UF Men?s Tennis Begins Play At Southern Intercollegiate

Saturday, September 25, 2004 | Men's Tennis

Several members of the University of Florida men's tennis team got off to a solid start at the Southern Intercollegiate Championships in Athens, Ga., on Friday. With several matches still in play late Friday evening, many Gators made their way through the opening round in the singles draw earlier in the day.

UF senior Vladimir Obradovic, who entered the tournament as the No. 5 seed in the Division I singles draw, started fast by defeating Mississippi State's Lui Carvalho (6-3, 6-4). Newcomer Greg Ouellette also got past his first round opponent, Ole Miss' Bram Ten Berge (6-0, 6-3). Obradovic's and Ouellette's second round matches were scheduled for Friday evening. Freshman Nestor Briceno remained perfect on the fall season (5-0) with a pair of wins as he advanced after a first round win over Anton Brykalin (Aub.-Mont.) with a straight set 6-3, 6-4 victory. In the next round, Briceno also won in straight sets against Ole Miss' Karim Alayli (6-2, 6-4).

Each of the four Gators who played in the Division II singles draw received first round byes. UF's Martin Stiegwardt began the tournament with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Dmitri Babenko (Aub.-Mont.). Stephan Tell also advanced as he outlasted Georgia Tech's Marko Rejevac in three sets (6-4, 3-6, 6-1). Jordan Dolberg rounded out the list of UF's early round winners with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Tennessee's Raul Martin (6-3, 6-4).

Singles draw play is expected to run late into Friday evening and results will be posted on Gatorzone.com as they become available. The Southern Intercollegiate is scheduled to conclude on Monday, Sept. 27. Singles play will continue and the doubles draw will begin on Saturday.