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Last time the fate of the No. 11 Florida men's tennis team rested
on Alexandre Lacroix's shoulders, he came up short.
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That wasn't going to happen this time.
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Lacroix, the Gators' lone senior, fought through a three-set match
against Bradley Klahn, the defending NCAA individual singles
champion.
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Ranked No. 9 in the ITA singles rankings, Lacroix topped No. 7
Klahn 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, propelling UF to a 4-3 win over No. 7 Stanford
in the first round of the ITA Indoor Championships Friday.
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other singles action, Sekou Bangoura, Jr. and Spencer Newman picked
up victories for Florida on Courts 2 and 6, respectively.
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After capturing the doubles point, but losing three other singles
matches, the score was tied 3-3 before Lacroix split the first two
sets, setting up the pivotal third set. Unlike in his stumble
against Denis Nevolo of Illinois, Lacroix came out aggressive in
the final set.
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"Everybody put their heart into this match today," coach Andy
Jackson said. "We had good success on Court 1 though, with Alex
beating his guy for the third time in a row."
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was Jackson's 400th win of his career, as both head tennis coaches
reached milestones Friday.
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Jackson said his team’s experience in Illinois last weekend to get
a feel for an indoor court was beneficial.
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thought playing at Illinois last week helped us a lot today,"
Jackson said. "I don't think we would have come out on top today if
we hadn't played that match."
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The Gators will advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament
Saturday against No. 17 Duke, who upset No. 2 Southern California
Friday.
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No.2 women’s team
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women’s action, Roland Thornqvist picked up his 300th career
victory with a 4-1 win over in-state rival Miami at the first round
of the ITA Indoor Championships Friday.
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The No. 2 Gators started fast against the No. 9 Hurricanes by
easily taking the doubles point with an 8-2 win by Alex Cercone and
Olivia Janowicz and an 8-4 win by the No. 30 pair of Lauren Embree
and Joanna Mather.
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Janowicz carried her momentum into singles, beating her opponent in
straight sets on Court 6.
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After Sofie Oyen lost her match on Court 3 in straight sets, the
Gators led the overall team match 2-1 with four singles matches
heading into their third sets.
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But Mather and Allie Will began to dominate, leading Florida to a
berth in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
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Will, ranked No. 7 in singles, finished off No. 10 Bianca Eichkorn
6-4, 3-6, 6-3, while No. 19 Mather topped Melissa Bolivar 6-4, 4-6,
6-2.
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After beating its rival Friday, the Gators will take on No. 12
Clemson today. The Tigers upset No. 7 UCLA on Friday.
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"It was a classic Florida-Miami battle," coach Roland Thornqvist
said. "I thought we had some chances to get off the court fast at a
couple of spots, but the other team fought hard and managed to stay
in it longer."
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Thornqvist was quick to note the importance of the fast third-set
wins by Will and Mather. By winning the third sets in dominating
fashion, the Gators avoided an inevitable nail-biter.
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the time that Mather ended the overall match, Embree and Cercone
were both in tight third-set battles, tied with their
opponents.
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Florida got to a good start toward avenging its disappointing
showing from last spring when the Gators went 1-2 in the
tournament.
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"There are always nerves and the conditions here are a little
different than you're used to," Thornqvist said. "This was a good
win and we're looking forward to playing a tough Clemson team on
Saturday."
