Bears Set To Battle Ospreys, Gators This Weekend

Friday, February 28

Macon, Ga.

2:30 p.m.

Mercer University

North Florida

Bears Set To Battle Ospreys, Gators This Weekend

2/27/2020 3:15:00 PM | Men's Tennis

@MercerMTennis

Mercer will host North Florida tomorrow before traveling to No. 6 Florida on Sunday

By: Kraig Doremus

MACON, Ga. – Coach Eric Hayes and the Mercer men's tennis team will host North Florida tomorrow and travel to Gainesville, Fla. to face the sixth-ranked Florida Gators on Sunday.

Mercer's Olivier Stuart held steady at 46^th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) singles poll. Stuart has won back-to-back SoCon Player of the Week honors and is the only Bear to have a winning record in singles action. With 10 matches under his belt he is 7-3 overall.

Gameday Lineup (North Florida)
Date: Friday, February 28, 2020 | 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Teams: Mercer (3-8, 0-0 SoCon) vs. North Florida (4-0, 0-0 ASUN)
Location: Macon, Ga. / LeRoy Peddy Tennis Center

Scouting the Ospreys
North Florida has not lost in 2020 and has four wins to its credit. The Ospreys are a combined 11-0 between the No. 2, 5 and 6 flights. Nilo Duarte is 3-0 in the spring season with one win in the top flight and two victories in the No. 2 position. Joe Ellis and Jorge Nunez are both 2-0. As a team, North Florida is 16-6 in singles matches.

In doubles play, Federico Nani and Jorge Nunez lead the way with a 3-0 record. The duo picked up one win in the No. 1 position and earned two of their three wins in the No. 2 flight. At No. 3, Nilo Duarte and Patrick Kotan are 2-0.

Mercer is winless in nine matches against North Florida. The Bears and Ospreys first met in 2006.

Gameday Lineup (No. 6 Florida)
Date: Sunday, March 1, 2020 | 3:30 p.m. (ET)
Teams: Mercer (3-8, 0-0 SoCon) at No. 6 Florida (11-2, 0-0 SEC)
Location: Gainesville. Fla. / Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
Live Stats: Click here
Watch Live: Click here

Scouting the Gators
The sixth-ranked Gators are 11-2 with their only losses coming to the No. 4 Texas Longhorns (Jan. 15) and to No. 2 North Carolina Tar Heels (Feb. 15) in the semifinals of ITA National Team Indoor Championships.

The Gators have six players ranked in the ITA singles poll. Sam Riffice is the only Gator in the top-five and sits fourth with 47.06 points. Oliver Crawford (18^th) and Durate Vale (21^st) both sit inside the top-25. Additional Florida players in the poll include Andy Andrade (84^th), Blaise Bicknell (90^th) and Lukas Greif (108^th).

Riffice, the top-ranked Gator in the singles poll is 5-2 with both losses coming to ranked opponents. Three Gators boast unblemished records with Johannes Ingildsen and Blaise Bicknell both 5-0. Will Grant is 1-0.

In doubles play, three of Florida's teams are ranked. Riffce and Oliver Crawford are 14^th in the ITA doubles poll. The duo is 5-0 in the No. 1 position. Ingildsen and Grant are 33^rd overall and are 6-1 between the No. 1 and 2 flights. The pair is 2-0 at No. 1 and 4-1 at No. 2. Ingildsen and Brian Berdusco are also ranked – sitting 51^st in the poll – yet the pair has not played together during the spring season.

Up Next
Mercer will return to action on Sunday, March 8 when it begins Southern Conference action by hosting the Chattanooga Mocs. First serve is set for 2:30 p.m. from the LeRoy Peddy Tennis Center.

Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Men's Tennis, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerMTennis (Twitter) and /MercerMensTennis (Facebook) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.