Both the Gators women’s and men’s tennis teams are back in action for the opening weekend of the spring season at home in the ITA Kickoff Weekend. The men’s team will open its 2019 campaign against William & Mary at 11 a.m., while the women’s team will take on UC Santa Barbara at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Men’s Team
Florida enters the season ranked fourth in the Oracle/ITA rankings following a 19-10 finish last season after falling to Texas A&M in the NCAA quarterfinals. The Gators continue their 17-year streak of being ranked in the preseason Top 25 with its highest rank since the 2006 season.
Led by seniors McClain Kessler and Alfredo Perez, Florida looks to return to the NCAA semifinals for the first time since 2005. Two-time All-American Perez and 2018 All-American Johannes Ingildsen look to pick up where they left off last season in doubles play, where they earned the No. 1 seed in the Fall National Championships before losing in the quarterfinals. Ingildsen tallied a 21-13 doubles record, while fellow sophomore Oliver Crawford finished with a team-best 26-7 duos record.
The Gators also welcome five new freshmen into the rotation headlined by former No. 2 recruit in the nation Sam Riffice, along with five-star twins Harrison and Greyson Cacciatore, who were the No. 73 and 77 prospects in the nation, respectively.
Women’s Team
The No. 11 Florida women’s tennis team didn’t have an ideal start to dual-match play after losing to California 4-3 earlier this week. Coach Roland Thornqvist isn’t worried about his young squad, though, as he knows experience will come with time.
“We had five new players in the starting lineup today, and they had never represented Florida before,” Thornqvist said. “Clearly there were some jitters, but we have to get a little bit better at the end of sets and the way we process them.”
Thornqvist saw freshmen Marlee Zein and Sydney Berlin finish at the end of sets as they both picked up a win in the singles and doubles column in their first performances for Florida. McCartney Kessler also dominated in her first performance back easily, defeating Cal’s Julia Rosenqvist in straight sets.
The Gators will need a better performance from the rest of their squad if they hope to walk away with their first victory of the season against a talented UC Santa Barbara squad.
Florida will host the ITA Kickoff Weekend tournament on Saturday and Sunday at the Ring Tennis Complex. The men’s team invites William & Mary, Louisville and Florida Atlantic University to the Ring, while the women’s team welcomes UC Santa Barbara, Mississippi State and North Carolina State.
Follow Victor Prieto on Twitter @victorprieto_11 and contact him at vprieto@alligator.org.
McClain Kessler and the Gators' men's tennis team enter the season ranked fourth in the Oracle/ITA rankings following a 19-10 finish last season after falling to Texas A&M in the NCAA quarterfinals.
