While many students are spending next week in warm-weather locations soaking up the sun, the Wisconsin men's tennis team will be, too. But the Badgers have a little tennis business to take care of before they get to enjoy the Sunshine State.

Wisconsin will journey down to Florida next week, where they take on South Florida and Florida Atlantic.

The team, including sophomore Jeremy Sonkin, is excited to making the trip down South.

"After last year, getting a lot of great competition and having a lot of fun, I'm really looking forward to [the trip]," Sonkin said.

Sonkin expressed a little regret at not getting another shot at Miami (Fla.), who the Badgers contended with on their trip last year, but he still is ready for a couple of difficult matches in Florida.

"It's a different schedule this year," Sonkin said. "It would have been nice to play Miami again because they are a really tough team, and it would have been nice to try and get that win for our team, but either way, we're playing two tough matches."

UW head coach Greg Van Emburgh views the trip as a chance for his team to get some more experience outdoors and hopefully keep their winning ways alive as they take a break from Big Ten play.

"I think our trip to Florida is a great opportunity for us to go down there and get outdoors," Van Emburgh said. "It gets us two good, solid matches down there. Hopefully we'll go down there and get two good wins, and bring that momentum back to our match with Michigan March 25."

Sonkin also sees the trip as a chance for the team to get more experience outside, but he is confident that the team will be able to adjust to the weather and outdoor playing surface.

"It's always a battle for us because we've been indoor, and now we have to go and play them in their territory outside, and it's a whole new adjustment," Sonkin said. "So they have that up on us before we get there, but I believe in these guys."

Wisconsin plays their first opponent, Florida Atlantic, next Tuesday afternoon in Boca Raton. The Owls' lone win on the season came on Feb. 3 against Jacksonville. The Badgers knocked off the Owls on their southern swing last year but dropped their match with the Owls the previous year.

Next up for the Badgers is their first match ever against the Bulls of South Florida on Saint Patrick's Day. The Bulls defeated Georgia State 5-2 for their only victory of the season thus far.

No. 24 singles player Dirk Britzen, who will provide another tough challenge for Sonkin at the top singles position, leads South Florida.