Gators land eight in Oracle/ITA Preseason Rankings

Gators land four on singles and doubles preseason poll and freshman tops top-10 newcomer list for the ITA.

Gators land eight in Oracle/ITA Preseason Rankings

Tuesday, September 11, 2018 | Men's Tennis

By: Corinne Simpson

Men's Singles | Men's Doubles | Men's Newcomer

TEMPE, Ariz. – With fall tournaments starting around the country, the 2018-2019 tennis season is underway. And with that, the Oracle and Intercollegiate Tennis Association released their preseason ranking and the Gators were well represented as they placed eight in the top-100.

Singles

Florida scattered names throughout the ITA singles poll with four individuals earning preseason rankings. The Gators tied Mississippi State for the most in the Southeastern Conference. Junior Johannes Ingildsen opens the season ranked 11th nationally, the highest rating for the Gators. He ended last season ranked No. 26. Following Ingildsen is sophomore Oliver Crawford, who finds himself at No. 20, up 23 spots from last season's final rankings. Sophomore Duarte Vale is ranked 57^th nationally after jumping 41 spots over the summer. Rounding out the preseason singles poll is sophomore Andy Andrade, ranked No. 100.

Doubles

Just like in singles, the Gators are well represented in the ITA preseason doubles rankings. Florida is the only school in the SEC to have more than two doubles teams in the preseason rankings and are tied for a nation-leading four represented in the poll. The Gators are ranked with all-new pairings and leading the way are Ingildsen (two time Doubles All-American) and sophomore Brian Berdusco (transfer from Pepperdine), ranked at No. 24. Senior All-American McClain Kessler is ranked at No. 38 with freshman Sam Riffice, while Kessler's doubles partner from last season and fellow All-American Vale sits at No. 41 with freshman Lukas Greif. Crawford and Andrade round out the doubles rankings for the Gators at No. 44.

Freshmen-Newcomer

For the second-straight year under head coach Bryan Shelton, the Florida men's tennis team has a student-athlete ranked in the ITA Freshman-Newcomer rankings. Riffice, a blue-chip recruit and second best overall recruit in the country, sits atop the list. It is the first time under Shelton that a Florida player has ever been named the top freshman-newcomer in the nation. Riffice is also one only one of two freshman ranked from the SEC.

Up Next
The Gators will be in action for the first time this season when they travel to the University of Virginia for a tournament scheduled for Sept. 21-23.

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