No. 2 Florida is ready to defend its NCAA title.
The Gators advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 in Athens, Ga., after beating Washington 6-0 on Saturday. This marks the eighth straight season Florida has made it to the Sweet 16.
The Gators will face the 15th-ranked Michigan Wolverines (21-7) in their upcoming Round of 16 match tonight at 7. Florida is 2-0 all-time against Michigan, with their last victory coming in 2010. Michigan is coming off a 4-3 victory over Texas A&M in the previous round.
“Right now we’re really focused on Michigan and we know that they’re a great team,” said junior Lauren Embree. “We played them at indoors my freshman year and they gave us a run, so it’s going to be tough.”
Embree and senior Joanna Mather lead the way for Florida. After Saturday’s victory, the duo improved their doubles records to 25-2 this year, and 51-7 all-time. Saturday’s match was Mather’s last in Gainesville, where she helped the Gators go 54-0 during her tenure.
“Now I can say that I don’t know what it feels like to lose at home,” Mather said.
Florida is riding high after shutting out South Carolina State and Washington State in the first two rounds of the tournament, and they are excited to continue deeper into the tournament.
“This is what we’ve been training for the whole year,” Mather said. “It feels good to come out and get to play more matches. We’re excited to go back to Athens and hopefully keep going.”
The men’s team is also going to Athens to compete in the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament after defeating Harvard 4-0 on Sunday. UF will face No. 5 Ohio State on May 18.
Coach Andy Jackson said the team has achieved most of its goals this season, and they look forward to trying to continue playing the way they have.
“Two of our main goals for the year are to host regionals and then be able to go to the Sweet 16,” Jackson said. “So we’re excited to be playing [Ohio State] and we know that we can compete with anybody.”
