Florida Gators
ITA All-American PQ Day 1
Diego Hidalgo Earns a Victory in First Round of All-Americans
Sunday, September 28, 2014 | Men's Tennis
University of Florida junior Diego Hidalgo advanced to the second round of the pre-qualifying draw but was stopped short at the 2014 Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championships in pre-qualifying singles Saturday.
Hidalgo was the only Gator to come away with a win Saturday when he defeated Fedor Baev of Northwestern, 6-4, 6-2 in round one, but was later retired by UNC's Jack Murray, 6-1, ret.
“Today was a tough day,” said assistant coach Mark Merklein. “We are always working to get better and we just have to continue to learn from these tournament matches. Tomorrow we get another opportunity to compete and the guys will be up for the challenge.”
Hidalgo, Oliver Landert and Josh Wardell will compete in the pre-qualifying consolation singles draw Sunday.
2014 Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships PQ
Day 1 Results – UF Only
First Round
Diego Hidalgo (Florida) def. Fedor Baev (Northwestern) 6-4, 6-2
Eduardo Mena (Tennessee Tech) def. Oliver Landert (Florida) 7-5, 6-4
Cale Hammond (Duke) def. Josh Wardell (Florida) 6-4, 6-1
Second Round
[4] Jack Murray (North Carolina) def. Diego Hidalgo (Florida) 6-1, Ret.
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:
