After three days of competition, the singles and doubles finals at the ITA Southeast Regional will be filled with nothing but Gators.
Florida had perhaps its best display of individual and team play of the fall as freshmen Alex Cercone and Olivia Janowicz plowed through the quarterfinals and semifinals, setting up a Gator-on-Gator singles final.
Cercone continued her impressive play, picking up two more straight-set wins. She defeated Maho Kowase of Georgia in the quarterfinals (6-3, 7-6 (5)) before taking down Kowase’s teammate Cameron Ellis (6-4, 6-3).
Janowicz defeated freshman teammate Sofie Oyen in three sets (6-2, 6-7 (1), 6-1) before making quick work of Florida State’s Katie Rybakova (6-3, 6-4).
“We saw some excellent play from our freshmen,” coach Roland Thornqvist said. “We knew our freshmen were talented, but they really answered the bell today.”
In doubles action, the team of Joanna Mather and Caroline Hitimana defeated Miami’s top duo of Bianca Eichkorn and Anna Bartenstein while Allie Will and Oyen also won their semifinals match.
Finals play begins Monday at 3 p.m.
Cercone will face Janowicz in the singles final while Mather/Hitimana will face Will/Oyen in the doubles final.
The winner of each match will play in the USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships next week.
Men’s Tennis: The Gators’ Sekou Bangoura Jr. saw his impressive run come to an end at the USTA/ITA Southeast Regional Championships when he lost in the semifinals Sunday.
Bangoura began the day with a straight-sets quarterfinal upset of the tournament’s No. 1 seed, Guillermo Gomez of Georgia Tech.
In each set, Bangoura broke serve at 5-5, eventually winning both 7-5. Gomez is the No. 4-ranked player in the country, and Bangoura’s victory is an encouraging sign for the Gators.
But in the semifinals, Bangoura lost in straight sets (6-3, 6-2) against No. 43 Clint Bowles of Florida State.
Coach Andy Jackson was pleased with Bangoura’s play and is hoping he can continue to improve as he prepares for the spring season.
Andrew Butz and Bob van Overbeek also made quarterfinal appearances, but both lost.
Although no UF players advanced to the finals, senior Alexandre Lacroix will play in the USTA/ITA National Collegiate Indoor Championships in New York on Nov. 4.
Lacroix qualified for the tournament after reaching the quarterfinals at the ITA All-American on Oct. 8.
