After a quarterfinal exit in last year’s ITA Team Indoor Championships, the Gators enter 2012 qualifying as the team to beat.
One week after an impressive 6-1 victory at Baylor, No. 5 Florida will look to carry its momentum into the ITA Kick-Off weekend at Linder Stadium.
The event serves as a qualifying event for the ITA Team Indoor Championships, which will be held at the University of Virginia from Feb. 17-20.
Last year, the Gators defeated North Carolina State to earn a berth in the Indoor Championships in Seattle. Florida was eliminated by No. 21 Duke in the quarterfinals. This year, the Gators are the hosts and the highest-ranked team. In many ways, this weekend will be a better indicator of the team’s ability than last week’s match in Waco, Texas.
“This weekend is far more important to us than the Baylor match,” coach Andy Jackson said. “The main reason to play such a high-level opponent in the first match of the season is to get ready for the kick-off weekend.”
Florida’s opponents this weekend, however, are no slouches either. The Gators will host No. 55 New Mexico on Saturday at 10 a.m., before No. 33 Miami and No. 41 Wake Forest square off later in the day. The winners of each match will meet on Sunday for a berth in the Indoor Championships.
With all three teams in Gainesville ranked among the top 55 in the nation, Florida will be up against some tough competition. Three years ago, the Hurricanes defeated the Gators in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Gainesville.
“We play New Mexico first, who have a lot of seniors,” Jackson said, “And then, obviously, Miami is one of the few teams that have had some good success against us here at Florida.”
With last Sunday’s match serving as a good barometer of where the team stands, Jackson still feels the team has work to do. The Gators face a difficult schedule this season, including matches at No. 1 USC and No. 2 Virginia. While the slate of opponents seems challenging, Jackson is confident that his team will improve.
“We have a huge amount of improvement that we have to do, but I love the senior leadership we’re getting from Nassim Slilam. And I love that sort of team chemistry and work ethic of our team,” he said.
“We’re going to take some losses, but we’ve got to get better as the season goes on. That’s what the schedule is designed to do, but it can crack you if you don’t handle it the right way.”
