Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Sporting a 12-match winning streak, the No. 3 Florida Gators look to continue their winning ways as they hit the road for two SEC matches this week. On Friday, the Gators (17-2, 9-0 SEC) face the Alabama Crimson Tide (7-16, 0-8 SEC) in Tuscaloosa for a late contest starting at 7 p.m. on April 8. Then, Florida will compete against the No. 27-ranked Auburn Tigers (17-5, 5-3 SEC) on Sunday, April 10 at 1 p.m.

Twelve seems to be a lucky number for the Gators as the team not only won 12 matches in a row, but also clinched 12 doubles point in a row. In addition, No. 1-ranked singles player, Ben Shelton, is also on a 12-match win streak with nine of those matches coming against ranked opponents. No. 22 Sam Riffice has also won 10 consecutive singles matches, while No. 117 Josh Goodger is on a five-match win streak.

In doubles, all three teams have continued to dominate their opponents. The No. 25-ranked duo of Andy Andrade and Mattias Siimar have been a force at court two. The Gators are 9-1 in their last 10 matches, have a 13-2 dual match record and are a perfect 8-0 in conference. At No. 3 doubles, the pairing of Nate Bonetto and Duarte Vale have an impressive 6-1 dual record, while going 5-1 in league play. The No. 22 tandem of Riffice and Shelton are 8-2 in their last 10, with 10 total wins at court one and six wins against ranked teams.

Last weekend, the Gators went undefeated as they collected victories against both No. 38 LSU, 7-0, and No. 41 Vanderbilt, 6-1. Dating back to March 16, Florida has only given up three total points in their matches as they have swept three of their six opponents faced. Overall, the Gators are 9-0 at home and in conference play, and hold a 14-2 record over ranked teams.

On Wednesday, the ITA released its weekly rankings as the Gators dropped to No. 3 in the poll after holding the top spot last week. Florida also saw six singles players ranked in singles, which ties both Ohio State and Michigan for the most singles players ranked in the nation. In addition, three Gators doubles teams found themselves a spot in the rankings.

Since March 2, Shelton has held the No. 1 spot, followed by Riffice, who went up four spots, at No. 22. Vale is next at No. 108, Goodger checks in at No. 117, followed by Siimar and Andrade at No. 120 and No. 125, respectively. In doubles, Riffice and Shelton are the highest ranked Florida tandem at No. 22, Andrade and Siimar are just behind at No. 25, while Siimar and Abedallah Shelbayh round out the doubles rankings at No. 45.

Scouting the Opponents

Alabama comes into Friday's match with a 7-16 overall record as Florida leads the all-time series with a 44-20 advantage. In the two team's last meeting on Feb. 19, 2021, the Gators only dropped one point as they defeated the Crimson Tide, 6-1. In the rankings, Alabama has one player ranked in singles as Filip Planinsek sits at No. 60. In doubles, Planinsek and teammate, German Samofalov, are ranked No. 48.

Auburn and Florida have met 62 times in program history, with the Gators winning 47 of those meetings. The No. 27 Tigers boast an impressive 17-5 record and are 5-3 in conference play. Auburn tallied wins against Tulane, LSU, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and, most recently, Texas A&M. Like Alabama, the Tigers have one player in singles and one doubles team ranked by the ITA. Tyler Stice comes in at No. 46 for Auburn, while the doubles pair of Tad Maclean and Finn Murgett are ranked No. 36. The Tigers will play South Carolina on Friday before hosting the Gators in a Sunday matchup.

Opponents in the rankings
Singles
Alabama
No. 60 Filip Planinsek

Auburn
No. 46 Tyler Stice

Doubles
Alabama
No. 48 Filip Planinsek/German Samofalov

Auburn
No. 36 Tad Maclean/Finn Murgett

Gators in the rankings
Singles
No. 1 Ben Shelton
No. 22 Sam Riffice
No. 108 Duarte Vale
No. 117 Josh Goodger
No. 120 Mattias Siimar
No. 125 Andy Andrade

Doubles
No. 22 Sam Riffice/Ben Shelton
No. 25 Andy Andrade/Mattias Siimar
No. 45 Abedallah Shelbayh/Mattias Siimar

FOLLOW ALONG
There are multiple ways to follow along with the matches this weekend.

Cracked Racquets and the SEC Network announced a partnership for Redzone coverage on all Friday matches for the remainder of the season. The link to watch these broadcasts can be found here.

Both Alabama and Auburn will have live video and live stats available for the match. Alabama's live stats link can be found here, and its live video link is available here. Auburn's live video is on PlaySight, while its live stats are through StatBroadcast.

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