The Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center at Ole Miss is a unique place to play.
Different from the typical six courts aligned side-by-side, the Rebels’ court features rows of stands placed every two courts. Each player will see and feel the presence of fans a mere 10 feet away.
And they won’t be cheering for Florida.
When No. 13 Florida (9-2, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) travels to Oxford on Friday to begin a three game, two-week road trip, it will feel the full effect of a hostile environment.
"Usually on a Friday afternoon they have all the fraternities out there ... It’ll be extra tricky for us," coach Roland Thornqvist said. "That’s the SEC, it’s the SEC way, so we better get used to it."
Thornqvist said his players need to have thick skin. Friday will be the first time the crowd will be that close to Florida, and Thornqvist doesn’t want his players to get distracted.
But the opposing players will be even more hostile than the fans.
The Gators will be facing an Ole Miss (8-3, 1-3 SEC) team that has lost three of its last four games, including recent back-to-back 4-3 losses against No. 18 LSU and No. 14 Texas A&M.
But the Rebels started the season 7-0, including a 4-3 win over then-No. 8 Stanford — a team Florida lost to earlier this season.
Ole Miss won’t be easy, and as soon as that matchup is done, the Gators will head to Starkville for a matchup with Mississippi State.
Thornqvist views it as another important challenge — one that will help his team get more road experience and prepare the players for the postseason. The trip to Oxford will be the first time Florida takes to the road since its California road trip at the end of February, when the Gators emerged 0-2.
But for a team with ranked doubles pairings and singles players, it’s a challenge they’re looking forward to.
Despite dropping their first doubles point against No. 26 Kentucky, Thornqvist wasn’t worried. He stressed to his team that they won’t always win every doubles point because of how much the SEC has improved and because of the new scoring format, which features doubles matches played to six points with no advantages as opposed to eight points with advantages.
But what Florida lacked in doubles, it made up for in singles, as the Gators took all six matches against Kentucky.
And against reigning national champion Vanderbilt, Florida was back to its normal self, winning 4-2. The Gators will need to be in similar form if they want to leave this weekend with two road wins.
"It’s exciting to go on the road, too. It gives us a chance to spend some time together," Thornqvist said. "...Ole Miss and Mississippi State. They’re really good."
Contact Jake Dreilinger at jdreilinger@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @DreilingerJake.
UF women’s tennis coach Roland Thornqvist smiles during introductions prior to Florida’s win over USF on Jan. 27, 2016, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
