When the Florida women’s tennis team hosts UCF on Wednesday, the expectation will be a clean sweep.
The No. 1 Gators are simply a different class of team. Every match, no matter who is across the court, will be accompanied by an expectation of victory.
Coming off a national championship with a team full of proven winners, there is always the possibility of becoming complacent. Florida has not lost since Feb. 21 last year, and victory has seemingly become a way of life.
However, in this new and young season, no one is satisfied yet.
“There will be a lot of great teams this year, a lot of good competition, so I really don’t think (complacency) is an issue,” Joanna Mather said.
As one of two seniors, Mather could be expected to be the leader and chief motivator. But the team returns all of its key members, and each player has taken it upon herself to continue to get better.
“(The leadership) is spread out,” she said. “This team is really good at knowing what they need to do and making sure they do it. As far as leadership role, if you consider my spot a leadership role, it’s very easy.”
With unranked UCF coming to Gainesville Wednesday, the Gators will face their second straight match in which they are overwhelming favorites. More than anything, the dual match will be another chance to improve heading into a challenging match at No. 5 Baylor.
The players maintain that they will not overlook any opponent, regardless of ranking.
“I don’t want us to get complacent,” sophomore Olivia Janowicz said. “We had a meeting the other day, and we don’t want to expect the same things. As long as we’re not complacent and we keep fighting, we want it just as bad or even more.”
Expectations are going to be high all season, and rightfully so. The Gators have some of the best singles players and doubles teams in the nation, a top-notch coach, and a national championship to defend.
The team put together a challenging schedule, including the trips to Baylor this weekend and No. 2 Stanford next weekend. This continual challenge is something that will keep Florida on its toes.
When it comes to playing teams like UCF, however, the challenge is avoiding letdowns.
“Every match is another match for us,” Mather said. “We’re just going to take it as another step towards our goal at the end of the year.”
