NCAA Announces Draws for Men's Tennis Singles and Doubles Championships
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 | Men's Tennis
The NCAA on Tuesday announced draws for the men's tennis individual championships with four Florida Gators in the field. Play begins Wednesday, May 20, in College Station, Texas.
Representing UF in the singles portion will be a pair of first-team All-SEC performers – SEC Freshman of the Year Carlos Cueto (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain), ranked No. 23 nationally, and sophomore No. 33 Alex Lacroix (Paris, France). The No. 16-rated tandem of junior Antoine Benneteau (Boulogne-Billancourt, France) and freshman Joey Burkhardt (St. Augustine) will participate in doubles.
“These guys have maintained their focus and worked extremely hard to prepare for this event,” said head coach Andy Jackson. “It's a great opportunity and experience, particularly since this will be the first appearance at NCAA individuals for all of them. We're excited for our program to have four of our top six players participating, especially knowing they'll all be back with us again next year.”
The Gators' schedule begins with Lacroix facing Pepperdine's Omar Altmann Wednesday at 10 a.m. Lacroix holds a 19-8 mark this spring, which includes a 4-0 record against top-25 opponents. Altmann is ranked No. 44 in the country.
Cueto also takes action on Wednesday with a 4 p.m. start time, facing Ohio State senior Bryan Koniecko, the tournament's No. 3 seed. Cueto has posted a 24-11 record this year, with one top-10 victory over then-No. 2 Michael Venus of LSU in January.
Doubles action commences on Thursday, with Benneteau and Burkhardt facing host Texas A&M's Austin Krajicek and Conor Pollock. Ranked No. 7 in the country, Krajicek and Pollock received a No. 5-8 seed in doubles. Burkhardt and Benneteau hold a 15-12 record in doubles action, including a 3-4 mark against top-10 opponents. Times for doubles events are not yet available.
The Gators have produced two singles national champions in program history, while one doubles pair has won a crown with UF. Mark Merklein and David Blair captured the doubles championship in 1993 when they defeated Chris Cocotos and Michael Flanagan of Stanford. The following year, Merklein took the singles title, downing USC's Wayne Black. Jeff Morrison scored the 1999 singles title with a win over Harvard's James Blake, who is currently the 16th-ranked player in the world on the pro circuit.
Singles First Round, May 20
(33) Alex Lacroix, UF vs. (44) Omar Altmann, Pepperdine, 10 a.m.
(23) Carlos Cueto, UF vs. (3) Bryan Koniecko, Ohio State, 4 p.m.
Doubles First Round, May 21
(16) Antoine Benneteau/Joey Burkhardt, UF vs. (7) Austin Krajicek/Conor Pollock, Texas A&M, Time TBA
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