Florida Gators
Southern Intercollegiate
Gators Continue Play at Southern Intercollegiate Championships
Monday, September 26, 2011 | Men's Tennis
The Florida men's tennis team continued play over the weekend at the 2011 Southern Intercollegiate Championships, hosted by the University of Georgia at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. The Gators had four players advance to the Round of 16, with senior Nassim Slilam (Paris, France) advancing to the quarterfinals. On the doubles side, UF had three teams advance to the Round of 16, with two pairs advancing to play each other in Monday's semifinal.
Slilam, the No. 7 overall seed, had the most success among the Florida players on the singles side. He won three matches before falling to No. 2 seed Wil Spencer from Georgia in the Quarterfinals. After winning the first set against Spencer, 7-5, Slilam was forced to retire in the second set due to injury with the score tied 5-5.
After winning two matches to open the tournament, junior Bob van Overbeek (Boca Raton, Fla.), the No. 9 seed, lost in the Round of 16, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2, to No. 6 seed Louis Cant from Mississippi State. No. 10 seed Frank Carleton (Naples, Fla.) also fell in the Round of 16, dropping a 6-2, 6-2 decision to No. 8 seed Malte Stropp from Mississippi State.
It appeared that sophomore Spencer Newman (Miami, Fla.) had a chance to advance past the Round of 16 on Saturday, but he was forced to retire in his match against Hernus Pieters from UGA. Newman had one of the big upsets of the tournament in the Round of 32, knocking off No. 5 seed Juan Spir from Georgia Tech in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1.
After opening round wins on Friday, junior Billy Federhofer (North Miami, Fla.) and sophomore Andrew Butz (Vero Beach, Fla.) lost in the Round of 32. Federhofer fell to No. 11 seed James Chaudry from Mississippi State 6-2, 7-6 (2). Butz faced No. 4 seed George Coupland from Mississippi State and dropped a 6-3, 6-2 decision.
Sophomore Michael Alford (Tampa, Fla.), who lost to No. 13 seed Kevin King from Georgia Tech in the opening round, bounced back with two wins in consolation play, taking down Mercer's Dave Barton, 6-1, 6-2, and Minnesota's Philllip Arndt, 6-2, 6-4.
The Gators also saw success on the doubles side of the tournament. All three doubles pairs won their opening round matches on Friday to advance to the Round of 16. The duo of Federhofer and Slilam, seeded No. 5 for the tournament, lost their Round of 16 match to Georgia's Spencer and Garrett Brasseaux, 8-3.
Carleton and Newman pulled off an upset of the No. 6 seeded team of Panay Jha and Eric Quigley from Kentucky, winning 8-6. The UF tandem advanced to the semifinals with an 8-3 win over Georgia State's Thomas Cook and Victor Valente.
The third Gator doubles' team of Butz and van Overbeek earned two upset wins, knocking off the No. 7 pair of Kevin King and Dusan Miljevic from Georgia Tech, 8-3, in the Round of 16 before edging out the No. 2 duo of Sadio Doumbia and Ignacio Taboada from Georgia, 8-5.
In the semifinal round of the doubles draw on Monday, two Florida tandems will face off against each other. Carleton and Newman are set to face teammates Butz and van Overbeek at 11:30 a.m. on Monday with a finals spot on the line.
2011 Southern Intercollegiate Championships
Athens, Ga. – Dan Magill Tennix Complex, University of Georgia
FLORIDA RESULTS
DIVISION I SINGLES
Round of 64 - Friday
Billy Federhofer, Florida def. Siim Tuus, Liberty, 6-1, 6-4
Spencer Newman, Florida def. Vincent Verpeaux, Ga. State, 6-1, 6-4
Frank Carleton (10), Florida def. Pierre Tafelski, Mercer, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0
Bob van Overbeek (9), Florida def. Zac Dunkle, Samford, 6-3, 6-4
Andrew Butz, Florida def. Roberto Ribeiro, ETSU, 6-2, 6-1
Nassim Slilam (7), Florida def. Olivier Strecker, Lipscomb, 6-2, 6-1
Kevin King (13), Ga. Tech def. Michael Alford, Florida 6-3, 6-1
Round of 32 - Saturday
James Chaudry (11), Miss. State def. Billy Federhofer, Florida, 6-2, 7-6(2)
Spencer Newman, Florida def. Juan Spir (5), Ga. Tech, 7-5, 6-1
Frank Carleton (10), Florida def. Dejon Bivens, Winthrop, 6-4, 6-1
Bob van Overbeek (9), Florida def. Nathan Pasha, Georgia, 7-6(5), 7-6(3)
George Coupland (4), Miss. State def. Andrew Butz, Florida, 6-3, 6-2
Nassim Slilam (7), Florida def. David Orces, Citadel, 6-1, 6-2
Round of 16 - Saturday
Hernus Pieters, Georgia def. Spencer Newman, Florida, 6-7(3), 6-3, 1-0, ret. inj.
Malte Stropp (8), Miss. State def. Frank Carleton (10), Florida, 6-2, 6-2
Louis Cant (6), Miss. State def. Bob van Overbeek (9), Florida, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2
Nassim Slilam (7), Florida def. Carl Eguez, South Carolina, 6-0, 6-1
Quarterfinals - Sunday
Wil Spencer (2), Georgia def. Nassim Slilam (7), Florida, 5-7, 5-5, ret., inj.
First Round Consolation – Saturday
Michael Alford, Florida def. Dave Barton, Mercer, 6-1, 6-2
Second Round Consolation – Sunday
Michael Alford, Florida def. Phillip Arndt, Minnesota, 6-2, 6-4
DIVISION I DOUBLES
Round of 32 - Friday
Billy Federhofer/Nassim Slilam (5), Florida def. Guy Kubi/Nadav Ruppin, Winthrop, 8-0
Frank Carleton/Spencer Newman, Florida def. Miguel Cortez/Olivier Strecker, Lipscomb, 8-4
Andrew Butz/Bob van Overbeek, Florida def. Joe Dorn/Jeff Offerdahl, Vanderbilt, 8-5
Round of 16 - Saturday
Wil Spencer/Garrett Brasseaux, Georgia def. Billy Federhofer (5)/Nassim Slilam (5), Florida, 8-3
Frank Carleton/Spencer Newman, Florida def. Panav Jha (6)/Eric Quigley (6), Kentucky, 8-6
Andrew Butz/Bob van Overbeek, Florida def. Kevin King (7)/Dusan Miljevic (7), Ga. Tech, 8-3
Quarterfinals - Sunday
Frank Carleton/Spencer Newman, Florida def. Thomas Cook/Victor Valente, Ga. State, 8-3
Andrew Butz/Bob van Overbeek, Florida def. Sadio Doumbia (2)/Ignacio Taboada (2), Georgia, 8-5
