PENSACOLA, Fla.- The No. 8 West Florida men's tennis team will hit the road for their season opener against Shorter on Friday at 10:00 a.m. (EST) and Lee on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. (EST). The reigning Gulf South Conference champions look to continue their positive momentum after finishing 21-7 and 9-0 in the conference last season.

Friday's contest will be at the Walt Attaway Tennis Complex with Saturday's contest at the DeVos Tennis Center.

ABOUT UWF
The Argonauts came off an impressive season, winning their 14^th GSC Championship and 11^th  title under head coach Derrick Racine. UWF held a perfect 9-0 record against GSC opponents, making them the 2022 regular season champions. The Argos return eight athletes and welcome three newcomers and one transfer to the 2023 roster. Veterans the Argos will lean on this season include Facundo Bermejo, Tomas Descarrega, Sebastian Sotelo, and Bernardo Costa.

Tabbed as one of two Gulf South Conference teams in the Top-25, West Florida comes into the match ranked No. 8 according to the ITA. Last season, the Argos wrapped up the season as the No. 11 ranked team in the nation. Dynamic doubles duo, Bermejo and Descarrega, earned ITA All-American honors last season after their efforts as a pair. The two finished 16-4 overall and 8-1 in conference and were ranked as the No. 5 best doubles team in the nation. In the fall season, Bermejo and Descarrega were runner ups in the ITA Cup Doubles Final.

ABOUT SHORTER
The Hawks are 0-2 to start the 2023 season campaign with a close match against Christian Brothers, Shorter fell short to the Bucs 4-3. On Tuesday, the Hawks were swept 7-0 by the Lee Flames. Shorter wrapped up last season with a 2-11 overall record and 1-7 conference record. Juan Pablo Selle is at the helm of the Shorter men's and women's tennis program.

UWF vs. Shorter History
The Argos swept the Hawks 7-0 last April, winning from all positions in doubles and singles. This marks their seventh sweep against Shorter since 2012. With this win over the Hawks, West Florida had a perfect 13-0 season at the Ralph "Skeeter" Carson Tennis Complex.

ABOUT LEE
The Flames are undefeated with a 4-0 record to start the 2023 season. Newcomer Quinn Groenendijk has already earned a GSC Freshman of the Week award with Francisco Faria winning GSC Player of the Week. Faria is ranked No. 14 in the South Region with an undefeated 3-0 from the No. 2 position. Veteran Nico Ramirez has been battling for the No. 1 position with a 1-2 record. The Flames are 20-4 from singles and 9-2 in doubles.

UWF vs. LEE History
All three doubles matches were extremely close with UWF winning the lone point and the Argos won five out of six of the singles matches. The Argos were victorious 6-1, but not without a fight from the Flames. Both matches this weekend will put the Argos to the test early as the GSC is one of the toughest conference in Division II. 

How to Follow the Argos: For complete information on UWF Tennis, follow the team @TennisUWF on Twitter and @uwf_menstennis on Instagram.