Gators Anticipate Tough Competition at ITA All-American Championships

Wednesday, October 5

Tulsa, OK

TBA

Florida Gators

ITA All-American - Day 5 (Qualifying)

Gators Anticipate Tough Competition at ITA All-American Championships

Wednesday, October 5, 2016 | Men's Tennis

By: Kelsey Bibik

Qualifying Singles | Qualifying Singles Consolation | Qualifying Doubles

TULSA, Okla. – Florida's Elliott Orkin and Alfredo Perez will begin competition in the main draw of the ITA All-American Championships this Thursday at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center. The main draw consists of both athletes who advanced through the pre-qualifying and qualifying rounds of the tournament, and some of the highest-ranked tennis players from around the country.

Because of their high positions in the ITA preseason rankings – No. 22 and No. 37, respectively – Orkin and Perez automatically advanced to the main draw of competition, bypassing the qualifying draws that eliminated some of their teammates earlier this week.

Orkin and his doubles partner Maxx Lipman showed a promising performance in the qualifying round of the doubles tournament, winning their first two matches and advancing to the Round of 16. They were eventually knocked out of the competition, falling to Texas' Yuya Ito and Harrison Scott.

McClain Kessler made a strong statement for the Gators in the pre-qualifying round last weekend. He was ranked ninth in his draw and won his first three matches, eventually falling to No. 17 Jimmy Bendeck from Baylor.

The main draw of the tournament runs from Thursday, Oct. 6th to Sunday, Oct. 9th.

Assistant Coach Tanner Stump:
"Our guys are looking forward to competing tomorrow against some of the best competition in college tennis. Each of them has been working on specific things with their games, and it is our goal for them to implement these aspects and out-compete our competition. I am looking forward to seeing them lay everything on the line and represent the Gators well throughout the rest of this event."

UF Results Only
Pre-qualifying

Round of 256
- Jordan Belga (UF) def. Rafael Wagner (LSU), 6-3, 6-4
- Colin Markes (Texas) def. No. 17 Josh Wardell (UF), 6-3, 6-4
Round of 128
- No. 1 Michael Feucht (Lamar) def. Jordan Belga (UF), 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (1)
- No. 9 McClain Kessler (UF) def. Vlad Kramarov (Louisiana), 6-2, 6-4
- No. 9 Maxx Lipman (UF) def. Matej Svjetllcic (WMU), 6-2, 7-5
Round of 64
- No. 9 McClain Kessler (UF) def. Julian Ziobinsky (Texas), 6-4, 6-4
- Nick Stachowiak (Duke) def. No. 9 Maxx Lipman (UF), 7-6 (5), 6-0
Round of 32
- No. 17 Jimmy Bendeck (Baylor) def. No. 9 McClain Kessler (UF), 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-0

Qualifying

Singles
- First Round
  - Dennis Upensky (Wake Forrest) def. Chase Perez-Blanco (UF), 6-3, 7-6 (5)
- Consolation – Round of 64
  - Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) def. C. Frantzen (Baylor), 6-3, 6-1
Doubles
- Round of 64
  - Maxx Lipman/Elliott Orkin (UF) def. Gian Issa/Miguel Negre Fernandez (Middle Tennessee), 6-3, 7-5
- Round of 32
  - Maxx Lipman/Elliott Orkin (UF) def. Rob Bellamy/Jack Jaede (USC), 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (5)
- Round of 16
  - Yuya Ito/Harrison Scott (Texas) def. Maxx Lipman/Elliott Orkin (UF), 6-3, 6-2

What's on the line:
Singles quarterfinalists, doubles finalists and consolation champions will receive an automatic entry into the 2016 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships on Nov. 3-6, held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York.

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