Florida Gators
ITA All-American Qualifying Day 1
Gordon Watson Wins in First Round of ITA All-American Qualifying
Tuesday, September 30, 2014 | Men's Tennis
Junior Gordon Watson, a captain of the 2014-15 Gators squad, earned a first round victory in the 2014 Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championships qualifying singles Monday at the University of Tulsa.
No. 70-ranked Watson, a 17-24 seed, defeated Strong Kirchheimer of Northwestern in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3.
Fellow Gator captain No.100-ranked Maxx Lipman and No. 68 Elliott Orkin each dropped hard fought three-set matches to their respective first round opponents.
“Today was another tough one for the Gators,” said assistant coach Mark Merklein. “I was disappointed in how we faced adversity. In order for this team to become great, we can't shy away or back down from any challenges. I expect the guys to come out and step up to all obstacles tomorrow.”
Watson will take on No. 111-ranked Bernardo Saraiva of the University of San Francisco in the second round tomorrow at approximately 9 a.m. ET. Live scoring can be found courtesy of Tulsa Golden Hurricane Tennis.
No. 39 doubles duo Lipman and Orkin open doubles action tomorrow.
Complete Qualifying Singles Draw Available
2014 Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championships
Qualifying Results – UF Only
SINGLES
First Round
No. 70 Gordon Watson (UF) def. Strong Kirchheimer (Northwestern) [Q], 7-6 (4), 6-3
Felipe Rios (Baylor) def. No. 68 Elliott Orkin [16] (UF), 1-6, 6-2, 6-0
Stefan Lindmark (Ole Miss) def. No. 100 Maxx Lipman (UF), 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4
Consolation Singles
No. 76 Nathan Rakitt [17-24] (Georgia Tech) def. No. 100 Maxx Lipman (UF), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4)
Day Two Qualifying Pairings – UF Only
SINGLES
Second Round
No. 70 Gordon Watson (UF) vs. No. 111 Bernardo Saraiva (San Fran)
Consolation Singles
No. 68 Elliott Orkin (UF) vs. Danil Zelenkov (GW)
DOUBLES
First Round
No. 39 Lipman/Orkin [9-16] vs. Matt Cowley/Cedric Willems (Utah)
NEED TO KNOW INFO:
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, began 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 matches began on September 27 with qualifying matches following on September 29. A field of 64 singles players and 32 doubles teams will then compete in the main draw on October 2.
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
• Lipman and Orkin have been selected to the qualifying doubles list
WHAT'S AT STAKE:
Singles quarterfinalists, doubles finalists and consolation champions will receive an automatic entry into the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships on November 7-10, held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York.
FOLLOWING THE ACTION:
Follow the ITA on Twitter for updates and news from Oklahoma, or search for the hashtag #TulsaITA 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:
