Sunday, March 12
Gainesville, FL
12 PM
Florida Gators
vs
Alabama
No. 16 Gators Clash with No. 66 Crimson Tide in Sunday SEC Home Opener
Saturday, March 11, 2023 | Men's Tennis
The Sunday showdown will be Florida’s first home match since Jan. 28.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After more than a month away, the No. 16 Florida men's tennis team (6-6, 1-1 SEC) return to the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex on Sunday at noon ET in the Gators' SEC home opener against No. 66 Alabama Crimson Tide (8-7, 0-2 SEC).
Entering Sunday, the Gators have claimed the last 14 meetings with the Crimson Tide and own a 45-20 record in the all-time series. Against Alabama, Florida has not lost at home since 2008 and are 10-0 under Head Coach Bryan Shelton.
Florida began the first two matches of SEC play on the road for the first time since 2016, splitting the pair after bouncing back from a loss to No. 18 Mississippi State (5-2) by defeating No. 34 LSU (6-1).
Both No. 72 Will Grant and Olek Orlikowski jumped out to 2-0 starts at court two and six, respectively, in the conference with straight set wins in each. The win over LSU marked the second time this season the Gators have earned six points in a dual match after beating UCF 6-1 on Jan. 21. In both matches against LSU and UCF, Florida claimed the doubles point and won five of the six singles matches.
The doubles play has shown how important it can be, as the Gators are 6-2 when winning the doubles point. At court two against LSU, the new pair of Nate Bonetto/Tanapatt Nirundorn clinched the point for Florida in their second match together after Will Grant/Axel Nefve took down their fourth ranked duo of dual play.
In the ITA's latest rankings released on March 7, the Gators were one of three teams in the country boasting four ranked singles players and two top 20 ranked doubles pairs. Additionally, Florida remained in the top 20 for the 113th straight week dating back to March 15, 2016.
MATCHDAY PROMO
Florida tennis snapback hats will be handed out to the first 100 fans in attendance. First serve is slated for 12 p.m.
GATORS IN THE RANKINGS
Doubles
No. 18 Will Grant/Axel Nefve
No. 19 Tanapatt Nirundorn/Togan Tokac
Singles
No. 72 Will Grant
No. 79 Jonah Braswell
No. 103 Axel Nefve
No. 119 Nate Bonetto
SCOUTING THE CRIMSON TIDE
After losing to No. 5 South Carolina in Columbia (7-0) and to No. 9 Georgia at home (6-1), the Crimson Tide enter Gainesville on a five-match losing streak and are 0-2 to begin SEC play. With an overall record of 8-7, Alabama's best win came against No. 59 Wisconsin, 4-3.
Florida last faced Alabama last season on April 8, winning 5-2, and the Tide return four players from that match's singles lineup. Their lineup is led by No. 63 Enzo Aguiard and Filip Planinsek at the top two positions.
CRIMSON TIDE IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
No. 63 Enzo Aguiard
ATTEDNACE/PARKING
Admission into the event is free. Parking will be available in the green lot at the tennis complex.
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Entering Sunday, the Gators have claimed the last 14 meetings with the Crimson Tide and own a 45-20 record in the all-time series. Against Alabama, Florida has not lost at home since 2008 and are 10-0 under Head Coach Bryan Shelton.
Florida began the first two matches of SEC play on the road for the first time since 2016, splitting the pair after bouncing back from a loss to No. 18 Mississippi State (5-2) by defeating No. 34 LSU (6-1).
Both No. 72 Will Grant and Olek Orlikowski jumped out to 2-0 starts at court two and six, respectively, in the conference with straight set wins in each. The win over LSU marked the second time this season the Gators have earned six points in a dual match after beating UCF 6-1 on Jan. 21. In both matches against LSU and UCF, Florida claimed the doubles point and won five of the six singles matches.
The doubles play has shown how important it can be, as the Gators are 6-2 when winning the doubles point. At court two against LSU, the new pair of Nate Bonetto/Tanapatt Nirundorn clinched the point for Florida in their second match together after Will Grant/Axel Nefve took down their fourth ranked duo of dual play.
In the ITA's latest rankings released on March 7, the Gators were one of three teams in the country boasting four ranked singles players and two top 20 ranked doubles pairs. Additionally, Florida remained in the top 20 for the 113th straight week dating back to March 15, 2016.
MATCHDAY PROMO
Florida tennis snapback hats will be handed out to the first 100 fans in attendance. First serve is slated for 12 p.m.
GATORS IN THE RANKINGS
Doubles
No. 18 Will Grant/Axel Nefve
No. 19 Tanapatt Nirundorn/Togan Tokac
Singles
No. 72 Will Grant
No. 79 Jonah Braswell
No. 103 Axel Nefve
No. 119 Nate Bonetto
SCOUTING THE CRIMSON TIDE
After losing to No. 5 South Carolina in Columbia (7-0) and to No. 9 Georgia at home (6-1), the Crimson Tide enter Gainesville on a five-match losing streak and are 0-2 to begin SEC play. With an overall record of 8-7, Alabama's best win came against No. 59 Wisconsin, 4-3.
Florida last faced Alabama last season on April 8, winning 5-2, and the Tide return four players from that match's singles lineup. Their lineup is led by No. 63 Enzo Aguiard and Filip Planinsek at the top two positions.
CRIMSON TIDE IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
No. 63 Enzo Aguiard
ATTEDNACE/PARKING
Admission into the event is free. Parking will be available in the green lot at the tennis complex.
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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