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The UF women's tennis team may have won the NCAA team championship
Tuesday, but Florida’s heralded singles players aren't satisfied
just yet.
The
Gators had three singles players competing in the Round of 32 of
the NCAA Singles Tournament on Thursday at Stanford University,
with Allie Will and Lauren Embree advancing to today's Round of
16.
Gators junior Joanna Mather was the team's lone player to lose
Thursday, falling to No. 1 Jana Juricova from California in
straight sets.
Will beat a familiar opponent in the Round of 32, topping Ole Miss'
Kristy Boxx in straight sets. She said playing Boxx for the third
time this season proved to be an edge.
I’ve actually played [Boxx] twice this year, and I knew that she
had a really good game and that she was going to try to pressure
me, so I tried to move the ball around as best I could, and I came
out on top."
Will faces a tougher challenge today, as she will take on No. 18
Nicole Gibbs from Stanford.
Meanwhile, Embree continued her undefeated streak this season,
snagging her 26th win of the year against No. 41 Noelle Hickey of
UCLA.
Embree's win came on the same court where she capped Florida's
comeback in the national championship match, and she will try to
extend her season today against No. 63 Leslie Hureau of
Indiana.
Will also competed in the Round of 32 doubles tournament Thursday
along with partner Alex Cercone. The Gators duo received the No. 2
overall seed in the tournament and were matched up with Virginia's
No. 32 pairing of Lindsey Hardenbergh and Erin Vierra.
The
Florida team, which went into the match with a 12-0 record on the
season, pulled out a tough three-set victory to beat the Virginia
duo 5-7, 7-6, 6-3.
After dropping the first set, Cercone and Will dug deep before
finding their groove and running away with the third set.
MEN'S
Florida's star senior Alexandre Lacroix fell in the Round of 32 of
the NCAA Singles Tournament Thursday, losing to UNC's Jose
Hernandez in three sets.
Lacroix's singles career ended with a total of 110 victories, tied
for fourth in school history. However, Lacroix did manage to extend
his school-record total of overall career wins by claiming a
straight-sets doubles victory with partner Sekou Bangoura Jr.
Lacroix and Bangoura faced off against California's Nick Andrews
and Christoffer Konigsfeldt in the Round of 32, coming away with a
6-4, 7-5 victory.
The
Gators' duo will play a familiar opponent in the Round of 16, LSU's
team of Sebastian Carlsson and Neal Skupski.
Lacroix and Bangoura played the LSU duo back on March 4, coming
away with an 8-6 win despite playing together for only the first
time.
