Not much is different about Florida’s biggest fall tournament compared to year’s past. Except the fact that it’s roughly 2,300 miles away, being played outdoors instead of indoors and three more players will be representing the Gators than last year’s group.
Normally held at the historically prestigious USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in Flushing, New York, this season’s tournament is taking place in Indian Wells, California, at the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships.
The Gators are in a great position going into the tournament, having top seeds in both singles and doubles.
Senior Anna Danilina will be the lone representative from the women’s team at the Fall Championships, holding the No. 1 seed in the women’s singles draw.
The Moscow native holds a 9-3 singles record going into competition in California. Danilina’s most recent matches come from the ITA Southeast Regional Championships, where the senior went 5-1 overall after falling to Katarina Jokic of Georgia in the finals, 6-4, 6-2.
In addition to Danilina, six Gators from the men’s team will travel to California to compete.
Alfredo Perez holds the No. 9 seed for the men’s singles draw, while Johannes Ingildsen is close behind, holding the No. 12 seed going into the tournament.
Perez and Ingildsen — Florida’s only players with prior experience in the national tournament — are also the No. 1-seeded team in the men’s double draw. The duo was able to claim its bid for the Fall Championships at the beginning of October at the ITA All-American Tournament held in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
This won’t be entirely new for the Gators pair, as it competed in doubles play at the National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships back in 2016, taking home the consolation doubles title.
Perez and Ingildsen hold a 5-0 doubles record on the season heading into the tournament’s doubles competition on Wednesday.
Two other Gator duos will join Ingildsen and Perez this week in doubles play.
Freshman Duarte Vale and junior McClain Kessler are seeded No. 7 going into tournament play. And last Wednesday, freshman Oliver Crawford and senior Chase Perez-Blanco received an at-large selection, making them the third team to represent the Gators in California.
The Fall Championships, a five-day event, will conclude on Sunday.
Since the Fall Championships replaced the National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships, the Gators won’t have to adjust as much as they normally would in regards to playing surfaces and climate.
“In New York, it was an indoor tournament, so it’s much faster,” women’s assistant coach Dave Balogh said. “Players that hit the ball harder, players that attack more, definitely love that surface, and now, everyone’s going outside in California… The courts aren’t going to be as fast as indoors.”
Men’s head coach Bryan Shelton said that the outdoor event will be favorable to the Gators because of their experience frequently practicing on outdoor courts.
Balogh added that the change in venue will not take away from the fact that the tournament will be highly competitive with some of the best tennis players in the country competing against each other.
In singles play, Danilina will take the court at noon against Vladica Babic of Oklahoma State. Perez will start his match at 2 p.m. against Nicolas Moreno de Alboran of UC Santa Barbara.
Kessler and Vale will start doubles play for the Gators at 6:30 p.m. against Tim Handel and Ruben Montano of Northern Arizona.
You can follow Mari Faiello on Twitter @faiello_mari, and contact him at mfaiello@alligator.org.
Anna Danilina returns a backhand during Florida's 4-2 win against Oklahoma State on Feb. 18, 2017, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
