After a 7-0 win against FAU, the Gators now take on USF’s squad.
Sunday’s meet will be the Bulls’ first contest of the season, where they will hope to break a streak of 10 straight losses to the Gators. Florida’s all time record against USF is 50-3.
Due to a shortened 2020 season, USF finished at 9-4 just as they were picking up pace with a four-game win streak.
Although the matchups haven’t been set, captains Duarte Vale and Sam Raffice will likely pair up as they did Saturday. The two are ranked at No. 45 and communicate and move swiftly as they return into position for each volley.
Ben Shelton will likely be in action again after his 6-2 (5), 6-2 singles victory and his 6-3 doubles win with partner Johannes Ingildsen.
There were three inactives for UF on Saturday because FAU didn’t have enough players. No. 96 Lukas Greif, sophomore Will Grant and senior Josh Goodger may now take the court against USF.
To coach Bryan Shelton, the Bulls don’t pose a threat to the Gators.
“No, our guys are in shape,” he said. “I feel like we’re not in our best shape, but we’re in good enough shape to be able to come back again and this is going to be great preparation for us moving forward.”
Shelton, however, is nervous about hitting the road to Austin, Texas, where his team will play Oklahoma State, Texas and Arizona on another back-to-back weekend.
The matchup begins at 1 p.m. Jan. 16 and will stream on FloridaGators.com
Contact Jesse Richardson at jrichardson@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @JesseRich352
