Florida Gators
Gator Fall Classic: UNF, FIU, USF (Day 1 of 3)
Women's Tennis Enjoys Solid First Day at Gator Fall Classic
Saturday, September 22, 2007 | Women's Tennis
The University of Florida women's tennis team won seven of nine matches played in the season-opening Gator Fall Classic held at the Ring Tennis Complex on Friday.
Florida earned five singles victories and two doubles wins in the individual event to launch its 2007-08 season.
“Overall, we did well. One of our doubles teams didn't look as sharp as it can, but overall I liked what I saw,” head coach Roland Thornqvist said. “One thing we talked about entering singles play was how we would manage ourselves at the end of sets and I think we did pretty well. We knew it wasn't going to be easy to play great tennis on the first day of the season, so our focus was on being disciplined and picking the right shots and we did a good job in those areas.”
In singles competition, the Gators faced athletes from Florida International and South Florida, and Diana Srebrovic, Csilla Borsanyi, Megan Alexander, Anastasia Revzina and Lolita Frangulyan emerged with wins in their respective matches.
Florida's three doubles teams squared off against pairs from South Florida and the Gators took two victories, with the tandems of Alexander and Frangulyan along with Whitney Benik and Revzina collecting season-opening wins.
Action continues in the three-day event on Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. and admission is free.
Frangulyan got her senior season off to an impressive start, posting a 6-0, 6-0 win over USF's Ginifer Hartman. She played just seven matches during the 2007 spring, but looked solid and showed little signs of rust.
“It felt amazing to be back on the court. I didn't have a very good summer, having a tonsillectomy, I didn't really play as much as I wanted,” Frangulyan shared. “It feels so good to back and practicing and competing. I didn't really get an opportunity to get much rhythm to see where my game is, but I'll take a 6-0, 6-0 decision any day.”
Alexander was the second Gator off the singles court, where she downed FIU's Priscilla Castillo, 6-2, 6-1. The sophomore is coming off an impressive rookie season when she compiled 22 wins, with 11 of those against nationally ranked opponents.
“It felt good competing again,” Alexander said. “What I liked about my play more than anything, was how I handled mistakes. I was able to shake them off and focus on the next point.”
Borsanyi then turned in a 7-6, 6-2 win over FIU's Maria Dolores Pazo, while Revzina earned a hard-fought 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8) decision over FIU's Maria Jose Vallasciani. In the day's only match featuring two nationally ranked players, UF's 12th-ranked Srebrovic collected a 6-3, 7-5 victory against FIU's 92nd-ranked Egle Petrauskaite.
Benik incurred UF's lone singles setback, dropping a tough 5-7, 6-2, 1-0 (11-9) super-tiebreak decision to FIU's big-hitting Liset Brito.
“Whitney had some chances in her match, but played really well despite the loss,” Thornqvist said. “She's faced (Brito) in the past and has had trouble with her. This was the best Whitney has played against a big hitter. I know she's disappointed, but overall, she performed well.”
On the doubles courts, the two Gator teams that earned wins were paired together for the first time in their careers. Benik and Revzina topped USF's Ashley Schumacher and Lauren Shumate, 8-1, before Alexander and Frangulyan earned an 8-2 victory over USF's Natalia Guevara and Jessica Zok.
“It was a very good first day playing doubles with Megan, I think we're going to be a very good doubles team,” Frangulyan said. “We're both very good at the net, so if we continue to work on some things I think it will be an exciting year for us.”
Alexander also felt comfortable with the pairing.
“I'm learning a lot from Lolita, she's a very good doubles player,” Alexander shared. “She's a great person to play with. I asked her for advice throughout our match and really enjoyed our chemistry.”
2007 Gator Fall Classic
Women's College Tennis
Ring Tennis Complex * Gainesville, Fla.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Complete Results
DOUBLES
Liz Cruz/Iciri Rai, USF d. Csilla Borsanyi/Diana Srebrovic (7), UF 8-5
Megan Alexander/Lolita Frangulyan (52), UF d. Natalia Guevara/Jessica Zok, USF 8-2
Whitney Benik/Anastasia Revzina (31), UF d. Ashley Schumacher/Lauren Shumate, USF 8-1
Liset Brito/Egle Petrauskaite, FIU d. Natalia Sanchez/Victoria Krook, UNF 8-2
Priscilla Castillo/Maria Dolores Pazo, FIU d. Maria Melihova/Vanessa Sanchez, UNF 8-3
Carolina de Melo/Ina Durcakova, UNF d. Ginifer Hartman/Maria Jose Vallasciani, FIU 8-1
SINGLES
Diana Srebrovic (12), UF d. Egle Petrauskaite (92), FIU 6-3, 7-5
Liset Brito, FIU d. Whitney Benik (106), UF 5-7, 6-2, 1-0 (11-9)
Csilla Borsanyi (30), UF d. Maria Dolores Pazo, FIU 7-6, 6-2
Megan Alexander (17), UF d. Priscilla Castillo, FIU 6-2, 6-1
Anastasia Revzina (74), UF d. Maria Jose Vallasciani, FIU 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8)
Lolita Frangulyan, UF d. Ginifer Hartman, USF 6-0, 6-0
Jessica Zok, USF d. Natalia Sanchez, UNF 7-6, 6-0
Liz Cruz, USF d. Vanessa Sanchez, UNF 6-0, 6-0
Iciri Rai, USF d. Ina Durcakova, UNF 6-1, 6-2
Natalia Guevara, USF d. Maria Melihova, UNF 6-3, 6-0
Lauren Shumate, USF d. Victoria Krook, UNF 6-1, 6-4
Carolina de Melo, UNF d. Ashley Schumacher, USF 6-2, 6-1
END OF REPORT
