The men's and women's tennis teams had six individuals competing in the ITA All-American Championships this weekend, with pre-qualifying rounds played on Saturday and Sunday. Josie Kuhlman and Spencer Liang both reached the women's singles qualifying round, while no one who competed for the men this weekend made it on.
Kuhlman and Liang competed this weekend on the women's side, traveling out to Malibu, California.
Kuhlman started off the weekend with a close win, beating USC's Gabby Smith 6-4, 7-6 (6). She won her next round over Sybille Gauvain (San Jose State) 6-2, 7-5 to make it to the third round, playing against Petra Melounova from the University of Hawaii. Kuhlman got the victory by a score of 6-3, 6-3, and will be moving on to the qualifying round.
Liang followed suit. The senior won her first round in three sets over Louise Kwong (Illinois) by a score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. She breezed through the second round, winning 6-2, 6-0 over Oklahoma State's Katie Stresnakova, to make it to the third round match. Liang won the match 6-4, 6-1 to play on Tuesday.
Junior Anna Danilina will play in the singles qualifying draw, and senior Belinda Woolcock will be in the main draw for the same event. Kourtney Keegan is also in the qualifying/main draw as the first alternate.
Liang and Danilina are paired up in the doubles qualifying draw. Woolcock and Kuhlman are a duo already in the main draw, as are Keegan and junior Brooke Austin.
The Gators had four men playing this weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in singles pre-qualifying matches: Jordan Belga, McClain Kessler, Maxx Lipman and Joshua Wardell.
Belga won his first round 6-3, 6-4 over LSU's Rafael Wagner before being knocked out in three sets by the number one overall seed, Michael Feucht (Lamar). The final score was 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(1).
Meanwhile, Kessler reached the fourth round, having a bye his first round and then winning his second round match over Vlad Kramarov (University of Louisiana) 6-2, 6-4. The sophomore from Calhoun, Georgia, played his third round match against Julian Zlobinsky (Texas), getting the win by a score of 6-4, 6-4. He competed against Baylor's Jimmy Bendeck in the fourth round, losing in three sets by a score of 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-0.
Lipman also had a bye his first round, followed by a second round win against Matej Svjetlicic (Western Michigan) 6-2, 7-5. His third round match, played Sunday morning, resulted in a loss against Duke's Nick Stachowiak. After making it a close first set, losing 7-6 (5), the senior lost the second set 6-0.
Wardell was knocked out in the first round, losing 6-3, 6-4 to Texas Longhorn Colin Markes.
Junior Chase Perez-Blanco will be playing in the qualifying singles draw, while sophomore Alfredo Perez and senior Elliott Orkin are in the main singles draw. Orkin and Lipman are a duo in the qualifying doubles draw.
Contact Cassie Amundson at camundson@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @camundson_.
Senior Josie Kuhlman scored the deciding point in Florida's 4-2 win over Arkansas in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. The Gators will face either Ole Miss or Vanderbilt for the title on Sunday.
