 3-1 marks, while Ingildsen (2-0), juniors Oliver Crawford (2-1) and Andy Andrade (2-1), and sophomore Lukas Greif (2-2) all hold at least two wins on the year.
SCOUTING THE OWLS
Temple Owls (0-0, 0-0 AAC) | 2018: 16-7, 3-1 AAC
HISTORY VS. USF
USF Bulls (3-0, 0-0 AAC) | 2018: 16-7, 3-1 AAC
It was an impressive fall for USF after finishing the 2019 regular season with its fifth American Athletic Conference title, as the Bulls are 3-0 to open the 2020 season, led by No. 121 Chase Ferguson (3-0, No. 1 singles). Additionally, four Bulls hold 3-0 marks at their respective singles flights in Pierre Luquet (No. 3), Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo (No. 4), Ivan Yatsuk (No. 5) and Rithvik Bollipalli (No. 6). The Bulls have yet to drop a doubles point also, holding a 6-1 record through three matches.
HISTORY VS. FRESNO STATE
Fresno State Bulldogs (0-1, 0-0 Mountain West) | 2018: 18-11, 5-2 Mountain West
The defending Mountain West champions are coming off of a solid fall tournament season and are led by reigning conference player of the year, Zdenek Derkas who sits No. 124 in the ITA rankings. The Fresno State men's tennis team fell to 24th-ranked San Diego in their season opener, 4-3, on Saturday, Jan. 18.
ITA KICKOFF WEEKEND INFORMATION
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The Gators are slated to open against Temple on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 2 p.m. at Linder Stadium.
TOMORROW!#ITAKickoff pic.twitter.com/7HFV4ygW3d
— ITA (@ITA_Tennis) January 23, 2020
This season marks the fourth consecutive year and 11th occurrence overall in which Florida has served as the regional host site for ITA Kickoff Weekend, as the Gators have claimed the past three ITA Kickoff titles in dominant fashion. Last season, the Gators downed FAU, 4-1, on Jan. 27 to secure its berth into the 2019 National Team Indoors in Chicago, Ill.
Additionally, Florida has advanced to the National Indoor Championships eight times (2010-2014, 2017-19).
Opening round contests pit the No. 1 seed (Florida) versus the No. 4 seed (Temple) on Saturday at 2 p.m., while the No. 2 seed (USF) is slated to face the pod's No. 3 seed (Fresno State) earlier at 11 a.m. The two losing teams will square off in Sunday's consolation match at 10 a.m., followed by the championship match at 2 p.m.
Florida enters ITA Kickoff Weekend coming off a dominant weekend of competition last Sunday in downing UCF, 6-1, and Stetson, 7-0, to hold a 4-1 record on the year thus far. The Gators have yet to drop a doubles point through five matches, holding a 10-1 overall mark in dual doubles action. The duos of Will Grant/Johannes Ingildsen (3-1), Oliver Crawford/Sam Riffice (2-0) and Duarte Vale/Josh Goodger (2-0) lead the way amongst the Gators' doubles corps.
The Gators have also been solid in singles action, tallying 23 wins in 30 matches, led by junior Duarte Vale (4-1) and freshman Blaise Bicknell (4-0). Riffice and Josh Goodger both follow with 3-1 marks, while Ingildsen (2-0), juniors Oliver Crawford (2-1) and Andy Andrade (2-1), and sophomore Lukas Greif (2-2) all hold at least two wins on the year.
SCOUTING THE OWLS
Temple Owls (0-0, 0-0 AAC) | 2018: 16-7, 3-1 AAC
- Marks first all-time meeting between Florida and Temple.
HISTORY VS. USF
USF Bulls (3-0, 0-0 AAC) | 2018: 16-7, 3-1 AAC
It was an impressive fall for USF after finishing the 2019 regular season with its fifth American Athletic Conference title, as the Bulls are 3-0 to open the 2020 season, led by No. 121 Chase Ferguson (3-0, No. 1 singles). Additionally, four Bulls hold 3-0 marks at their respective singles flights in Pierre Luquet (No. 3), Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo (No. 4), Ivan Yatsuk (No. 5) and Rithvik Bollipalli (No. 6). The Bulls have yet to drop a doubles point also, holding a 6-1 record through three matches.
- Series History: 49-3, UF leads (3-0 under Bryan Shelton)
- Last Meeting: January 28, 2018 in Gainesville – W, 4-0
HISTORY VS. FRESNO STATE
Fresno State Bulldogs (0-1, 0-0 Mountain West) | 2018: 18-11, 5-2 Mountain West
The defending Mountain West champions are coming off of a solid fall tournament season and are led by reigning conference player of the year, Zdenek Derkas who sits No. 124 in the ITA rankings. The Fresno State men's tennis team fell to 24th-ranked San Diego in their season opener, 4-3, on Saturday, Jan. 18.
- The Bulldogs and Gators have only met once in program history, with the Gators falling 3-4 on Feb. 22, 1996 under coach Ian Duvenhage.
ITA KICKOFF WEEKEND INFORMATION
- FREE ADMISSION
- Schedule of Play:
- Saturday, Jan. 25:
- 11 a.m. – USF (3-0) vs. Fresno St. (0-1)
- 2 p.m. – No. 2 Florida (4-1) vs. Temple (0-0)
- Sunday, Jan. 26:
- 10 a.m. – Consolation
- 2 p.m. – Championship
- Saturday, Jan. 25:
- Live Stream
- Live Stats
- ITA Kickoff Weekend Event Page
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