Chase Wood felt the joy of a win in the Florida State-Florida rivalry as a freshman, when his Seminoles took a tight, 4-3 win in 2018. But the Gators have claimed the last three meetings, including in the NCAA tournament last spring, raising the stakes for Saturday’s College MatchDay.

“It’s huge. Right when the schedule comes out, all of us just circle it on our calendar,” said Wood, an FSU junior and team co-captain. “One of our goals is to beat the Gators. Every day, we always have that in our heads, and we always try to work our hardest to try to achieve that goal.”

Wood’s biggest collegiate moment came when he clinched a 4-3 win against then-No. 1 Wake Forest as a freshman. His 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Julian Zlobinsky remains a fond memory, but College MatchDay takes things to a new level.

“Playing in front of 2,000 or so fans, it’s just such a cool experience,” said Wood, who will be competing at the USTA National Campus event for the third straight season. “Being able to play on Tennis Channel and against the Gators, the No. 2 team in the country and one of our rivals… all that together, the feeling’s just so surreal.”

Hailing from Knoxville, Tenn., Wood plans to finish his undergraduate studies in the entrepreneurship school at Florida State, with a long-term ambition to work in commercial real estate. He also has a summer internship set up in Austin, Texas, with a home-building site to learn more about real estate and construction.

But for now, it’s all about tennis… and gaining revenge on the Gators. 

“Chase is just the ultimate competitor and really battles,” said head coach Dwayne Hultquist. “He’s a remarkable person, a great student-athlete and a terrific guy. That’s why he’s one of our co-captains.”