For the UF men’s tennis team, spring break came early.
After a nearly three-week hiatus from action, No. 17 Florida (5-2) is warming up for its first Southeastern Conference match of the season against No. 7 Georgia (7-2) at 5:30 p.m.
The Gators started the break on a high note after defeating Florida State 4-2 in Tallahassee.
But despite not playing other teams during the three-week pause, it was far from a break in the eyes of the players and coaches.
"We’ve been working on a little bit of everything," coach Bryan Shelton said. "This break from matches have given us the opportunity to be healthy going into this match, so I feel like we’re at full strength and everybody is not only healthy but everyone is playing well."
As the team heads into the midst of its SEC season, the competition will increase.
But the Gators feel prepared for the tests that are to come.
One factor the team cites as an advantage is Florida’s weather.
"We have been able to play outdoors more than other teams in the SEC," sophomore Maxx Lipman said. "I know in Georgia its been snowing and the weather has been terrible in Athens so you know we’ve been indoors I think twice in the past two weeks and that’s huge for us."
While the team as a whole has shown improvement over the course of the past couple weeks, junior Diego Hidalgo has displayed progress with his 6-0 record while working his way onto the No. 1 court against the Bulldogs, moving the rest of the lineup down in rotation including Lipman.
"No matter where I play I just kind of want to get a win for the team you know, put a point on the board to help us," Lipman said.
"I have a really tough match against a good player but I kind of want to just go out there and play my game and find the confidence."
Success has not come easy to Florida this year, but the Gators continue to try and find a way to make the most out of each match.
Although Shelton said he is certain SEC teams will provide a test for his players, the third-year head coach said he is looking forward to seeing what the Gators are capable of.
"I feel like we’ve tried to place our guys under some pressure in practice but there’s no substitute for playing matches live against other teams," Shelton said.
"Hopefully Georgia is going to come in here, they have three quality double teams and that will be a test for our guys."
Follow Caylee Underwood on Twitter @CayUnderwood
Maxx Lipman swings at the ball during Florida’s 4-2 win against TCU on Jan. 26 at the Ring Tennis Complex.
