Despite enjoying only marginal success in the final grand slam event of the fall season, the Florida coaches have to be pleased with how the fall season went as a whole.
After a busy day of action at the ITA Intercollegiate Indoor Championships cut the field in half, two of the three UF entrants are still standing.
Allie Will, Alex Lacroix and Antoine Benneteau will have to compete not only with 32 of the nation's best players but also with an unfamiliar set of elements at the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships this weekend.
After coming up just short in the first leg of collegiate tennis' Grand Slam two weeks ago, freshman Allie Will and the doubles team of Antoine Benneteau and Alex Lacroix have earned themselves a shot at redemption by winning the ITA Southeast Regional Championships, which serve as a feeder into the Grand Slam's second event.
After beginning ITA Regional Championship play Friday with a combined 15 entrants, Allie Will on the women's side and the doubles team of Alex Lacroix and Antoine Benneteau on the men's have traversed difficult fields and still have a shot to win titles Monday.
The Florida men's and women's tennis teams will be returning to action today at the ITA Southeast Regional Championships, which will be held in Athens, Ga., for the men and Atlanta for the women.
Despite extremely impressive starts, none of the Gators were able to traverse the highly competitive fields and win a championship at the ITA All-American tournaments.
Despite having to face three ranked opponents in the previous two days, UF freshmen Allie Will and Lauren Embree looked as strong as ever in first-round wins at the ITA All American Championships.
While Johnny Hamui's attempt to get a second Gator into the men's main draw of the ITA All American Championships came to an unsuccessful end on Tuesday, freshman Lauren Embree was dominant in her first and second round of qualifying and still has a shot at joining Marrit Boonstra in the women's draw.
With injuries and inconsistency threatening to limit the number of UF entrants into the ITA All-American Tennis Championships to just one, junior Johnny Hamui is trying to make that two.
The 2009 Gator Invitational, held this past weekend at the Ring Tennis Complex, gave the UF men's tennis team an opportunity to experiment with a variety of lineups and gave the women's team an opportunity to showcase their excellence.
The UF men's tennis team will open its fall season this weekend with the Gator Invitational at Linder Stadium in Gainesville.
ALLIGATOR STAFF REPORT
Things appear to be looking up for the Florida women's tennis team. After reaching the Round of 16 in the NCAA Championships and finishing 14th in the ITA rankings last year, the team has reason to believe it can produce even better results this season.
No. 8 Marrit Boonstra made it all the way to the quarterfinals of the NCAA singles bracket and recorded her 50th career win before finally coming up short.
Hump day was not a good one for most of the Gators tennis players.
The No. 15 UF women's tennis team's season ended with a 4-2 loss to No. 2 Georgia in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tennis Championships on Friday.
It's almost poetic how the No. 15 women's tennis team will be facing a bitter rival in No. 2 Georgia in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tennis Championships on Friday. In a rubber match, no less.
A double fault.
Jo Mather had only enough time to give a fist pump before being swarmed by the rest of the No. 15 UF women's tennis team after a 4-2 win against Florida State.
Solutions by The State News
