The regular season is wrapping up for the Florida women’s tennis team with just four matches left until the Southeastern Conference Tournament in South Carolina.
The No. 6-ranked Florida Gators are on the road today when they face off with a Top 20 competitor, No. 20 Kentucky (15-7, 6-3 Southeastern Conference) at 5 p.m. at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center.
Florida (17-1, 9-0 SEC) leads the all-time series with the Wildcats 38-2—Florida concluded the 2014 regular season with a 4-1 win over Kentucky.
Junior Brianna Morgan and sophomore Belinda Woolcock contributed to the team success at last year’s contest, posting singles points in the victory.
This regular season, Morgan has clinched a team-leading six matches for the Gators.
In singles play, sophomore Kourtney Keegan holds the longest active winning streak by a Gator with a nine-match winning streak—she hasn’t dropped a set in nine matches.
The dynamic duo of Keegan and Brooke Austin have only dropped one doubles match this season and are undefeated in SEC doubles play.
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After three road matches, The No. 16 UF men’s tennis team returns to its home court to face No. 25 LSU on Friday at 5 p.m.
In Florida’s 2013-2014 season, the Gators faced the Tigers twice and swept them 4-0 in both appearances.
Although coach Bryan Shelton said those previous victories give the team momentum going into Friday’s match, he has no intention of allowing the team to let its guard down.
“It helps that we know these guys pretty well,” Shelton said. “But things change in a year. … Players develop, weaknesses get better, and strengths get stronger. I’m sure they are doing a great job of competing this season, I’ve seen their ranking go up.”
Despite the Gators’ recent success, the Tigers have a significant addition this time around: Jordan Daigle.
The sophomore transfer from Virginia stacked a 19-5 singles record in his freshman season with the Cavaliers and sits in LSU’s No. 1 spot this year.
“He’s playing some great tennis,” Shelton said. “He’s winning some big matches. That’s a big addition to their team. But we’ve added some nice pieces as well.”
With Florida’s last two home matches coming into play this Friday and Sunday, Shelton is confident that the team will provide positive results.
“I feel really good about this weekend and about what we’re about to do competitively,” Shelton said. “I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
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Brianna Morgan awaits a serve during Florida's 4-0 win against Maryland on Jan. 25 at the Ring Tennis Complex.
