Florida Gators

TULSA, Okla. – Florida's doubles teams advanced to the round of 16 in the main draw of the ITA All-American Championships and sophomore Oliver Crawford earned a bid into the second round of singles to highlight Thursday's action. 
 
Sophomores Andy Andrade and Crawford, who worked their way into the main draw through the qualifying draw, earned a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Nico Borter and Guilherme Osorio of San Diego.  They advance to the round of 16 in their first tournament as partners.
 
Junior Johannes Ingildsen and sophomore Brian Berdusco were automatically selected for main draw in doubles.  The duo won the first set 6-3.  They dropped the second set 3-6, but took the tiebreaker 10-6 to seal the match and advance to the second round. 
 
In singles, Crawford defeated Loic Cloes, who qualified for main draw through the lucky losers' bracket, 6-3, 6-4.  The sophomore is the only Florida player still alive in the singles main draw. 
 
Ingildsen and Riffice both dropped their first round matches and fell into the consolation bracket, however there is still much to play for.  The winner of each draw will advance to the National Fall Championships in Surprise, Ariz. 
 
Ingildsen won the first set 6-3, but struggled to find consistency as he dropped the second and third sets 4-6, 1-6 and the seventh-seeded Gator was upset by Ricky Hernandez-Tong of New Mexico. 
 
Riffice battled sixth-seed Thomas Laurent of Oregon.  Laurent was ranked no. 8 in the singles preseason rankings.  The Oregon senior advanced to the semifinals of the All-American Championships last season.  Florida's freshman, who earned an automatic bid into the singles main draw, jumped out in the first set, but Laurent forced a tiebreak and defeated Riffice 7-6 (5) in the first set.  In the second set, Riffice led 5-3, but Laurent rallied back and forced a tiebreak once again.  Riffice dropped the second set 7-6 (5).   
 
ITA All-American Championships Results:

• Main Draw Singles Round 1:
  • Oliver Crawford def. Loic Cloes (South Alabama) 6-3, 6-4
  • Ricky Hernandez-Tong (New Mexico) def. (7) Johannes Ingildsen 6-3, 4-6, 1-6
  • (6) Thomas Laurent (Oregon) def. Sam Riffice 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5)

• Main Draw Doubles Round 1:
  • Oliver Crawford/Andy Andrade def. Nico Borter/Guilherme Osorio (San Diego) 6-3, 6-4
  • Johannes Ingildsen/Brian Berdusco def. Aziz Kijametovic/Francois Musitelli (Old Dominion) 6-3, 3-6, 10-6

Up Next:

• Crawford and the double tandems will be in the second round of main draw, starting Friday.  Ingildsen and Riffice will fight through the consolation singles draw, which also starts on Friday.

 
Thoughts from Coach Bryan Shelton:

• "Saw some good things out of our guys today.  Sam [Riffice] just couldn't quite finish today, but it was a match he can learn from.  Oliver [Crawford] did a great job on serve today and our doubles was much better today."
• "We will rest up, recover and do it again tomorrow."

What's on the Line?

• In addition to vying for the All-American national title, players will be competing to secure a berth to the 2018 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, which takes place Nov. 7-11 in Surprise, Ariz.
• Singles quarterfinalists, consolation singles champion and finalist, along with doubles semifinalists and consolation doubles champion and finalist will advance to the end of fall national championship. 

 
How to Follow the Action:

• For updates, draws, schedules, live scoring, general daily recaps and photo gallery links, visit the Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championships event page
• You can also follow event coverage on the Florida Gators Men's Tennis Twitter and Instagram channels at @GatorsMTN.

 
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