Florida Gators
ITA All-American-Day Five (Qualifying)
Perez and Perez-Blanco Advance to Singles Main Draw of the ITA All-American Championships
Thursday, October 8, 2015 | Men's Tennis
TULSA, Okla. – The University of Florida men's tennis team has two members advancing from the singles qualifying draw into the main draw at the Saint Francis Health Care System Men's ITA All-American Championships.
Three Gators will be competing singles main draw that is slated to begin on Thursday morning at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center. No. 33-ranked Diego Hidalgo received an automatic berth into the main draw.
No. 84 Chase Perez-Blanco and Alfredo Perez have fought through the three rounds of the qualifying draw to earn spots in the main draw. After dropping the first set in his match against Dominic Controne of USF, Perez-Blanco was able to comeback in his final round match against the USF Bull. The Gator sophomore took the next two sets, winning the match 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Perez has not only fought through the qualifying draw but also the pre-qualifying draw to reach the main event. The Gator freshman has competed in seven matches already this tournament and only dropped three sets during his run. No. 120-ranked Strong Kirchheimer of Northwestern was able to take the Gator to three sets, but ultimately fell, 6-4, 0-6, 6-2. Perez is the last competitor from the pre-qualifying rounds to still be alive in match play.
The Gators will face some stiff competition in the opening round of the main draw with all three of their opponents landing in the top-40 of the ITA Preseason Rankings.
Qualifying Draw-Final Round Results
· Hugo di Feo (Ohio State) def. #86 Elliott Orkin (UF), 6-3, 6-3
· #84 Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) def. Dominic Controne (USF), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
· Alfredo Perez (UF) def. #120 Strong Kirchheimer (Northwestern), 6-4, 0-6, 6-2
What Coach Shelton Says
“I think we are learning more each day about the character of this team. It is nice to see Alfredo fight through another match out here. He is answering all the questions correctly this week, both on and off the court. Whenever he faced adversity, he just fights harder. I keep saying that Chase doesn't realize just how good he can be. Hopefully the past few day can motivate him further. We are looking forward to the opportunity to compete again tomorrow in singles and doubles. It should be another great day!”
Complete Qualifying Draw Results
SINGLES-Main Draw Match Ups
· #33 Diego Hidalgo (UF) vs. #38 Matic Spec (Minnesota)
· #86 Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) vs. #14 Ronnie Schneider (North Carolina)
· Alfredo Perez (UF) vs. #11 Romain Bogaerts (Wake Forest)
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, Jordan Belga, Josh Wardell and McClain 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
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Players Mentioned
