Florida Gators

ATHENS, Ga. – The first day of the Southern Intercollegiate Championships set the tone for a tough weekend of competition at Georgia's Dan Magill Tennis Complex, as the Gators went 7-5 overall on the day through the opening rounds of doubles and singles play. Florida's No. 4 ranked doubles tandem of Johannes Ingildsen and Brian Berdusco advanced to Saturday's doubles semifinals, while four of seven Gators managed to advance to the quarterfinals of singles play on Friday.
 
"Overall, we are getting exactly what we need – competitive matches," said head coach Bryan Shelton. "We have some specific goals for this weekend and are looking forward to accomplishing those goals."
 
The day started with the first round of doubles competition, followed by second round matches after. Two of Florida's three doubles pair notched opening wins, though, only Ingildsen and Berdusco would move on to the semifinals.
 
Ingildsen and Berdusco, the No. 2 seed in the Red doubles draw, started the morning off defeating LSU's Kozlov and Bhatager in a competitive opening matchup, 7-5. The duo then met against Wake Forest's Botzer and Nava in the second round, dropping the pair of Demon Deacons with a 6-4 decision to grant their entrance into Saturday's semifinals.
 
No. 21 Andy Andrade and Duarte Vale, the No. 3 seed in the Red doubles draw, picked up their first doubles victory of the fall slate against Tulane's Moore and Erlenbusch, 6-2, to start the day. Andrade and Vale would then come up short in the second round at the hands of Texas' Sigsgaard and Woldeab, 6-3.
 
Competing in the Black doubles draw, Josh Goodger and Lukas Greif would slip into the back draw after falling, 6-4, to Texas' Bullard and McDonald. The duo then received a bye into the back draw consolation semifinals, slated for tomorrow.
 
The Gators then tallied four wins on the opening day of singles competition, as juniors Josh Goodger, Andy Andrade, Duarte Vale and freshman Blaise Bicknell all advanced to Saturday quarterfinals.
 
No. 68 Josh Goodger, No. 4 seed in the Red singles draw, picked up his second ranked win of the fall tournament slate, downing UCF's No. 84 Alan Rubio in straight-sets, 7-5, 6-4. No. 31 Andrade, No. 2 seed in the Red singles draw, also followed with a straight-set win over LSU's Malik Bhatnagar, 6-2, 6-2, to advance to the quarterfinals.
 
Blaise Bicknell managed to grind out a gritty first round victory in the Black singles draw against UCF's Borgdan Pavel, taking the first set (6-3) before falling in the second to Pavel, 3-6. The third set came down to a tiebreak finish, as the two traded blow for blow before Bicknell would eventually outlast Pavel, 7-6 (6), to move on to the next round. Bicknell will go on to face a challenge in top-seeded Bar Botzer of Wake Forest, ranked No. 15 in the ITA preseason national rankings, in Saturday's quarterfinals.
 
No. 52 Duarte Vale, the No. 3 seed in the Black singles draw, would then drop Texas' Siem Woldeab in his first round matchup, 6-0, 4-2 (ret.).
 
Red Doubles Draw
First Round:
 
No. 21 Andy Andrade/Duarte Vale (3) def. Moore/Erlenbusch (Tulane), 6-2
 
No. 4 Johannes Ingildsen/Brian Berdusco (2) def. Koxlov/Bhatager (LSU), 7-5
 
Second Round:
 
Sigsgaard/Woldeab (Texas) def. No. 21 Andrade/Vale (3), 6-3
 
No. 4 Ingildsen/Berdusco (2) def. Botzer/Nava (Wake Forest), 6-4
 
Black Doubles Draw
First Round:
 
Bullard/McDonald (Texas) def. Lukas Greif/Josh Goodger, 6-4
 
Backdraw Consolation:
Greif/Goodger - BYE
 
Black Singles Draw
First Round:
 
No. 2 Christian Sigsgaard (1) (Texas) def. Brian Berdusco, 6-3, 6-1
 
No. 68 Josh Goodger (4) def. No. 84 Alan Rubio (UCF), 7-5, 6-4
 
No. 81 Phillip Henning (UGA) def. No. 70 Lukas Greif, 6-4, 7-6 (2)
 
No. 31 Andy Andade (2) def. Malik Bhatnagar (LSU), 6-2, 6-2
 
Black Singles Draw
First Round:
 
Blaise Bicknell def. Borgdan Pavel (UCF), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (6)
 
No. 52 Duarte Vale (3) def. Siem Woldeab (Texas), 6-0, 4-2 (ret.)
 
No. 122 Chih Chi Huang (Texas) def. No. 64 Johannes Ingildsen, 6-3, 6-4
 
UP NEXT:

• The second day of competition begins tomorrow at 8 a.m. with doubles semifinals play. Singles quarterfinals will follow along with the first round of singles consolation, while the semifinals will ensue after along with the second round of singles consolation.