Both of the Gator tennis teams advanced to the round of 16 this weekend, winning in their respective regionals.
The men defeated Florida State yesterday in Tallahassee by a score of 4-3 -- after falling down 3-0. The dramatic victory pushed the men to the next round that will take place in Athens, GA. Unfortunately they'll have to face the home team Georgia Bulldogs, who happen to be ranked #1 in the land right now.
The women's tennis team knocked off visiting USF today at Linder Stadium 4-1 to advance to the next round -- which happens to be in Athens as well. Their next opponent will be the 13-seeded Baylor Bears on May 18th. The Georgia women may be waiting further down the road if the Gators are lucky enough to get past the Bears in their next matchup.
So we knocked 'em off in football (for the 14th time in the last 16 tries), embarassed 'em three times in basketball and beat 'em up on the baseball diamond over the last 12 months. Unfortunately we should all still be bitter about that beatdown the Dogs put on the Gators in the gymnastics championship last month. A victory over the Dogs in tennis may help mitigate some of that sour taste still remaining -- but it sure as heck won't be easy.
That being said, I enjoy seeing the SEC represented well at these type of events. If the Gators are not fortunate enough to advance to the championship you can bet I'll be cheering for a fellow conference school -- even if it is the Dogs.
Go Gators!