Florida Gators
NCAA Championships - Individ.
Ouellette and Mirzadeh Earn All-America Status; Ouellette Advances in NCAA Singles Draw
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 | Men's Tennis
University of Florida men's tennis newcomer Greg Ouellette (Ormond Beach, Fla.) upset Washington's eighth-seeded and sixth-ranked Alex Vlaski (7-5, 0-6, 6-2) Wednesday in the opening round of the NCAA Singles Championship draw in College Station, Texas. Meanwhile, senior Hamid Mirzadeh (Lake Worth, Fla.) was edged by Pepperdine's 34th-ranked Scott Doerner in three sets (3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5).
Mirzadeh and Ouellette will pair to open play in the round of 32 in the doubles draw on Thursday Arizona's 20th-ranked Roger Matalonga and Colin O'Grady. The duo was seeded fifth in the bracket, which earned them All-America status. The honor was the first of Ouellette's career, while Mirzadeh joined Mark Merklein and Jeff Morrison as the third four-time All-American in school history.
With the singles victory, Ouellette advanced to the Round of 32 where he will face 72nd-ranked Stephane Rod of Virginia Tech on Thursday as well. Ouellette leads the Gators this season with a 37-9 singles record. He has defeated eight ranked opponents, although Vlaski was the highest he'd ever faced. Ouellette's 37 wins this season rank as the fifth-highest single season total by a Gator.
Mirzadeh concluded his singles career with a 63-55 overall record. This season, he went 16-13 overall with 10 of the victories coming over ranked opponents. A season ago, Mirzadeh was the only player in NCAA Division I Men's Tennis to advance to the quarterfinal round of the singles and doubles draw. In addition, made his deepest run of his three prior trips in the NCAA doubles draw last season in Tulsa, Okla., with teammate Chris Brandi (Boca Raton, Fla.).
Florida has had two NCAA singles champions (Merklein in 1994 and Morrison in 1999) and one doubles champion (Merklein and David Blair in 1993).
Singles
No. 49 Greg Ouellette (UF) def. No. 6 Alex Vlaski (UW), 7-5, 0-6, 6-2
No. 34 Scott Doerner (Pepperdine) def. No. 24 Hamid Mirzadeh (UF), 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5
