Florida is off to a hot start at the Riviera/Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s All-American tournament in California.
Freshman Belinda Woolcock defeated three competitors in the pre-qualifying rounds to earn herself a spot in Tuesday’s qualifying play.
Woolcock, the only Florida player competing in pre-qualifying rounds, defeated University of Virginia senior Caryssa Peretz on Saturday in the pre-qualifying first round. After losing the first set 3-6, Woolcock answered with two blowout set wins, 6-1 and 6-0. In the second round, she beat DePaul's Patricia Fargas.
In the third and final round, Woolcock defeated Baylor’s No. 16-seeded Jordaan Sanford in just two sets (6-2, 6-2). Woolcock’s collegiate singles record now stands at 6-1, including 2-0 against nationally ranked opponents.
“This was the best I’ve seen Belinda play, no questions,” said coach Roland Thornqvist, who was only in California to coach Woolcock’s pre-qualifying play. “She used her forehand really well, played her way forward. She looked confident in all three of her matches here.”
Woolcock is one of eight pre-qualifying singles players who move on to Tuesday’s qualifying rounds. Gators senior Alexandra Cercone and sophomore Brianna Morgan also have spots in the qualifying rounds, while senior Olivia Janowicz is the No. 1 alternate for qualifying singles play.
Associate head coach Dave Balogh will coach the Gator through qualifying and main draw play.
“Draws are pretty competitive, which we knew coming in here,” Balogh said in an email. “We had a great week of preparation so we'll go out there, compete hard and see if we can grab a few wins.”
As in the pre-qualifying rounds, only eight players from the 64-player roster will move on to the next round of All-American play, the main draw. To make it there, a competitor must make it through all three qualifying rounds undefeated.
Florida senior Sofie Oyen is one of 24 players who received an automatic spot in the main draw.
Winning the Riviera, considered the first leg of the collegiate grand slam, not only earns a competitor an All-American title, but that player also receives automatic entry into the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships on Nov. 7-10 in Flushing, N.Y.
Follow Erica A. Hernandez on Twitter @EricaAlyssa.
Freshman Belinda Woolcock (above) beat three competitors in the pre-qualifying rounds to earn herself a spot in qualifying play at the Riviera/Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s All-American tournament in California.
