Florida Gators
ITA Southeast Regional Championship
Benneteau and Lacroix Advance to Doubles Final at Wilson/ITA Southeast Regional Championships
Sunday, October 25, 2009 | Men's Tennis
Florida junior Alexandre Lacroix (Paris, France) and redshirt senior Antoine Benneteau (Boulogne-Billancourt, France) on Sunday earned a berth in the doubles final at the Wilson/ITA Southeast Regional Championship hosted by the University of Georgia at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
The pair tallied a 9-7 semifinal victory against Georgia's Drake Bernstein and Javier Garrapiz to continue their run. They will face Connor Smith and Vahid Mirzadeh of Florida State in the final at 10 a.m. on Monday with a trip to the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships at Yale University in West Haven, Conn., at stake.
Also on Sunday, No. 23 Lacroix won a three-set match in his singles quarterfinal against Mirzadeh, the country's No. 115-rated singles player before losing steam in the semifinals and falling to Florida State's No. 33 Clint Bowles, 7-5, 6-0.
With his showing in this regional tournament and his ranking headed into the event, Lacroix will receive consideration for an at-large big for the singles tournament at the national indoor event.
No. 117 junior Johnny Hamui (Wesley Chapel) advanced to the semifinals in a walkover when No. 5 Guillermo Gomez of Georgia Tech withdrew following his win last night over Benneteau, which clocked in at nearly four hours in length. Hamui then lost in the semifinals against Georgia's 38th-ranked Javier Garrapiz, 6-2, 6-2.
“Overall, it was an excellent tournament for us,” head coach Andy Jackson said. “We had some very good performances, especially the third-set tiebreakers that Antoine and Erik Corace played against some top-ranked players. This has been a great weekend for the Gators.”
2009 Wilson/ITA Southeast Regional Championship – Sunday Results (UF only)
Doubles
Semifinals
Benneteau/Lacroix (UF) def. Bernstein/Garrapiz (Georgia) – 9-7
Singles
Quarterfinals
(117) Johnny Hamui (UF) def. (5) Guillermo Gomez (Georgia Tech) - Walkover
(23) Alexandre Lacroix (UF) def. (115) Vahid Marizadeh (Florida State) – 6-2, 1-6, 6-2
Semifinals
(38) Javier Garrapiz (Georgia Tech) def. (117) Johnny Hamui (UF) – 6-2, 6-2
(33) Clint Bowles (Florida State) def. (23) Alexandre Lacroix (UF) – 7-5, 6-0
Monday Schedule (UF Only)
Doubles final
10 a.m. – Benneteau/Lacroix (UF) vs. Smith/Mirzadeh (Florida State)
-UF-
