Florida has had some trouble on the road the season with five of its six losses coming on the road to UCLA, USC, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Texas A&M.
After playing at home for the past five matches, the Gators (9-6, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) will hit the road this weekend for a two-game road trip in Fayetteville, Ark., where they will take on the Arkansas Razorbacks on Friday at 4 p.m. and LSU on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Florida defeated Arkansas last season on March 31 in Gainesville with a clean 4-0 sweep. At that point in the season, the Gators were 10-8 and 4-4 in conference play. Coach Bryan Shelton was very pleased with his team’s performance against the Razorbacks last season.
“I thought we played smarter tennis,” said Shelton. “I think we used the lobs effectively in doubles and we used them in singles as well. We just played good, solid, smart tennis.”
Although they beat Arkansas last season, the Gators struggled and were defeated by LSU 4-2 in Gainesville. The team gave up the doubles point, leaving Mike Alford and Luke Johnson to earn the team's only two points in the match as well as in singles competition.
Despite the results last season, Florida is eager to play against LSU in hope of redemption.
“It’s nice to go into the [LSU] match and know that this team beat us last year – now, we have to prove something,” assistant coach Mark Merklein said.
Over the past five games, the Gators have gone 4-1 with their only loss coming against the then No. 16 Georgia Bulldogs, who are currently in first place in the SEC. Florida has also been playing better on both the singles and doubles court.
“We’re working hard, as always,” Merklein said. “Bryan has this team ready. We’re just excited. We’re on a little bit of a run now and we’re trying to just keep things going.”
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