Cheers of joy rang out over the court as Florida sophomore Jeremy Jin won his qualifying match at the men's Intercollegiate Tennis Association Sectionals in Tallahassee, Florida, on Saturday.
Jin was the only Gator to represent UF at the tournament. The ITA Sectionals is one of the key qualification tournaments for the NCAA Singles Tournament, which will take place in Waco, Texas, from Nov. 19-24.
Jin made it through his three matches without losing a set. He dropped out of the tournament after he was able to secure the NCAA Singles Championship qualification.
The ITA Sectionals were formatted a bit differently than previous ITA events this season. The tournament included 17 teams from the Ohio Valley, Southeast and Southern regions.
The 2024 ITA Sectional Championships offered six available qualification spots for the NCAA Singles Championships.
Jin started the tournament with a matchup against senior Javier Montoya from South Alabama. However, there were additional challenges. Mother nature decided to throw its hand into the match and delayed it by an hour due to rain.
The UF sophomore picked up where he left off before the weather delay and won the match in straight sets 6-2, 6-2.
Jin moved into the round of 16 after taking care of Montoya. Next up for Jin was Florida State senior Joshua Dous-Karpenschif.
Carrying his momentum from the first match, Jin continued his success and was able to win the match in straight sets 6-1, 6-0.
Following two wins in straight sets, Jin set his eyes on Kentucky sophomore Jack Loutit in a matchup for one of the six coveted qualification spots in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Jin rose to the occasion, battling back and forth with Loutit. In the end, Jin came out on top and won in straight sets once again, 6-3, 6-3.
Jin will look to build on his solid outing when he returns to action at the Columbus 25K Futures in Columbus, Ohio,Nov. 11-17.
Contact Carston Handy at chandy@alligator.org. Follow Carston on X @carston_handy.
Carston Handy is a junior journalism major with a focus in sports and media. Fall 2024 marks his first semester reporting sports with the Alligator. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his fiancé and their dog. He also enjoys playing a bunch of sports, including pickleball, basketball and soccer.
