Three Gators Commence ITA All-American Championships Pre-Qualifying Saturday
Saturday, September 27, 2014 | Men's Tennis
University of Florida redshirt freshmen Oliver Landert and Josh Wardell and junior Diego Hidalgo initiate Orange & Blue action at the 2014 Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championships in pre-qualifying singles Saturday.
Hidalgo drew Fedor Baev of Northwestern University in the first round of the pre-qualifying draw that begins Saturday at 8 a.m. CDT. Landert takes on Eduardo Mena of Tennessee Tech University at 11 a.m. and Wardell will face Duke University's Cale Hammond at 1:30.
The winner of Hidalgo's match will play Jack Murray of UNC at 3 p.m. No. 4-seeded Murray received a first round bye. The winner of Landert vs. Mena will face the winner of Shakeel Manji of Memphis University vs. Stefan Lugonjic of Indiana University at 5 p.m. Should he advance, Wardell will play the winner of Rodrigo Oliveira from Illinois State University vs. Robert Kelly of North Carolina at 6 p.m.
Hidalgo enters the tournament following a successful weekend in Gainesville where he was a finalist in the main singles draw at the SEC Fall Classic and the winner of the doubles draw alongside Gordon Watson.
The University of Tulsa plays host to the event for the eighth straight year. Pre-qualifying singles is a single-elimination contest where competitors must win three rounds to advance to the qualifying draw.
NEED TO KNOW INFO ON THE RIVIERA:
The University of Tulsa in Oklahoma will again serve as the host site for the Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championships. The national championship, considered the first leg of the collegiate grand slam, is set to begin on Saturday, September 27 with pre-qualifying singles and doubles matches. Qualifying competition will be held September 29-October 1 and main draw action is slated for Thursday, October 2-Monday, October 6 at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.
HOW IT WORKS:
Pre-qualifying features a singles draw of 64 and a doubles draw of 32. Each player or doubles pair must win three rounds in order to advance to the qualifying draw; a total of eight singles players and four doubles duos move on to qualifying from pre-qualifying play. The qualifying rounds are also comprised of a singles draw of 64 and a doubles draw of 32. Just as with pre-qualifying, a singles player or doubles tandem must win three consecutive matches to stay alive and move into the main draw. Eight spots in the singles main draw are reserved for qualifiers, while the doubles main draw will feature four teams from qualifying.
GATORS SELECTED FOR SAINT FRANCIS HEALTH SYSTEM ITA ALL-AMERICAN:
• Maxx Lipman, Elliott Orkin and Gordon Watson earned a spot in the singles qualifying draw
• Diego Hidalgo, Oliver Landert and Josh Wardell kick off All-American action in pre-qualifying singles
• Hidalgo, Lipman, Orkin and Watson have been selected to the qualifying doubles list
WHAT'S AT STAKE:
Singles semifinalists, doubles finalists and consolation champions will receive automatic entry into the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships November 6-9 in Flushing, New York.
FOLLOWING THE ACTION:
Follow the ITA on Twitter for updates and news from Oklahoma, or search for the hashtag #RivieraITA to find other tweets from those tweeting about the Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championships. Check out the ITA Facebook page or the 2014 All-American Championships Tournament Hub for more updates.
FOLLOW THE GATORS:
