Two players from Florida’s men’s tennis team scored a first-round singles victory in qualifying at the ITA/D’Novo ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla., hosted by the University of Tulsa. Players must win three qualifying matches over the span of three days to reach the 64-player main draw, which kicks off on Thursday.
Junior Nassim Slilam (Paris, France) scored a 6-0, 6-0 victory against Notre Dame’s Daniel Stahl Monday morning, the first double-bagel by a UF player since Alexandre Lacroix (Paris, France) posted one against USF’s Wael Kilani on Sept. 25, 2009, at last year’s Gator Invitational. Slilam will face Nebraska’s Benedikt Lindheim in the second round of qualifying on Tuesday.
Later in the day, sophomore Sekou Bangoura Jr. (Bradenton, Fla.) posted a three-set victory over Rafael Garcia of Texas Tech, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. Bangoura is scheduled to face the 128-player draw’s No. 2 seed, SMU’s Artem Baradach, in second-round action on Tuesday.
The 64-team doubles qualifying draw will also begin play on Tuesday with Bangoura and Billy Federhofer (North Miami, Fla.) slated to take on Nebraska’s No. 9-16 seeds Christopher Aumueller and Calin Paar. The second round of doubles qualifying will also take place on Tuesday. Doubles pairs need three wins in qualifying to reach the 32-team main draw, which also gets underway on Thursday.
ITA All-American Championships
Tulsa, Okla.
Monday, Oct. 4, Results – Florida Only
Singles Qualifying
First Round
Nassim Slilam (UF) def. Daniel Stahl (Notre Dame) – 6-0, 6-0
Sekou Bangoura Jr. (UF) def. Rafael Garcia (Texas Tech) – 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
Tuesday, Oct. 5, Scheduled Matches – Florida Only
Singles Qualifying
Second Round
Nassim Slilam (UF) vs. Benedikt Lindheim (Nebraska)
Sekou Bangoura Jr. (UF) vs. Artem Baradach (SMU)
Doubles Qualifying
First Round
Bangoura/Federhofer (UF) vs. Aumueller/Paar (Nebraska)
