Florida Gators
Riviera/ITA All-American
W-Tennis? Diana Srebrovic Advances to Riviera All-American Round of 16
Thursday, October 5, 2006 | Women's Tennis
University of Florida junior Diana Srebrovic won her opening round singles match at the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships Thursday afternoon at the Riviera Tennis Club.
The ninth-ranked Gator defeated California's fifth-ranked Zsuzsanna Fodor, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4) to advance to the round of 16 where she will play Notre Dame's Catrina Thompson on Friday.
“This was a classic Diana-style match, where she played a great first set, got a little impatient in the second and took her game to another level in the tiebreak to win the match,” UF associate head coach Dave Balogh said. “In the tiebreak she hit four huge passing shots and really took control.”
The Gator doubles team of Whitney Benik and Nina Suvak wasn't as fortunate, as they lost a tough 8-6 decision to Arizona State's Roxanne Clarke and Kady Pooler. Benik and Suvak fell behind early, facing a 6-3 deficit before rallying to even the match at 6-all, but couldn't pull off the upset. Benik and Suvak will play Stanford's Lindsay Burdette and Anne Yelsey in the first round of consolation draw on Friday.
“Just like their matches in the qualifying, Whitney and Nina started really slow,” Balogh said. “They were able to rally, but weren't able to pull off the win. We have to find a way to start faster. At this level, you can't give up so many early games and expect to win.”
The Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships is the premier outdoor hard court event of the fall collegiate season, considered the first leg of the Grand Slam.
In Oct. 2004, Whitney Benik and Lolita Frangulyan emerged from the pre-qualifying draw and took home the doubles crown. Other Gator champions at the Riviera include: Jill Craybas (1995 singles champion), Lindsay Dawaf (2001 doubles champion) and Jessica Lehnhoff (2001 singles & doubles champion).
Riviera/ITA All-American Championships
Riviera Tennis Club
Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
UF results only
Singles, First Round (round of 32)
Diana Srebrovic (9), UF def. Zsuzsanna Fodor (5), California 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4)
Doubles, First Round (round of 16)
Roxanne Clarke/Kady Pooler (4), Arizona State def. Whitney Benik/Nina Suvak (33), UF 8-6
END OF REPORT
