Florida men’s tennis is set to play host in the 2010 USTA/ITA Southeast Regional Championships, which kick off at 2 p.m. Thursday at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville, Fla.
The event features 87 singles participants and 39 doubles teams vying for the regional championship and a spot in the USTA/ITA National Collegiate Individual Indoor, held at the USTA-Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., Nov. 4-7.
“We’re very excited to be able to host the USTA/ITA Regional Championships,” head coach Andy Jackson said. “We’re looking forward to the tournament because the states of Florida and Georgia are two of the very best in the country, in terms of men’s tennis.”
The Southeast Regional this week will feature participants from 14 schools across Florida and Georgia. The most unique element of the USTA/ITA Intercollegiate Championships program is the fact that all levels of varsity college tennis (NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior/Community College) are competing in one comprehensive event, meaning any ITA varsity student-athlete has the opportunity to earn the chance to play at the prestigious USTA-Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Play will begin with the opening round of singles at 2 p.m. on Thursday, which will reduce the field to 64 heading into Friday’s action. Each of Florida’s competitors will begin play in Friday’s Round of 64. Doubles action also kicks off on Friday, with match times to be determined.
Florida senior Alexandre Lacroix (Paris, France) has already qualified for the national singles championships based on his quarterfinal appearance in the ITA All-American Championships earlier this month. Lacroix will compete in the doubles draw alongside junior Nassim Slilam (Paris, France), and the pair is slotted as the tournament’s No. 2 seed. They will take on the Miami pair of Waylon Chin and Eduardo Pavia.
Sophomores Sekou Bangoura Jr. (Bradenton, Fla.) and Bob van Overbeek (Boca Raton, Fla.) will both be competing in the singles draw as No. 9-12-seeded players. While Bangoura and Slilam await their respective opponents based on Thursday’s results, van Overbeek will face USF’s Yannick Yoshizawa on Friday.
In addition, sophomore Billy Federhofer (North Miami, Fla.) will face the singles draw’s top seed, Guillermo Gomez of Georgia Tech, in his opening match on Friday. Freshman Andrew Butz (Vero Beach, Fla.) faces Stetson’s Cesare Gallo, while fellow first-year Michael Alford (Tampa, Fla.) will take on Kevin King of Georgia Tech.
In other doubles action, the fifth-seeded duo of Bangoura and van Overbeek faces Georgia Tech’s Gomez and Dean O’Brien, while Alford and Butz drew another Yellow Jacket opponent in King and Juan Spir.
Admission to the event is free. Parking will be available on Thursday and Monday at the north end of James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard Track. Friday through Sunday, parking will be at the Law School, which is located immediately west of the Ring Tennis Complex.
Schedule of Play
(Subject to change)
Thursday, Oct. 21
Singles: Round of 128
Friday, Oct. 22
Singles: Round of 64
Doubles: Round of 64, Round of 32, Round of 16
Saturday, Oct. 23
Singles: Round of 32, Round of 16
Doubles: Quarterfinals
Sunday, Oct. 24
Singles: Quarterfinals, Semifinals
Doubles: Semifinals
Monday, Oct. 25
Singles: Final
Doubles: Final
