(TEN) SEC Tennis Tourneys

thanks for all the updates. Hard to believe that we have fallen this far. We were once a tennis school especially women.

 

Both tennis programs will continue to move towards their former national status. In today's world of collegiate sports it takes NIL available money and facilities that attract athletes.

 

How is Florida's NIL for tennis? I see all the higher UTR rated (over 13) transfers going to other schools, mainly Ohio State, Texas, TCU, Wake and even Georgia. I know UTR rating is not the end all in recruiting, but bringing in upper classmen that have UTR ratings in the mid 12's does nothing to build the roster. All the top college players are in the higher end 13 and up into the 14 rated UTR ratings. Johnson was a decent transfer, but wouldn't crack the top 6 at the other top programs. Paliska and Cordova shouldn't be anywhere close to being on a roster at a school like UF.

It's the same with the younger recruits as well. I don't see any of the top recruits, even the ones from Florida, going to Florida. I worry about guys like Ganesan transferring out like Kim and Braswell last year. Florida seems stuck with average players. Like you said, they are in the need of top end talent. I would say at least two top end players.

 

You are correct about the Universal Tennis Rating system as it applies to potential success at the collegiate level. Florida does have NIL money, but I could not tell you the exact amount. Every college coach is now required to "re-recruit" their athletes each year because of the Portal and NIL money. Braswell and Kim were both recruited by our former coach Bryan Shelton. That played into those two players decision to leave Florida. Braswell was specifically drawn to Texas because he had a chance to play with his brother. It was very difficult for him to leave Florida because he was happy at UF. Kim on the other hand was drawn to Ohio State because of its proximity to home and the obvious Buckeye success they have enjoyed under long time coach Ty Tucker. Additionally, Ohio State does possess a good deal of NIL money for men's tennis. I have no idea at this point if any of the current players will enter the portal, which just opened for the next month concerning tennis players. The bottom line is Coach Steinberg, who has been successful at most of his stops, including Michigan, knows it is imperative that we step up recruiting. Last year, his first one at Florida, he was dealing with two major issues. He was dealing with a roster populated with players another coach had brought to our university and secondly, he had no idea if his assistant coaches brought to Florida by Shelton would stay or seek other coaching situations. This year his roster almost entirely consisted of players he recruited to Florida. Many of whom are "program builders" who will set a foundation for the program as it moves forward. I could not agree with you more in that Florida needs to recruit one or two players who can play in the top three singles spots or next year will be a repeat of this season. It does not matter if the potential recruits are freshman or players secured through the portal. Coach Steinberg is a big proponent of his system, which is always team first. The transition from the former Gator coach's program and Coach Steinberg will take time to rebuild, but we all know that acquiring top level talent is the ultimate goal. I like our new assistant coaches in Coach Rossi and Coach Koller. They are all in regarding Gator Men's Tennis. Here's hoping that all their hard work will pay dividends on the practice court and recruiting trail. Go Gators!