On facing a top-10 team
“I think we’re looking forward to playing the Gators. We’re approaching it less as a challenge and more as an opportunity for us. They’re well-coached with high quality players who compete hard, so it’s a match that we look forward to for sure.”

On what adjustments he’ll look for out of new doubles pairings
“We’re looking to build on the pairs. I think the pairings that we have gives us a solid chance to win at all three spots. We liked what we saw throughout the last weekend. We’ve got to shape up on some things and we watched a lot of video and we’ll be playing with some adjustments out here today (Wednesday) in practice. I think by the weekend we’ll shape up but we’re always looking to grow.”

On how the team utilizes an extra day off during the week
“I think our guys, at this point in the season are definitely looking forward to the break. It gets us a chance to get back into practice. We’re putting a lot of emphasis on those doubles pairings, putting a lot of work into those, and this break gives us that opportunity. When you’re coming back from a Sunday match into a Friday match, you really only get two days of practice. We’re going to have a solid three or four day stretch of really getting after it and guys are really excited.” – Head Coach Josh Goffi

GAMECOCK NOTABLES

• No. 26 South Carolina jumped seven spots in this week’s Oracle/ ITA team rankings after putting up its first 2-0 weekend in SEC play.
• The Gamecocks, with two home matches remaining, including Sunday’s match against Florida, have now won three straight home SEC matches.
• South Carolina enters the week on the heels of home wins over No. 38 Arkansas and No. 36 Ole Miss last Friday and Sunday respectively.
• Paul Jubb (18-7, 6-1 SEC) posted his second 2-0 weekend of the season from the Gamecocks’ No. 2 singles position and is second in the SEC in singles wins during conference play.
• No. 46 Gabriel Friedrich (21-9, 4-4 SEC) snapped a four-match losing skid in singles play with a clutch 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over No. 41 Tim Sandkaulen of Ole Miss on Sunday.
• As the Gamecocks’ No. 1 singles player, Friedrich has now faced five straight ranked opponents and is currently seventh all-time in career matches vs. ranked singles players (46). Friedrich’s 10 matches against ranked foes this season are tied for the fourth most in school history.
• The Gamecocks’ No. 3 singles player, Yancy Dennis (22-10, 3-5 SEC), improved to 10-5 from that spot in the South Carolina lineup and has won three straight singles match ups after a 2-0 weekend last week.
• Wood Benton (18-12, 4-3 SEC) has helped to solidify the back half of the Gamecocks’ lineup this season and is also coming off a 2-0 weekend during singles play last week.
• Harrison O’Keefe (9-7, 4-4 SEC) currently ranks tied for seventh all-time with 22 career wins in SEC dual matches.

QUICK HITS: No. 10 Florida

• 10th-ranked Florida will travel to face top-ranked Wake Forest on Friday night in Wake Forest, N.C., before traveling to Columbia to take on the Gamecocks on Sunday.
• The Gators (13-5, 7-1 SEC) have won four straight and five of six matches overall, including wins over No. 36 Ole Miss and No. 38 Arkansas last week.
• The Gators have four ranked singles players in No. 8 Alfredo Perez, No. 11 Johannes Ingildsen, No. 51 Oliver Crawford and No. 87 Duarte Vale.
• Florida also boasts five different ranked doubles combinations, including the nation’s No. 1 doubles pair in Johannes Ingildsen and Alfredo Perez.
• The Gamecocks are just 5-30 all-time against Florida and have dropped the last five meetings. South Carolina’s last win was a 4-3 comeback in 2013 in which the Gamecocks rallied from a 3-1 deficit with the help of three-set wins from Thiago Pinheiro and Andrew Adams that decided the match.

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

The Gamecocks will make their final SEC road trip of the season next week as they travel to take on LSU on Fri., Apr. 6, at 6 p.m. ET, followed by a Sunday afternoon match at Texas A&M on Apr. 8, at 1 p.m. ET

For updates, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).