When the No. 7 Florida men’s tennis team takes on two of its in-state rivals this weekend, it will be led by the reigning Southeastern Conference Player of the Week.
Alexandre Lacroix received the honor Wednesday after an impressive performance in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend tournament. Lacroix is 4-0 in singles and doubles this year.
He will carry the Gators in today’s match against UCF, which will be the team’s last February appearance in Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.
After facing UCF, the Gators (4-0) will hit the road for the first time this spring to match up with rival Florida State, ranked No. 27 in the nation.
“Central Florida always plays us tough,” coach Andy Jackson said, “and this is Florida State’s best team in four or five years.”
The Seminoles’ only two losses were to No. 2 Southern California and No. 6 UCLA, and Jackson said it’s an advantage for FSU to have played teams of that quality.
“You can throw out all the rankings and record books when it comes to Florida-Florida State,” Jackson said. “We’re prepared to take their best shot.”
UF READIES FOR BAYLOR: Third-ranked Baylor will attempt to halt the No. 2 UF women’s tennis team’s 94-game regular-season home win streak on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Bears are a different animal than any team the Gators have faced this spring, coach Roland Thornqvist said.
“We’ve played some teams early on who didn’t really think they had a shot at beating us,” he said. “Baylor is going to come here thinking they can win, and they certainly have a powerful lineup.”
Baylor will feature three ranked singles players to face Florida’s formidable top three of Allie Will, Lauren Embree and Sofie Oyen.
“We have a young team, so we have to be ready, and it’s going to be interesting to see how we respond,” Thornqvist said.
Florida will also host No. 56 Florida International on Sunday at 1 p.m.
