While some teams might be too highly ranked to start the season, the No. 2 Florida women’s tennis team makes sure to earn its ranking.
The Gators (4-0) have a history of going out of their way to schedule highly ranked opponents, as exemplified by the team’s upcoming schedule.
UF will take on No. 25 USF today at 5 p.m. at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex before going on a tough road trip at No. 5 North Carolina and No. 6 Duke this weekend.
Last spring, the Gators had a similar schedule, playing an astounding 25 ranked teams throughout the course of the season.
Of those 25 matches, the Gators only lost twice — to No. 3 Northwestern and No. 12 UCLA both at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
After tearing through a tough conference schedule, UF made a deep run in the NCAA Tournament before falling to No. 8 Stanford in the NCAA Finals.
This year’s schedule has been no different, as the Gators already playing three ranked teams, but the team will face its first true challenges this week.
“We’re playing teams who actually think they can beat us now,” coach Roland Thornqvist said.
With his team taking on its first top-25 opponents this season, Thornqvist said his team would have to take care of the little things in order to come out unscathed.
“When you’re playing teams of this quality in the early season, the little things matter more and more,” Thornqvist said.
Ultimately, he said, the Gators schedule these teams to find out how good they really are. Playing UNC and Duke will help Thornqvist’s team get ready for the ITA National Indoor Championships, which kick off on Feb. 18.
Before that, though, the Gators will have to take care of business at home against the Bulls, who have only lost at then-No. 13 Georgia Tech.
“We’ve just got to take care of the Gators,” Thornqvist said. “That’s always the most important thing.”
