Florida Gators
ITA All-American-Day Two (Pre-Qualifying)
Two Gators Advance to Final Round in Pre-Qualifying Draw at the ITA All-American Championships
Monday, October 5, 2015 | Men's Tennis
The University of Florida men's tennis squad will have six members competing on Monday in both the pre-qualifying and qualifying draws at the Saint Francis Health Care System ITA Men's All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla.
On Sunday, Jordan Belga and Alfredo Perez worked through two rounds of the pre-qualifying draw to reach the final round. The Gators must win their matches to continue play in the qualifying draw. Belga fought through a three-set match to a victory in the round of 128 against Tony Russell of SMU, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. The Gator sophomore then cruised in his second match against Hamilton of WMU to a straight-set victory, 6-2, 6-2.
Perez came back from a set down in his round of 128 match against Hawaii's Kai Wehnelt, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3. The freshman then defeated Cozbinov of WMU in straight-sets, 6-1, 6-2 to move on to the final round of pre-qualifiers. Fellow-freshman McClain Kessler was victorious in his first match against Sergio Arevalillo of Buffalo, 6-4, 6-3. The Gator then fell to TCU's Lopez in a three-set match, 2-6, 6-1, 7-5. Sophomore Josh Wardell was defeated in his round of 128 match by Gabor Csonka of LSU, 6-3, 6-3.
With the qualifying rounds slated to begin on Monday morning, four Gators are gearing up to join in on the fun at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa. Gordon Watson, Maxx Lipman, Elliott Orkin and Chase Perez-Blanco will all begin match play on Monday morning. The Gators are looking to work through three rounds of qualifying play to reach the singles main draw.
Results: Pre-Qualifying Round of 128
· Alfredo Perez (UF) def. Kai Wehnelt (Hawaii), 4-6, 6-4, 6-0
· Jordan Belga (UF) vs. Tony Russell (SMU), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
· Gabor Csonka (LSU) def. Josh Wardell (UF), 6-3, 6-2
· McClain Kessler (UF) vs. Sergio Arevalillo (Buffalo), 6-4, 6-3
Pre-Qualifying Round of 64
· Alfredo Perez (UF) def. A Cozbinov (UNLV), 6-1, 6-2
· Jordan Belga (UF) def. M. Hamilton (WMU), 6-2, 6-2
· J. Lopez (TCU) def. McClain Kessler (UF), 2-6, 6-1, 7-5
What Coach Shelton says about today's results
"Our guys competed well again today. I like the way Alfredo kept his composure and worked hard for every point. Also, it was great to see Jordan have success again today. I know McClain was disappointed to lose his match this afternoon to a very good player, but I like the way McClain competes. He brings everything he has for the Gators and is only going to keep getting better. Same can be said for Josh, who didn't execute as well as he needed today. We have a lot of good matches in store for us tomorrow and we can't wait to get back on the courts."
Up Next for the Gators:
Pre-Qualifying Round of 32 (Monday)
· Alfredo Perez (UF) vs. R Herrera (ETSU)
· Jordan Belga (UF) vs. K. Tabrizi (WFU)
Qualifying First Round (Monday)
· #108 Gordon Watson (UF) vs. Becker O'Shaughnessey (Alabama)
· #60 Maxx Lipman (UF) vs. Hugo Dojas (Texas Tech)
· #86 Elliott Orkin (UF) vs. Mazen Osama (Alabama)
· #84 Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) vs. Alex Gasson (Denver)
Gators Selected for the All-American Championships
· Diego Hidalgo received an automatic berth into the singles main draw
· Chase Perez-Blanco, Elliott Orkin, Gordon Watson and Maxx Lipman earned entries into the singles qualifying draw
· Perez, Belga, Wardell and Kessler earned spots in the singles pre-qualifying draw
· In doubles, the pairings of Hidalgo and Watson and Orkin and Lipman received automatic berths into the doubles main draw
About the Saint Francis Health Care System ITA Men's All-American Championships
The Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla. will serve as the host site for the 2015 Men's ITA All-American Championships. For the 11th straight year, the University of Tulsa will serve as the official tournament host. The tournament encompasses three rounds of competition with singles and doubles pre-qualifying matches beginning on Saturday, October 3. Qualifying matches are slated to begin on Monday, October 5 and main draw action is scheduled to start on Thursday, October 8 and run through Monday, October 12.
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 Nov. 12-15, head at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York.
Follow Along with the All-American Championships
Online: Tournament Central Page
Twitter: Follow @ITATennis or #TulsaITA
Follow the Gators:
Players Mentioned
