Coming off a season in which the Gators were one match away from clinching the SEC Championship, UF’s men’s tennis players will look to push themselves one step further in 2016-17.
The Gators begin their journey to earn a conference title this weekend as they split up to compete in their first fall tournaments in Gainesville and Princeton, New Jersey.
The Gator Ranked +1 tournament brings nine teams including Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi State at UF’s Ring Tennis Complex.
Coach Bryan Shelton will stay in Gainesville with senior Chase Perez-Blanco, juniors McClain Kessler and Alfredo Perez, sophomore Johannes Ingildsen and freshman Duarte Vale.
The Ivy-Plus Invitational will host teams from the northeast including Penn State, Columbia, Yale and Harvard.
Volunteer assistant coach Scott Perelman will travel to Princeton, New Jersey, with senior Jordan Belga, sophomore Stephen Madonia and freshman Andy Andrade for the tournament.
“It’s a good opportunity for Coach Perelman to be in charge of that group that’s going up to Princeton and get to know those guys in a better way...with a small group you can get a lot closer...and build trust,” Shelton said.
Shelton’s also not concerned with grading the team on wins and losses this weekend, but more so on how the team competes, how well they “control the controllables” and how well they deal with adversity.
This will be the first time the team has competed all season. This fall, they’ve been focusing a lot on things inside the gym, including 6 a.m. workouts four days a week, but this weekend will put that work to the test.
“Our team motto is rise and grind,” Kessler said.
In addition to a team motto, they have also established goals for the fall season on a personal level and as a team.
“I think a big goal for all of us individually and just us as a team is to try to have everyone at least get a ranking from the fall,” Belga said. “It would definitely look good for all of us and give each of us a confidence boost, but also be really good establishment for the program.”
In the Gator Ranked +1 tournament, half of the players are ranked in the ITA top-125 rankings and three of them are in the top 20. Four Gators hold ITA rankings with Perez having the highest ranking in the tournament at No. 7.
The Ranked +1 tournament is special because it is designed to allow any competing team to bring a ranked student-athlete inside the ITA top-125, and for every ranked player it can also bring one student-athlete on its team who is not ranked.
“It’s going to be a really, really strong field, so great opportunities for everybody to get ranked wins this weekend and compete against some of the best players in the country,” Shelton said.
The draws for Friday in both tournaments will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude on Sunday.
You can follow Mari Faiello on Twitter @faiello_mari, and contact her at mfaiello@alligator.org.
Senior Chase Perez-Blanco and two of his teammates will be recognized for their contributions to the team before tonight's Senior Day matchup with Alabama.
