The
Gators may have found a cure for their post-Southeastern Conference
Tournament hangover: the South Carolina State Bulldogs.
Florida silenced concerns Friday about the long layoff in between
its victory in the SEC Tournament final and the first round of the
NCAA Tournament.
UF
rolled to a 4-0 shutout of SCSU, nabbing the doubles point to go
along with singles victories by Spencer Newman, Nassim Slilam and
Sekou Bangoura Jr.
Florida advanced to the second round against Miami on Saturday at 3
p.m. The Hurricanes beat Nebraska 4-3 on Friday.
"We
got in and we earned the right to play a team that we're better
than. We beat the team that we're better than, we're in the second
round, it's an achievement and I'm proud of the guys," Jackson
said.
"Tomorrow, obviously the level goes up drastically to close to a
top-25 team and one of our biggest rivals. They beat us last time
we played them in a crushing defeat, one that really stung."
Jackson said his players improved Friday the longer the match went
on, citing a natural rustiness from the long layoff.
“It’s hard to play again after two weeks off with no competition
after the SEC Tournament,” said senior leader Alexandre Lacroix.
“We're just practicing every day and it’s hard to get back to it,
but I think we played good. We did the job and didn’t lose too much
energy and we'll be ready for tomorrow.”
Lacroix reached yet another milestone in his heralded career Friday
when he and Bangoura secured Lacroix's 100th career doubles
victory. He became the first player in UF history to reach the
plateau.
“That’s something that I’m extremely proud of him and [assistant
coach] Jeremy Bayon, all the work that they’ve done to develop his
doubles,” Jackson said. “As I’ve said many times this year, he
learned how to play doubles at the University of Florida, and we’ve
got some other guys that we need to have go down that same
path.”
Lacroix echoed Jackson's views, praising his coaches for shaping
him from a young player who had no experience in doubles into UF's
all-time leader. The match was also Lacroix's 207th career win
overall, just one shy of Justin O'Neal's school record.
But
Lacroix and Jackson didn't stay focused on the individual
achievement long.
The
Hurricanes last played the Gators in the second round of the 2009
NCAA Tournament, where Miami escaped with a 4-3 victory on
Florida's home turf.
"If
we don't handle the success, if we don't come to play, if we're not
sharp and if we think Miami's going to give it to us, it'll be
over," Jackson said.
