Five Selected for NCAA Women's Tennis Singles Championships, One Doubles Team
Wednesday, May 4, 2011 | Women's Tennis
Five members of the University of Florida women's tennis team and one Gator doubles pair were selected to compete in the 2011 NCAA Division I Singles and Doubles Championships, the NCAA Subcommittee announced Wednesday.
The 64-player singles draw and the 32-team doubles draw will be played the Taube (pronounced TOE-bee) Family Tennis Center in Stanford, Calif., on six consecutive days immediately following the NCAA Team Championship that will be held May 20-24.
Earning a spot in the NCAA Singles Championships from Florida was freshman Alex Cercone (Seminole, Fla.), sophomore Lauren Embree (Marco Island, Fla.), freshman Olivia Janowicz (Palm Bay, Fla.), junior Joanna Mather (Duluth, Ga.) and sophomore Allie Will (Boca Raton, Fla.), who is the No. 6 overall seed in the event that gets underway on May 25.
Cercone and Will received a berth into the 32-team doubles draw that begins on May 26 and culminates with the final on May 30. The pairings will be announced on May 24.
The five singles selections is tied for the most by any school in the 2011 field with Stanford, which plays host to the entire championships.
This is the seventh time in the 30-year history of the NCAA individual Championships when at least five Gators were selected for the singles event, with a program record-six Gators earning a bid in 1997.
Will, the 2011 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, is coming off a stellar performance at the SEC Tournament, where she was named the event's Most Valuable Performer and earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team, while helping the Gators (25-1) capture the championship. She has compiled a 29-3 singles record this year, including a 20-1 dual match mark playing the number one and two positions in the lineup.
Embree is undefeated in dual match singles and doubles play this year, posting a 20-0 record in both, with a 9-0 singles record in SEC action and a 10-0 spot in league doubles play. Embree missed the majority of the fall season, when she was rehabilitating her left wrist (ruptured tendon) that required two surgeries (in June 2010 and in late October 2010).
Mather is 27-7 overall in singles and 13-2 in dual matches in addition to compiling a doubles record of 26-7, 19-2 in dual matches with a 7-0 record in clinching doubles-point matches. She was named the SEC Player of the Week on Feb. 23 after she helped the Gators reach the final of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
Cercone was a three-time SEC Freshman of the Week honoree (March 8, 29 and April 5) and is tied with a team-best 32 singles wins. On the singles court, the rookie is 32-10 overall, with an 18-3 mark in team competition, 10-1 in SEC matches. In doubles, Cercone posted a 25-6 record, with a 19-1 dual match ledger, winning all seven she played during the SEC regular season.
Janowicz earned a spot on the SEC All-Tournament Team as the only Gator to finish and win all three matches, while winning a pair on the doubles court en route to helping Florida capture the league's postseason title. She was honored as the SEC Freshman of the Week on Feb. 16 and holds a 32-7 overall singles record, with a 19-3 mark in dual matches, as well as an 18-7 doubles record, including a 13-4 spot in dual match competition.
On the doubles court, Cercone and Will are 11-0 this season, including an 8-0 record against nationally ranked opponents that helped the tandem earn the No. 2 overall seed in the doubles draw.
2011 NCAA Singles Selections, by School (top-8 seeds noted)
Mary Anne Macfarlane, Alabama
Jacqueline Cako, Arizona State
Kelcy McKenna, Arizona State
Anouk Tigu, Arkansas
Diana Nakic, Baylor
Nina Secerbegovic, Baylor
Sona Novakova, Baylor
(1) Jana Juricova, California
Mari Andersson, California
Tayler Davis, California
Josipa Bek, Clemson
Keri Wong, Clemson
Nadine Fahoum, Duke
Reka Zsilinszka, Duke
Liset Brito, FIU
Alex Cercone, Florida
Lauren Embree, Florida
Olivia Janowicz, Florida
Joanna Mather, Florida
(6) Allie Will, Florida
Katie Rybakova, Florida State
Noemie Scharle, Florida State
Marianne Jodoin, Fresno State
Monica Arguello, Furman
Chelsey Gullickson, Georgia
Jillian O'Neill, Georgia Tech
Petra Niedermayerova, Kansas State
Michaela Kissell, Marshall
Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar, Maryland
Anna Bartenstein, Miami (Florida)
(7) Biana Eichkorn, Miami (Florida)
(8) Denise Muresan, Michigan
Zoe De Bruycker, North Carolina
Sanaa Bhambri, North Carolina State
Maria Mosolova, Northwestern
(5) Kristy Frilling, Notre Dame
Shannon Mathews, Notre Dame
Kristi Boxx, Ole Miss
Connie Hsu, Pennsylvania
Tatsiana Kapshai, Sacramento State
Marta Lesniak, SMU
Anya Morgina, South Carolina
Irene Rehberger, South Florida
Danielle Lao, Southern California
(2) Maria Sanchez, Southern California
Alexandra Poorta, St. Mary's (California)
(3) Hilary Barte, Stanford
Kristie Ahn, Stanford
Mallory Burdette, Stanford
Nicole Gibbs, Stanford
Stacey Tan, Stanford
Brynn Boren, Tennessee
Natalie Pluskota, Tennessee
Aeriel Ellis, Texas
Nazari Urbina, Texas A&M
McCall Jones, UCLA
Noelle Hickey, UCLA
Anastasia Putilina, Utah
Emily Fraser, Virginia
Lindsey Hardenbergh, Virginia
Martina Pavelec, Wake Forest
(4) Denise Dy, Washington
Venise Chan, Washington
Jeltje Loomans, William and Mary
2011 NCAA Doubles Selections, List by School (top-4 seeds noted)
Alexa Guarachi / Courtney McLane, Alabama
Kelcy McKenna / Micaela Hein, Arizona State
Anouk Tigu / Claudine Paulson, Arkansas
Sona Novakova / Nina Secerbegovic, Baylor
(1) Mari Andersson / Jana Juricova, California
Keri Wong / Josipa Bek, Clemson
Ellah Nze / Nadine Fahoum, Duke
(2) Alex Cercone / Allie Will, Florida
Chelsey Gullickson / Kate Fuller, Georgia
Sonja Molnar / Jessica Young, Iowa
Michaela Kissell / Dominica Zaprazna, Marshall
Jordaan Sanford / Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar, Maryland
Bianca Eichkorn / Anna Bartenstein, Miami(Florida)
Brooke Bolender / Denise Muresan, Michigan
Shinann Featherston / Lauren McHale, North Carolina
Sandhya Nagaraj / Sanaa Bhambri, North Carolina St
Linda Abu Mushrefova / Nida Hamilton, Northwestern
Kristy Frilling / Shannon Mathews, Notre Dame
(3) Kaitlyn Christian / Maria Sanchez, Southern California
Alison Ramos / Valeria Pulido, Southern California
Kristie Ahn / Nicole Gibbs, Stanford
(4) Hilary Barte / Mallory Burdette, Stanford
Rosalia Alda / Millie Nichols, Tennessee
Brynn Boren / Natalie Pluskota, Tennessee
Courtney Dolehide / Andrea Remynse, UCLA
Noelle Hickey / McCall Jones, UCLA
Alex Leatu / Rachael Dillon, Vanderbilt
Alex Bara / Kateryna Yergina, VCU
Emily Fraser / Hana Tomlijanovic, Virginia
Lindsey Hardenbergh / Erin Vierra, Virginia
Kathryn Talbert / Kayla Duncan, Wake Forest
Venise Chan / Denise Dy, Washington
