Two Gators find themselves in the round of 16 of a college grand slam tournament after Thursday afternoon.
In the main draw of the Riviera/ITA All-American Tournament, success continued for the Gators as both freshman Danielle Collins and senior Lauren Embree won their respective singles match.
Sixth-ranked Embree, also the No. 3 seed in the tournament, displayed her high-caliber performance after cruising past Arizona State’s 13th-ranked Jacqueline Cako, 6-2, 6-3.
She had not played in a collegiate event yet this season, but the senior proved why she deserved the high ranking.
Collins, on the other hand, continued her remarkable tear through the collegiate scene. She extended her career-opening win streak to 10 matches after flying past UNLV’s 43rd-ranked Lucia Batta.
“Both Danielle and Lauren did a great job today,” UF associate coach Dave Balogh said. “That first round match in the main draw can always be a bit tricky but both handled themselves well and played solid. Tomorrow’s a big day for both.”
Embree will be taking on Penn State’s No. 52 Petra Januskova, and Collins will play against an unlikely opponent in Virginia’s Julia Elbaba. Elbaba is ranked fourth among freshmen in the nation and upset the No. 1 seeded and fourth-ranked Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar in consecutive sets.
The two singles matches will be played at 10:45 a.m. Pacific Time on Friday.
In terms of success, Embree and Collins could not say the same in their doubles match. The pair lost 8-3 to Tennessee’s 34th-ranked Brynn Boren and Kata Szekely. The Gators will play in the doubles’ consolation draw on Friday.
van Overbeek falls in main draw: Gator senior Bob van Overbeek has been seeded in the last two tournaments and has left empty handed. For van Overbeek, the Riviera/ITA All-American Tournament was the same scenario—a high seed but no results.
On Thursday, 16th-ranked van Overbeek lost in his first match of the main draw against Tulsa’s Japie DeKlerk, 6-4, 6-1.
Van Overbeek led the first set by 4-3 at a point, but what happened next can be described as nothing else but a collapse. He proceeded to lose nine out of the next 10 games.
The 2012 fall season has not been a memorable one for van Overbeek so far. He has gone 4-3 in three tournaments this year.
The first tournament, the 2012 Southern Intercollegiate Championships, van Overbeek was seeded as No. 1 in a 64-player bracket and advanced to the quarterfinals before losing in two sets to Virginia Tech’s Andreas Bjerrehus, 7-6 (4), 6-1.
In the second tournament, the Bedford Cup, van Overbeek was the No. 1 seed once again but did not get far in the tourney. He won his first match but got upset in his second match by FSU’s Dominic Controne, 6-4, 6-4.
It’s not only van Overbeek’s singles play but his doubles play too.
Van Overbeek and senior Billy Federhofer lost against Texas A&M’s pair of Jordan Szabo and Jackson Withrow, 8-4.
In all three tournaments, van Overbeek lost in the first round. He has played with freshman Gordon Watson once and Federhofer twice.
Luckily, van Overbeek has all of fall to get back on track.
Lauren Embree hits the ball at Riviera/ITA All-American Championships on Oct. 3, 2012 at the Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Embree won her final home singles match in Florida's 4-0 win against Georgia Tech on Sunday.
