Florida men’s tennis sophomore Sekou Bangoura Jr. (Bradenton, Fla.) won the singles draw at the Lakewood Ranch Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic in his hometown of Bradenton, Fla., taking the final in three sets over Andres Carrasco of Arizona, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, in front of an estimated 500 fans.
Bangoura won five matches over the span of three days to claim the tournament, which wraps the team’s fall season. UF closes the fall with a pair of titles as sophomore Bob van Overbeek (Boca Raton, Fla.) won the University of Texas Invitational last weekend.
Florida’s duo of freshmen Michael Alford (Tampa, Fla.) and Andrew Butz (Vero Beach, Fla.) reached the doubles final before falling in a tiebreaker to Rok Bonin and Julian Dehn of Minnesota. Alford and Butz defeated another pair of Golden Gophers, Sebastian Gallego and Tobias Wernet, in the semifinals on Sunday to reach championship match.
Alford also won his final singles consolation match, downing Miami’s Omar Aly, 7-6(3), 6-3, in the consolation semifinals. Dehn, Alford’s scheduled opponent in the consolation final, defaulted to make Alford the winner of the consolation bracket.
Lakewood Ranch Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic
Bradenton, Fla.
Nov. 14 Results (UF only)
Singles Final
(111) Sekou Bangoura Jr. (UF) def. Andres Carrasco (Arizona) – 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
Singles Consolation
Michael Alford (UF) def. Omar Aly (Miami) – 7-6(3), 6-3
Julian Dehn (Minnesota) def. Andrew Butz (UF) – 6-2, 2-6, (10-8)
Doubles Semifinals
Alford/Butz (UF) def. Gallego/Wernet (Minnesota) – 8-6
Doubles Final
Bonin/Dehn (Minnesota) def. Alford/Butz – 9-8(3)
