No. 3 Gators Head to ITA National Indoor Championships, Face No. 9 Columbia

Friday, February 14

Madison, WI

3:30 PM CT / 4:30 PM ET

Florida Gators

Columbia University

The Gators make its fourth consecutive and ninth overall appearance at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships this weekend.

No. 3 Gators Head to ITA National Indoor Championships, Face No. 9 Columbia

Thursday, February 13, 2020 | Men's Tennis

National Team Indoor Draws

By: Carroll Rich

ITA NATIONAL TEAM INDOORS EVENT PAGE | DRAWS/SCHEDULE

MADISON, Wis. – The No. 3 University of Florida men's tennis team prepares for its biggest test of the season up to this point, traveling to Madison, Wis. to compete in the 2020 ITA National Team Indoor Championships, hosted by the University of Wisconsin, on Feb. 14-17. The Gators were tabbed a fifth-seed – UF's second highest seeding at the event – as they gear up for a top-10 opening-round matchup with No. 9 Columbia (3-1) at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium on Friday, Feb. 14. First serve is slated for a 4:30 p.m. ET start.

The 45^th annual ITA Division I Men's Team indoor Championship Presented by Oracle showcases 16 of the top men's Division I teams in the four-day tournament to crown an indoor national champion. 15 of the 16 teams in the field are ranked in the Oracle/ITA Top 25.

Reigning indoor champions No. 2 Ohio State were tabbed the field's top seed, followed by No. 1 USC (2), No. 4 Texas (3), No. 5 North Carolina (4) and No. 3 Florida (5). No. 7 Texas A&M checks in as the No. 6 seed, followed by No. 8 Stanford (7) and No. 12 Baylor (8) to complete the top eight seeds. The Power-5 conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC) all feature three teams each in the field, while the Ivy League has just one representative in Columbia.

UF's fifth seed is the second highest seeding achieved since being tabbed a No. 4 seed in last year's event, as Florida looks to excel in its fourth consecutive and ninth overall appearance at the Indoor Championships. The Gators (9-1) are off to its best start to a season since 2003, outscoring opponents 53-9, while holding a seven-match win streak through its first 10 dual matches for the first time since 1985.

Last season, UF went 1-2 at the National Indoor Championships, held in Chicago, Ill., falling into the consolation bracket with an opening-round loss to USC, prior to defeating Illinois and falling again to Stanford. The Gators haven't won more than one match at the event since 2010 (def. Baylor, Georgia), as Florida is 8-16 all-time at National Team Indoors, having made a finals appearance once back in 2003 (vs. Illinois – L, 2-4).

Nonetheless, the Gators remain focused on the task at hand, entering this weekend's competition at No. 4 in Wednesday's latest USTA Top 25 rankings. UF enters Friday's match holding a 20-1 overall record in doubles, having won the doubles point in every match this season to hold the longest doubles point streak in program history (10 matches). The Gators are led by its two top-25 tandems of No. 13-ranked Oliver Crawford and Sam Riffice at the No. 1 position (5-0) and No. 24-ranked Johannes Ingildsen and Will Grant at the No. 2 position (6-1), though, No. 3 tandem of Duarte Vale and Josh Goodger remain undefeated on the year at 6-0.

Additionally, the Gators continue to build on its tear in singles, suffering only nine losses on the year through 52 dual singles matches. No. 11 Vale leads the team with an 8-1 dual singles record, followed by junior Andy Andrade (6-1) and Johannes Ingildsen (5-0). Sophomores No. 4 Sam Riffice, No. 90 Lukas Greif and junior Josh Goodger hold 5-2 marks, while freshman No. 112 Blaise Bicknell holds a perfect 5-0 record on the year. No. 23 Oliver Crawford sits at 3-1 from the top spot, while first-year Will Grant holds a win in just one singles match played this season.

SCOUTING THE LIONS
No. 9 Columbia Lions (3-1, 0-0 Ivy League) | 2018: 19-4, 7-0 Ivy League

The Lions have played a top-16 schedule up to this point, including wins over No. 21 Oklahoma State (then-No. 14), No. 17 Tennessee (then-No. 16) and a close 4-3 loss to No. 13 Michigan. Additionally, UF and Columbia shared a common opponent in USF, in which the Lions swept the Bulls with ease, 7-0. The six-time defending Ivy League champions reached the NCAA Sweet 16 last season and are led by three players ranked in the ITA Top 125 in No. 20 Jack Lin (2-2), No. 99 Alex Kotzen (4-0) and No. 109 Jackie Tang (2-1). The Lions also hold the fifth-ranked doubles tandem in the country in Jack Lin and Jackie Tang, who won the ITA All-American Doubles titles this past fall.

Series History: 5-0, UF leads (First meeting under Bryan Shelton)
Last Meeting: March 18, 1989 in Tampa, Fla. – W, 6-3 under Ian Duvenhage

ITA NATIONAL TEAM INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS INFO

Event Page: https://www.wearecollegetennis.com/events/d1-mens-indoors/
Venue: Nielsen Tennis Stadium (University of Wisconsin – Madison, Wis.)
Live Stats: http://scores.tennisticker.de/usa/ita/mi2020/lp.html?lid=224
Live Video: https://uwbadgers.com/sports/2016/11/1/tennis-video-streams.aspx?id=1239
Schedule of Play (Central Time):
- Fri., Feb. 14 (Round of 16) – 9 a.m.; 12 p.m.; 3:30 p.m.; 6:30 p.m.
- Sat., Feb. 15 (Quarterfinals/Consolation) - 9 a.m.; 12 p.m.; 3:30 p.m.; 6:30 p.m.
- Sun., Feb. 16 (Semifinals/Consolation) – 9 a.m.; 6:30 p.m.
- Mon., Feb. 17 (Finals) – Noon