Florida Gators
Riviera/ITA All-American Qualifying - Day 2 of 2
Mather Earns Spot in Main Draw at Riviera/ITA All-American Tennis Championships
Thursday, October 6, 2011 | Women's Tennis
University of Florida senior Joanna Mather (Duluth, Ga.) earned an impressive straight-set singles victory and a spot in the main draw in the 2011 Riviera/ITA All-American Championships held at the Riviera Tennis Club.
While the rain played havoc during the final round of qualifying action, Mather wasted little time once she finally took the court against South Carolina's Dijana Stojic on Wednesday night, posting a decisive 6-1, 6-2 victory.
“Joanna played great tennis today in her win against a very good player who we're familiar with in Dijana Stojic,” UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said. “This was the best I've seen Joanna play and what made it more impressive is that she did so after a long day on Tuesday.”
Just 24 hours earlier, Mather rallied for a three-plus hour a 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 victory against Southern California's Caitlyn Christian in the round of 32, after posting a 6-2, 6-4 first-round win against LSU's Whitney Wolf.
Mather, who was one of eight players winning their way into the main draw of the national tournament, joins Gator teammates Lauren Embree (Marco Island, Fla.) and Allie Will (Boca Raton, Fla.) in the 32-player singles draw that begins Thursday. Embree and Will both received automatic berths into the main draw, as did the Gator doubles teams of Sofie Oyen (Leopoldsburg, Belgium) and Will, and Embree and Mather in the 24-team doubles field.
Embree, ranked fifth in the country, meets Boston College's 84th-ranked Katarina Galic in her first round match, while Will, the event's No. 2 seed, takes on Baylor's 23rd-ranked Nina Secerbegovic. The qualifiers had not been paired in the draw so Mather's opponent was not know at the time of this release.
On the doubles court Oyen and Will earned a first-round bye, while 12th-ranked Embree and Mather take on Harvard's North and Tachibana.
Complete results and additional tournament information can be found at www.ITAtennis.com.
2011 Riviera/ITA All-American Championships, Qualifying
Riviera Tennis Club
Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
UF Results Only
Qualifying Singles, Third Round (Round of 16)
(26) Joanna Mather, UF d. (68) Dijana Stojic, South Carolina, 6-1, 6-2
UF Pairings for Main Draw, beginning Oct. 6
Singles, First Round (Round of 32)
(5) Lauren Embree, UF vs. (84) Katarina Galic, Boston College
(2) Allie Will, UF vs. (23) Nina Secerbegovic, Baylor
Doubles, First Round (Field of 24)
(12) Lauren Embree/Joanna Mather, UF vs. Norton/Tachibana, Harvard
(4) Sofie Oyen/Allie Will, UF – first round bye
