GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Men’s tennis will split the weekend with home and away matches. The team is set to take on the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington, Ky. on Friday, Feb. 27 at 5 p.m. and return home to face the South Carolina Gamecocks at noon on Sunday, March 1.

The team is looking for their first SEC win against the Wildcats on Friday, but it is not the first time the two teams have faced this season. The Gators were able to upset the then No. 23 Kentucky in ITA Kickoff Weekend to reach the finals against then No. 13 Columbia. The Gators look to repeat their success earlier in the season and carry that momentum to their home courts against No. 22 ranked South Carolina.

Recapping the Weekend

Last weekend, the Gators started SEC play on the road against Auburn and Georgia, but were not able to walk away with a win. The Tigers overpowered the Gators 6-1 and the Bulldogs pulled out the 4-1 win over Florida to end the opening weekend of conference play.

Kentucky Match Information

South Carolina Match Information

Facts About the ‘Cats

The Kentucky Wildcats are 8-4 on the season and are 1-1 in conference play with a win over Tennessee and a loss to Texas A&M. The Gators are 54-18 over the Wildcats after a win in the ITA Kickoff Weekend in January to help send the Gators to ITA National Indoors for the first time in three years. Kentucky has four players ranked in singles (No. 16 Eli Stephenson, No. 38 Jack Loutit, No. 91 Charlelie Cosnet and No. 94 Nicolas Arseneault) and two ranked doubles pairings (No. 23 Eli Stephenson/Jack Loutit and No. 59 Antoine Ghibaudo/Martin Breysach).

A Glance at the Gamecocks

The Gators are 33-9-1 against the Gamecocks and will play them for their first SEC home match this spring. South Carolina is currently 9-1 for the season and 2-0 in the conference. The Gamecocks have three ranked doubles pairings (No. 28 Paul Barbier Gazeu/Lucas Andrade Da Silva, No. 48 Sean Daryabeigi/Lucas Andrade Da Silva and No. 86 Sean Daryabeigi/Max Stenzer) and three ranked singles players (No. 44 Lucas Andrade Da Silva, No. 51 Sean Daryabeigi and No. 70 Paul Barbier Gazeu).

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