Sunday was a successful one for Gators tennis as sophomore Bob van Overbeek won the singles title at the Texas Invitational and the team of Allie Will and Sofie Oyen won the doubles title at the USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships.
Facing what coach Andy Jackson described as a world-class opponent in Oklahoma’s Peerakit Siributwong, van Overbeek dominated in a 6-1, 6-3 straight-sets win.
Although it was his first collegiate finals appearance, van Overbeek went into the match with a relaxed mindset.
“I didn’t feel too much pressure today,” he said. “I was just trying to get out there and play as well as I could.”
Van Overbeek was able to take advantage of his strength by putting the ball high against an opponent who’s known for playing the ball hard and low, Jackson said.
“The whole tournament I thought he competed really well,” he said. “He’s the kinda guy where the more he plays, the stronger he gets and the better he plays.”
To be championship-caliber, Jackson said the team needs six players capable of playing the number one role and van Overbeek, Sekou Bangoura Jr. and Alexandre Lacroix have established that they can do that this fall.
“We’ve got the possibility of finding some other number one players,” he said. “The other guys are getting closer and closer.”
Oyen/Will win championship: In women’s action, Will and Oyen emerged victorious over Clemson’s third-seeded duo of Josipa Bek and Keri Wong in three sets (5-7, 6-3, 6-3) to claim a national title.
The win had even more significance since Will and Oyen’s only loss on the season came in their season opener against the same Clemson team.
After opening with a 5-2 lead, Oyen and Will got tentative and ultimately dropped the first set. But the two played aggressively the rest of the match and cruised in the third set, UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said.
“They played U.S. Open-level tennis,” he said. “They played really, really well this whole tournament.”
Even though the pair is young, their youth isn’t necessarily a downside, Thornqvist said.
“We say the youth is always only a bad thing if you’re not a good player,” he said. “These two are exceptionally good players. They’re tough, very resilient and also coachable.”
With the win, Will and Oyen finished the fall season with an 11-1 record and will have a realistic shot at winning the NCAA championship.
“Winning this tournament will throw their hats right in the middle of the ring,” Thornqvist said. “They beat the three teams that were perhaps the favorites. Certainly you have to mention Sofie and Allie now in the same breath.”
