JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Ospreys return to Jacksonville for their home opener against Mercer Friday followed up with a Sunday matinee against Buffalo at 12 p.m.

Schedule and Game Coverage:
What: UNF vs. Mercer | UNF vs. Buffalo
Where: Jacksonville, Fla. (UNF Tennis Complex)
When: Friday, Feb. 8 at 5 p.m. | Sunday, Feb. 10 at 12 p.m.
Live Coverage: Live Stats

Last Time Out
RALEIGH, N.C. - North Florida men's tennis (2-3) dropped its first bout with a top-25 opponent this season, falling 6-1 to No. 25 NC State (4-1) at the J.W. Isenhour Courts in Raleigh Saturday afternoon.

Federico Nani picked up his first win in dual competition as an Osprey, outlasting Ivan Saveljic at number-six singles, 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (11-9).

Against Our Opponents

• North Florida is 8-0 against Mercer in a series that dates back to 2006, North Florida's first full year at the Division I level. These two teams were former ASUN foes, although they haven't met since April 5, 2014, a match that would be suspended at 0-0.
• North Florida and Buffalo's last and only meeting was March 14, 1992. In their only meeting UNF topped the Bulls 5-1 in Jacksonville.

Taking Inventory

• North Florida returns five from last year's ASUN Championship team.
• Seniors Sahil Deshmukh and Till Von Winning are the top wins leaders from last year. Deshmukh went 19-13 and Von Winning went 16-13, both in singles play. Together they were 15-8 in doubles.
• Dominik Barton is the team's only freshman. He received the ASUN Men's Tennis Player of the Week honor for January 17.
• Barton has a team-best 3-2 record in dual competition this spring.
• UNF has two transfers in sophomore Jorge Nunez (Denver) and junior Federico Nani (Florida A&M).
• Head coach Matt Lucas was the associate head coach at Buffalo (2016-17), helping the Bulls to MAC regular season and tournament crowns.
• UNF recently added volunteer assistant coach Scott Webster. Webster played collegiately at Appalachian State, joining Lucas as the only Mountaineers to earn Sun Belt Freshman of the Year laurels.

Mercer Bears:
2019 Record: 3-4
2018 Record: 16-7, 5-1 SoCon
Head Coach: Eric Hayes (Sixth Season)
Head-to-Head: UNF leads, 8-0

• Mercer has played three matches against Power 5 schools this spring. It has lost to Arkansas twice and No. 20 Florida State.
• The Bears are coming off back-to-back wins, taking decisions against Alabama State (4-1) and UCONN (6-1).
• Head coach Eric Hayes was named the Southern Conference Coach of the Year last season. He coached Matt Lucas while at NC State in 2002.

Buffalo Bulls:
2019 Record: 1-1
2018 Record: 13-10
Head Coach: Lee Nickell (10th season)
Head-to-Head: UNF leads, 1-0

• Buffalo has only played two contests this season, downing Harvard 4-3 while falling to Temple, 4-3.
• The Bulls return all three of their MAC All-Conference honorees last year. Juniors Hao Sheng Koay and Vilhelm Fridell garnered first-team honors while senior Ethan Nittolo was a second-team selection.