The Florida men’s tennis team knows it can’t pass up the opportunity to win the SEC Tournament as the host after earning the conference regular season championship.
That has only happened once in the last 26 years, by co-champions Texas A&M in 2016.
Now the No. 3 Gators, who are on a 16 home match winning streak dating back to last year, will defend their home court this weekend.
“Our guys love playing here, in front of our boosters, our fans and their families,” coach Bryan Shelton said. “This is such a comfortable feel for our guys to play on these courts.”
Florida’s home success isn’t because it was blessed with an easy schedule. It’s the opposite.
UF has played nine matches against teams in the top 20, and five of those were at home. If the No. 1-seed Gators (20-2, 12-0 SEC) make it to the SEC Tournament final, their opponent would most likely be No. 2-seed Mississippi State or No. 3-seed Texas A&M. Florida beat both at home 5-2.
The crowds for those matches were among the best the Gators have seen this season and junior Johannes Ingildsen said it will be great again for the tournament.
The two matches Florida lost this season were at neutral sites to then-No. 5 USC (4-3) on Feb. 15 and then-No. 10 Stanford (4-1) on Feb. 17, both at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Chicago.
Florida isn’t a bad road team. It has beaten six top-30 teams away from Gainesville this season, and Shelton is grateful for the road success.
“I think the players have done a great job of being tough on the road,” he said. “That has given us the opportunity to play more matches at home in the postseason.”
The NCAA allows first, second and round of 16 matches to be played in one place. UF is expected to host all three rounds.
That advantage was evident during its last match, a 6-1 win against then-No. 18 South Carolina on Sunday.
Shelton knows it won’t be easy, despite UF hosting the tournament.
“We play in one of the toughest conferences in the country with some of the best coaches and athletes,” he said. “It’s going to be some great matches throughout the week, and I hope the community comes out and supports this tournament.”
Follow Noah Ram on Twitter @noah_ram1 and contact him at nram@alligator.org.
Coach Bryan Shelton led the Gators to the No. 1-seed in the SEC Tournament. They have won 16 straight home matches dating back to last year.
Noah is a third year journalism-sports and media student from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He has been with The Alligator since Spring 2019 and has covered men’s and women’s tennis, gymnastics and volleyball. When he isn’t on his beat, Noah is usually sadden over his beloved South Florida sports teams, such as the Heat and Dolphins.
