Florida Gators
Riviera/ITA All-American - Day 3 of 4
Gators to Play for Four Titles at Riviera/ITA All-American Tennis Championships
Saturday, October 8, 2011 | Women's Tennis
Members of the University of Florida women's tennis team will play for four individual titles at the Riviera/ITA All-American Tennis Championships, headlined by junior Allie Will (Boca Raton), who advanced to the final match of the singles, as well as the doubles main draw with sophomore Sofie Oyen (Leopoldsburg, Belgium).
UF senior Joanna Mather (Duluth, Ga.) will play for the consolation singles championship, while Mather and Lauren Embree (Marco Island, Fla.) will compete for the consolation doubles title.
The four Gators combined to win six matches on Saturday at the Riviera Tennis Club, with both doubles teams needing to win two rounds to advance to the final of the respective draws.
“It was a championship type showing by everyone today,” UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said. “We played fantastic tennis. We were efficient, tough, physical and smart. It was like all the superlatives you could possibly think of we were today. It was exciting to be a part of.”
Will has a chance to become the fifth player in history to capture the ITA All-American Championships singles and doubles title. She would be the first Gator to do so since Jessica Lehnhoff in 2001.
Will defeated UCLA's Robin Anderson 6-4, 6-1 in Saturday's semifinal main draw match. The Gator junior will meet Arizona State's 11th-ranked Jacqueline Cako for the championship on Sunday at 11 a.m. PST.
“Allie is playing at a very high level. She was very physical against a nice young talent in Robin Anderson from UCLA. She was too physical today and that was the difference. Same with Joanna, she was incredibly physical in her play. She is as fast as lightning,” Thornqvist said. “Both of them are holding onto the ball very, very well so it will take somebody who gets consistent, good shots to beat them and it's just not that easy to do over a two, two and half hour time period.”
Mather knocked off Miami's Anna Bartenstein 6-4, 6-0 in the semifinals of the consolation draw. Mather will battle Stanford's 17th-ranked Mallory Burdette in the final on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. PST.
On the doubles court Oyen and Will began the day with an 8-0 shutout versus Kansas' Morozova and Windom, before earning an 8-3 victory against Northwestern's third-ranked pair of Hamilton and Mushrefova. The Gators will square off against Stanford's Mallory Burdett and Nicole Gibbs, on Sunday not before noon PST.
Twelfth-ranked Embree and Mather upset Georgia Tech's sixth-ranked team of Lilley and O'Neill 8-2 and Ole Miss' Boxx and Guthrie 8-3 to make their was to the championship, where they will play Virginia's ninth-ranked Hardenbergh and Vierra at 8 a.m. PST.
“Both doubles teams looked excellent,” Thornqvist said. “Sofie has not played a lot because her shoulder has been hurt but she's playing at a very high level. Allie and Sofie haven't played together in a while and it's almost like they haven't done anything else except play together. Their play during the first 20 minutes of the first match of the tournament was so-so, but ever since that they've played high level tennis.
“Jo and Lauren were the same way. They started a little rusty in their first match but today they looked like they could beat just about anybody. I was very pleased overall today,” Thornqvist said.
Complete results and additional tournament information can be found at www.ITAtennis.com.
2011 Riviera/ITA All-American Championships
Riviera Tennis Club
Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Saturday, October 08, 2011
UF Results Only
Singles, Fourth Round (Semifinals)
(2) Allie Will, UF d. Robin Anderson, UCLA 6-4, 6-1
(11) Jacqueline Cako, Arizona State d. (18) Petra Niedermayerova, Kansas State 6-4, 7-5
Doubles, Fourth Round (Semifinals)
(4) Sofie Oyen/Allie Will, UF d. (3) Hamilton/Mushrefova, Northwestern, 8-3
(11) Burdette/Gibbs, Stanford d. (15) Gilchrist/Gullickson, Georgia 8-1
Doubles, Third Round (Quarterfinals)
(4) Sofie Oyen/Allie Will, UF d. (33) Morozova/Windom, Kansas 8-0
Consolation Singles, Fourth Round (Semifinals)
(26) Joanna Mather, UF d. (25) Anna Bartenstein, Miami 6-4, 6-0
(17) Mallory Burdette, Stanford d. (4) Denise Dy, Washington 6-0, 6-4
Consolation Doubles, Third Round (Semifinals)
(12) Lauren Embree/Joanna Mather, Florida d. (19) Boxx/Guthrie, Ole Miss 8-3
(9) Hardenbergh/Vierra, Virginia d. (22) Henderson/Pluskota, Tennessee 8-6
Consolation Doubles, Second Round (Quarterfinals)
(12) Lauren Embree/Joanna Mather, Florida d. (6) Lilley/O'Neill, Georgia Tech, 8-2
