Florida Gators
USTA/ITA Southeast Regionals Day 4
Maxx Lipman Makes it to Semifinals at Regionals
Sunday, October 19, 2014 | Men's Tennis
No. 100-ranked Maxx Lipman, a 9-16 seed and a captain of this year's Gator team, reached the semifinals of the main draw singles event of the USTA/ITA Southeast Regional Championships at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia, but was stopped short Sunday.
Lipman and fellow sophomore No. 68-ranked, No. 5-seeded Elliott Orkin both reached the quarterfinal round of main draw singles, but Orkin dropped his first match of the day to the No. 1 seed of the tournament, No. 12 Austin Smith of Georgia, 6-1, 6-3. Lipman advanced to the semifinals following a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback victory over fellow 9-16 seed Piotr Lomacki of Miami. Lipman was then faced with the tough task of taking on Smith, the top-seeded Bulldog who defeated Orkin, in his semifinal match. Lipman fell to Smith, 6-2, 6-3.
Consolation singles quarterfinalists No. 70 Gordon Watson, another Gator captain, and Oliver Landert were victorious in their respective matches to open the day. Watson defeated Georgia Tech's Eduardo Segura, 6-1, 6-4. Landert topped Inaki Espindola of Central Florida in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3. Both Watson and Landert were stopped short by their semifinal opponents. Watson was retired by UCF's Chris Barrus, 1-6, 4-5. The match was not finished due to injury. Landert fell short to Michael Kay of Georgia Tech, 6-2, 7-6(7).
Head Coach Bryan Shelton's Take
On Maxx Lipman and Elliott Orkin's run in main draw singles…
It was great to see Maxx and Elliott make a run here at Regionals. Maxx didn't have an abundance of confidence coming into the tournament, but he was able to build it one point at a time over the past few days. Overall, we got a lot of great experience.
On early elimination from doubles play…
Unfortunately, we didn't get enough doubles play because of losing early. We definitely need to look at how we can change and get better there.
On preparing for the next tournament…
Our practices this coming week and throughout the rest of the semester will be even more productive as we implement the things we learned from this tournament.
Complete Singles and Doubles Draws Available
For updates throughout the tournament, visit the 2014 USTA/ITA Regional Championships Results Page or the Tournament Central Page via the Georgia Bulldogs. To follow all the action, visit the ITA Facebook and Twitter pages and search the hashtag #USTAITARegionals on Twitter.
Southeast Regionals Roundup
USTA/ITA Southeast Regional Championships
Day Four Pairings – UF Only
SINGLES
Quarterfinals
No. 12 Austin Smith [1] (UGA) def. No. 68 Elliott Orkin [5] (UF), 6-1, 6-3
No. 100 Maxx Lipman [9-16] (UF) def. Piotr Lomacki [9-16] (MIA), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
Semifinals
No. 12 Austin Smith [1] (UGA) def. No. 100 Maxx Lipman [9-16] (UF), 6-2, 6-3
Consolation Quarterfinals
Oliver Landert (UF) def. Inaki Espindola (UCF), 6-1, 6-3
No. 70 Gordon Watson [6] (UF) def. Eduardo Segura (GT), 6-1, 6-4
Consolation Semifinals
Michael Kay (GT) def. Oliver Landert (UF), 6-2, 7-6(7)
Chris Barrus (UCF) def. No. 70 Gordon Watson [6] (UF), 1-6, 4-5, ret. (inj.)
Miscellaneous Matches
Paul Oosterbaan (UGA) def. Chase Perez-Blanco (UF), 6-1, 6-2
Nile Clark (MIA) def. Richard Brej (UF), 6-2, 7-6(11)
NEXT UP
The Gators won't need to travel far for their next tournament when they head to Orlando, Florida, for the USTA Clay Court Collegiate Invitational at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort October 30 through November 2.
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