Gators Well Represented in National Preseason Rankings
Tuesday, September 15, 2015 | Men's Tennis
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida men's tennis team has five members ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division I Men's Rankings, released Tuesday afternoon.
Senior captain Diego Hidalgo is the highest ranked Gator in the preseason singles rankings, sitting at No. 33. The 2015 First-Team All-SEC selection played his way to the No. 1 singles position last year and defeated six ITA-ranked opponents.
Junior Maxx Lipman is No. 60, sophomore Chase Perez-Blanco is No. 84, No. 86 is junior Elliott Orkin and rounding out the five is senior Gordon Watson who sits at No. 108. Along with North Carolina, Florida is one of two schools with five student-athletes in the top 125, second only to the reigning National Champions, the University of Virginia.
In doubles, the junior pairing of Lipman and Orkin come in at No. 12 in the preseason rankings. Seniors Hidalgo and Watson are not far behind at No. 23 in the rankings. The Gators are one of eight teams that have two doubles teams ranked.
The first ITA team ranking will be released in early January 2016.
About the Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings
As the governing body of college tennis, the ITA administers Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings that are designed to track the top men's and women's teams, along with singles and doubles players in NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA, Junior Colleges and California Junior Colleges.
The 2015 draws for the Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships were announced on Tuesday. The championships will be held in Tulsa, Oklahoma from October 3-11.
Gators Selected for ITA All-American Championships
· Diego Hidalgo received an automatic berth into the singles main draw
· Chase Perez-Blanco, Elliott Orkin, Gordon Watson and Maxx Lipman each earned bids into the qualifying singles draw.
· Alfredo Perez, Jordan Belga, Josh Wardell and McClain Kessler received spots in the prequalifying singles draw
· Lipman and Orkin earned an automatic berth into the doubles main draw
· Hidalgo and Watson are the No. 4 alternates for the doubles main draw (if there is not a spot in the main draw, the pair will compete in the qualifying draw)
About the 2015 Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championships
· The University of Tulsa will play host for the All-American Championships at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma with singles and doubles prequalifying draws beginning on October 3. The main is slated to start on October 8.
Fall Season Approaching
· The Gators have their first day of official practice on Friday afternoon.
· The team will travel next weekend to the Napa Valley Tournament in California and the Bedford Cup in Fort Meyers, Fla.
Follow the Gators:
