Three Florida tennis players advanced into the singles quarterfinals on Saturday at the men’s USTA/ITA Southeast Regional Championships at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville, Fla. Overall, Gator players went a perfect 9-0 in singles action on Saturday.
“Today was a nice day for us, and we’re really looking forward to tomorrow,” head coach Andy Jackson said. “To go perfect in singles over a full day at this level doesn’t happen very often. It was good for us to recover from a first day that we felt could’ve been better.”
Freshman Andrew Butz (Vero Beach, Fla.) and sophomores Sekou Bangoura Jr. (Bradenton, Fla.) and Bob van Overbeek (Boca Raton, Fla.) each posted a pair of singles wins. All of their quarterfinal matches will begin at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Admission is free.
UF is the only school in the event to send three players into the singles quarterfinals in spite of the absence of ninth-ranked senior Alexandre Lacroix (Paris, France) from the singles draw. Lacroix has already qualified for November’s USTA/ITA National Collegiate Indoor Championships at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., and competed in doubles only this weekend.
Butz posted his second win over a seeded and nationally-ranked player in as many days, downing Georgia’s Drake Bernstein, 6-3, 6-4, to earn his quarterfinal spot.
The Gators also had a positive showing in the consolation round, as freshman Michael Alford (Tampa, Fla.), junior Nassim Slilam (Paris, France) and sophomore Billy Federhofer (North Miami, Fla.) each won their respective match in straight sets, including a double-bagel for Federhofer over Mercer’s Mark Worsham.
Lacroix and Slilam’s doubles run came to an end in the quarterfinals as the UF duo fought off three match points before falling, 8-6.
Below are the complete results and upcoming schedule for Florida’s participants.
USTA/ITA Southeast Regional Championships
Gainesville, Fla.
Saturday, Oct. 23, Results (UF only)
Singles – Round of 32
(111) Sekou Bangoura Jr. (UF) def. Jordan Kelly-Houston (FSU) – 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
Andrew Butz (UF) def. Federico Sabogal (USF) – 6-4, 6-1
(105) Bob van Overbeek (UF) def. Waylon Chin (Miami) – 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Singles – Round of 16 (3 p.m.)
(111) Sekou Bangoura Jr. def. (UF) Magin Ortiga (GT) – 6-4, 6-3
Andrew Butz (UF) def. (76) Drake Bernstein (UGA) – 6-3, 6-4
(105) Bob van Overbeek (UF) def. Fernando Banos Lopez (JU) – 6-1, 2-6, 7-5
Singles – Consolation
Michael Alford (UF) def. Gabriel Flores (Miami) – 7-5, 6-4
Billy Federhofer (UF) def. Mark Worsham (Mercer) – 6-0, 6-0
Nassim Slilam (UF) def. Evandro Rosindo (Mercer) – 6-0, 6-3
Doubles – Quarterfinals
Doumbia/Taboada (UGA) def. (20) Lacroix/Slilam (UF) – 8-6
Sunday, Oct. 24, Schedule (UF only)
Singles – Quarterfinals (10 a.m.)
(111) Sekou Bangoura Jr. (UF) vs. (4) Guillermo Gomez (GT)
Andrew Butz (UF) vs. (43) Clint Bowles (FSU)
(105) Bob van Overbeek (UF) vs. Dusan Miljevic (UF)
Singles – Semifinals (2 p.m.)
TBD
