Texas A&M improved to 4-3, including 2-1 in Southeastern Conference matches, after opening its SEC home slate with a 5-2 victory over No. 26 South Carolina on Friday.
Florida won its sixth consecutive match and improved to 11-1 overall and 3-0 in the SEC with a 4-0 victory at LSU on Friday.
"I know that our ladies are excited to matchup and compete with Florida,” A&M head coach Howard Joffe said. “I think everybody is hopeful that the weather holds because our last several outings with the Gators have produced some excellent matches.”
The all-time series, which did not begin until the Aggies joined the SEC, is knotted at 2-2 with A&M posting thrilling 4-3 last-match-standing upsets against the then-No. 4 Gators in each of the last two seasons.
A&M is 1-0 against Florida in matches played at the Mitchell Tennis Center, the site of the first-ever meeting on March 3, 2013. The Aggies upset the then-two-time defending national champion Gators, 4-3, snapping Florida's 45-match winning streak against SEC teams in conference regular-season, SEC Tournament and NCAA Championship matches combined after A&M's Nazari Urbina topped Florida's Alexandra Cercone, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1 in the last match standing.
Florida took a 2-1 lead in the series after defeating A&M at the 2013 SEC Tournament and downing the Aggies during the 2014 regular season. In the most recent meeting, however, then-No. 8 Texas A&M evened the series, 2-2, after knocking off four-time defending tournament champion and fourth-ranked Florida, 4-3, in the quarterfinals of the 2014 SEC Women's Tennis Championship at the Mizzou Tennis Complex in Columbia, Mo.
Sophomore Rachel Pierson, a transfer from the University of Virginia, leads the Aggies in singles victories with a 15-7 mark and is tied for the team lead in doubles wins with a 13-7 record. She also is the Aggies' highest ranked player in both categories, as her No. 40 singles ranking tops an A&M contingent of five players listed in this week's ITA rankings. She is No. 35 in doubles with Aggie lone freshman Eva Paalma.
Sophomores Saska Gavrilovska and Rutuja Bhosale are Nos. 54 and 59, respectively, in singles, and juniors Stefania Hristov and Ines Deheza are ranked 113th and 117th, respectively.
Deheza has had the hot hand as of late, winning her last five singles matches and improving to 3-0 in SEC matches. She also is 3-0 in SEC doubles matches with Hristov. The two, who played together for the first time in the SEC opener against Tennessee, have clinched the doubles point for the Aggies in thrilling tiebreakers in each of the last two matches.
The Gators, who have won or tied for 10 SEC regular-season championships since 2000, including four of the last five season titles, have six players listed in the ITA singles rankings. Freshman Brooke Austin is No. 2 in the nation, followed by freshman Josie Kuhlman at No. 9. Others ranked players are Brianna Morgan (16), Belinda Woolcock (26), Kortney Keegan (39) and Peggy Porter (95).
Florida also boasts three ranked doubles teams: No. 5 Austin/Keegan, No. 18 Kuhlman/Porter and No. 59 Morgan/Woolcock.
Live scoring of the match will be available at 12thMan.com.
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M women's tennis. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M women's tennis team on Twitter by following @AggieWTEN or on Facebook at Facebook.com/AggieWomensTennis.