Freshmen Carlos Cueto and Joey Burkhardt almost played on the big stage with the nation's elite, but both young Gators fell short.
Cueto and Burkhardt lost their respective matches in the final round of the qualifying draw at the Men's ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla., on Wednesday.
Cueto's morning match against No. 98 Roy Kalmanovich of Illinois was close, but Cueto could not take either set and lost 7-5, 6-4.
For Burkhardt, who lost to Kalle Norberg of Ole Miss 6-3, 6-2, a loss might have been the result of a long week. He has competed in eight matches since Oct. 1, winning six of them.
Cueto and Burkhardt also teamed up for doubles play on Tuesday, splitting their two matches.
UF's representation at the All-American is not over, though, as the No. 22 doubles combination of Jeff Dadamo and Tyler Hochwalt will compete in the main draw Thursday. Dadamo and Hochwalt automatically qualified for the main draw on the strength of their national ranking.
The All-American is the first leg of the ITA Grand Slam, which consists of two other events: the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships in November and the NCAA Championships at the end of the season.
