Florida men’s tennis freshman Andrew Butz (Vero Beach, Fla.) advanced through the third round of singles pre-qualifying action at the ITA/D’Novo All-American Championships at the University of Tulsa on Sunday before falling in the final pre-qualifying stage.
Butz posted a three-set third-round victory over Georgia Tech’s Dean O’Brien, who was a No. 9-16 seed in the pre-qualifying rounds, advancing to the fourth and final round of pre-qualifying. However, Butz could not overcome Duke’s Chris Mengel, also a No. 9-16 seed, who posted a straight-sets victory against the UF freshman.
Singles qualifying rounds begin on Monday with a 128-player draw that includes Florida junior Nassim Slilam (Paris, France) and nationally-ranked sophomores Sekou Bangoura Jr. (Bradenton, Fla.) and Bob van Overbeek (Boca Raton, Fla.). Ninth-ranked senior Alexandre Lacroix (Paris, France) begins play in the main draw, which kicks off on Thursday, Oct. 7.
Sunday, Oct. 3, Results – Florida Only
ITA All-American Championships
Tulsa, Okla.
Singles Pre-Qualifying
Third Round
Andrew Butz (UF) def. Dean O’Brien (Georgia Tech) – 7-5, 0-6, 6-4
Fourth Round
Chris Mengel (Duke) def. Andrew Butz (UF) – 7-5, 6-1
