GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A road trip to Mississippi State and LSU will commence conference play this week for the No. 19 Florida men’s tennis team. The Gators will begin the SEC slate at No. 18 Mississippi State (11-1, 0-0 SEC) on Thursday, March 2 at 4 p.m. ET followed by a trip to No. 34 LSU (8-1, 0-0 SEC) on Saturday, March 4 at 1 p.m. ET.
With Bryan Shelton at the helm, the Gators are 7-3 in SEC openers and have won five-straight matches to begin SEC play dating back through 2018. Additionally, it’s the first time Florida will open SEC play with two road matches since 2016.
The match against No. 18 Mississippi State will be Florida’s seventh straight meeting with a top-20 team and it’s the second consecutive season the Gators have faced seven consecutive top-20 opponents.
The 2023 SEC opener will be a rematch of the intense ITA Kickoff Weekend championship match in Gainesville when the Gators beat Mississippi State, 4-2, to punch their ticket to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship. Florida returns to the court after going 1-2 at ITA Indoors and finishing the tournament with a 4-2 win over No. 10 Baylor.
Will Grant earned SEC Player of the Week honors on Feb. 22 for his standout performance at ITA Indoors. The junior went 3-0 in No. 1 doubles with Axel Nefve and 2-0 in No. 2 singles, including a ranked-win over North Carolina’s No. 19 Ryan Seggerman in straight sets.
Led by No. 73 Grant, Florida is the only team in the Southeastern Conference with four ranked singles players and two ranked doubles pairs.
GATORS IN THE RANKINGS
Doubles
No. 31 Will Grant/Axel Nefve
No. 34 Tanapatt Nirundorn/Togan Tokac
Singles
No. 73 Will Grant
No. 79 Jonah Braswell
No. 83 Nate Bonetto
No. 109 Axel Nefve
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Mississippi State is on a six-match winning-streak since falling to Florida at ITA Kickoff Weekend, highlighted by a 4-3 win at No. 15 Florida State. Petar Jovanovic and Carles Hernadez, ranked No. 107 and No. 113, respectively, were the only Bulldogs to earn wins against the Gators. Florida has won the last five matches against Mississippi State and holds the series advantage 44-20.
LSU is riding an eight-match winning-streak and their lone loss came to then-No. 15 Georgia, 4-1, in their only match against a top-25 ranked-opponent this season. In the Tigers’ last four matches, they haven’t dropped a single point and notably beat No. 58 Louisiana 4-0. Leading LSU is No. 30 Ronnie Hohmann from the top singles…
With Bryan Shelton at the helm, the Gators are 7-3 in SEC openers and have won five-straight matches to begin SEC play dating back through 2018. Additionally, it’s the first time Florida will open SEC play with two road matches since 2016.
The match against No. 18 Mississippi State will be Florida’s seventh straight meeting with a top-20 team and it’s the second consecutive season the Gators have faced seven consecutive top-20 opponents.
The 2023 SEC opener will be a rematch of the intense ITA Kickoff Weekend championship match in Gainesville when the Gators beat Mississippi State, 4-2, to punch their ticket to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship. Florida returns to the court after going 1-2 at ITA Indoors and finishing the tournament with a 4-2 win over No. 10 Baylor.
Will Grant earned SEC Player of the Week honors on Feb. 22 for his standout performance at ITA Indoors. The junior went 3-0 in No. 1 doubles with Axel Nefve and 2-0 in No. 2 singles, including a ranked-win over North Carolina’s No. 19 Ryan Seggerman in straight sets.
Led by No. 73 Grant, Florida is the only team in the Southeastern Conference with four ranked singles players and two ranked doubles pairs.
GATORS IN THE RANKINGS
Doubles
No. 31 Will Grant/Axel Nefve
No. 34 Tanapatt Nirundorn/Togan Tokac
Singles
No. 73 Will Grant
No. 79 Jonah Braswell
No. 83 Nate Bonetto
No. 109 Axel Nefve
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Mississippi State is on a six-match winning-streak since falling to Florida at ITA Kickoff Weekend, highlighted by a 4-3 win at No. 15 Florida State. Petar Jovanovic and Carles Hernadez, ranked No. 107 and No. 113, respectively, were the only Bulldogs to earn wins against the Gators. Florida has won the last five matches against Mississippi State and holds the series advantage 44-20.
LSU is riding an eight-match winning-streak and their lone loss came to then-No. 15 Georgia, 4-1, in their only match against a top-25 ranked-opponent this season. In the Tigers’ last four matches, they haven’t dropped a single point and notably beat No. 58 Louisiana 4-0. Leading LSU is No. 30 Ronnie Hohmann from the top singles…
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