Holmia and Doubles Team Advance To Quarterfinals

Friday, January 17

Norcross, GA

12:00 AM

Florida Gators

SEC Indoor Championships

Holmia and Doubles Team Advance To Quarterfinals

Saturday, January 18, 2003 | Men's Tennis

The University of Florida men's tennis team continued their first tournament of the new year on Friday as Janne Holmia advanced to the quarterfinals in singles action and a UF doubles team made it to the round as well at the 2003 SEC Men's Indoor Championships in Norcross, Ga.

Holmia, ranked 29^th in the preseason Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Preseason Rankings, defeated Paul White of LSU, 7-6 (3), 6-1. In the round of 16, Holmia upset fifth-seed and 14^th-ranked Chad Harris of Vanderbilt, 7-6, 6-1. On Saturday, Holmia will face LSU's Peter Richman at 11 a.m. Senior Olivier Levant and junior Trey Johnson also made it to the round of 16. Ranked 68^th, Levant was defeated by Paul Ciorascu of Ole Miss who is ranked 18^th and is the tournament's sixth-seed, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (5). It was Ciorascu who defeated the only other UF player in singles action on Friday, Eleazar Magallan, in the round of 32. After Magallan took the first set, Ciorascu rallied for a 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory. Johnson was defeated by Vanderbilt's Matthew Lockin, who ranks 99^th, by a score of 6-4, 6-4.

UF also had three doubles teams who played on Friday, with Matt Behrmann and Troy Hahn entering the weekend as the tournament's top seed and ranked 13^th in the nation. The duo posted an 8-6 win over Kentucky's Karim Benmansour and Matt Emery, before advancing to the quarterfinals by dropping Georgia's Will Glenn and Rajan Luchici, 8-4. UF's Chris McDonald and Hamid Mirzadeh also made it to the round of 16 where they fell 8-2 to 24^th-ranked Bryan Fisher and Jason Hazely of LSU, who are the second-seed in the bracket. Levant and Magallan, who both lost to Ciorascu in singles action, met him and teammate Catalin Gard in the doubles bracket. The fourth-seeded Florida combination came away with an 8-6 victory.

Due to time constraints numerous doubles matches were unable to be held on Friday, however, play will resume on Saturday morning with the four remaining round of 32 matches yet to be played. Singles quarterfinals and semifinals will also be held, while a consolation draw for athletes that did not advance from the first-round main draw on Thursday will also be played.

2003 SEC Men's Indoor Championships

Racquet Club of the South

Norcross, Georgia

UF Results Only

Singles Qualifying To Advance To Main Draw (Thursday)

Alex Hume (Kentucky) def. Chris McDonald (UF), 7-5, 6-1

Singles Round of 64 (Thursday)

#24 Alex Hartman (Ole Miss) def. #116 Matt Berhmann (UF), 6-3, 7-6 (5)

#T78 Eleazar Magallon (UF) def. Cory Ross (LSU), 6-3, 6-4

#68 Olivier Levant (UF) def. Markus Schiller (Aub.), 6-0, 6-1

#10 Rameez Juniad (Aub) def. Hamid Mirzadeh (UF), 7-5, 6-4

# 100 Evan Austin (UK) def. Troy Hahn (UF), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3

Trey Johnson (UF) def. Karim Alayli (Ole Miss), 6-2, 4-6, 6-2)

#29 Janne Holmia (UF) def. Jens Pilgram-Larsen (Vanderbilt) (6-1, 7-5)

Singles Round of 32 (Friday)