The terrific run by the three Gators who reached the third and final round of the qualifying draw of the 2010 Riviera/ITA Women’s All American Championships came to end Thursday morning at the Riviera Country Club.
UF freshman Sofie Oyen (Leoppoldsburg, Belgium), sophomore Caroline Hitimana (Waterloo, Belgium) and freshman Alex Cercone (Seminole, Fla.) proved to be tough outs to their higher-ranked opponents, but in the end fell short of claiming one more victory and reaching the main draw of the prestigious national tournament.
Cercone won three matches in the pre-qualifying event and then two more in qualifying to reach the third round, where she bowed out to Stanford’s 21st-ranked Mallory Burdette, 6-4, 7-6 (6). Oyen was a ‘lucky loser’ after the pre-qualifying matches and earned a spot in the qualifying draw, where she made the most of her opportunity and upended a pair of ranked opponents before losing Thursday to N.C. State’s Sanaa Bhambri, 6-4, 0-6, 6-2. Hitimana also had two tough wins in qualifying play, before dropping a 6-3, 6-4 decision to SMU’s 22nd-ranked Marta Lesniak.
The Gators didn’t have much luck during the first round of main draw doubles action, as the team of sophomore Allie Will (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Oyen fell to Clemson’s fifth-ranked pair of Josipa Bek and Keri Wong, 8-6. Florida’ sixth-ranked tandem of Lauren Embree (Marco Island, Fla.) and Joanna Mather (Duluth, Ga.) also went down in opening-round doubles play, dropping an 8-5 mark to Arkansas’ 26th-ranked Anouk Tigu and Claudine Paulson. Both doubles teams will begin action in the consolation draw on Friday.
Will returns to the courts late Thursday evening, where she will play Ole Miss’ 20th-ranked Kristi Boxx in the first round of the 32-player singles draw.
2010 Riviera/ITA Women’s All American Championships
Riviera Country Club * Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Thursday, October 07, 2010
UF Results Only
Singles, Third Round Qualifying (Round of 16)
Sanaa Bhambri, NC State d. Sofie Oyen, UF, 6-4, 0-6, 6-2
(22) Marta Lesniak, SMU d. (77) Caroline Hitimana, UF, 6-3, 6-4
(21) Mallory Burdette, Stanford d. Alex Cercone, UF, 6-4, 7-6 (6)
Singles, First Round Main Draw (Round of 32)
(5) Allie Will, UF vs. (20) Kristi Boxx, Ole Miss - late
Doubles, First Round Main Draw (Round of 32)
(26) Anouk Tigu/Claudine Paulson, Arkansas d. (6) Lauren Embree/Joanna Mather, UF, 8-5
(5) Josipa Bek/Keri Wong, Clemson d. (18) Sofie Oyen/Alli Will, UF, 8-6
