Gator Country

Athens, Ga. * University of Florida freshman Jesse Levine and junior Greg Ouellette both got off to solid starts in the 2007 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship singles draw at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga., Wednesday as the two collected straight set victories to advance to the Round of 32.

Levine (No. 3 nationally) moved to 22-0 overall on the year with a 6-3, 6-4 showing against Virginia’s 25th-ranked Treat Huey. With the victory, Levine will face San Diego State’s 43rd-ranked Markus Dickhardt on Thursday. Dickhardt edged Tennessee’s Kaden Hensel (No. 17) 7-6 (7), 4-6, 7-6 (5) to advance.

Ouellette (No. 21), who is making his third career appearance in the singles competition, worked past Boise State’s 61st-ranked Clancy Shields (6-2, 6-4). Ouellette will meet Radford’s 76th-ranked Martin Sayer tomorrow. Sayer defeated Denver’s Adam Homstrom (No. 18), 7-5, 7-6 (4) to move forward in the draw. A season ago, Ouellette fell to then-No. 5 Ludovic Walter of Duke in the Round of 32 (7-6 (4), 2-6, 7-5). As a freshman, he was one of nine players nationally, and one of two freshmen in the country, to earn All-America honors in both singles and doubles. That year, he made his way all the way to the quarterfinals of the singles draw before dropping a 6-4, 6-2 decision to eventual national champion Benedikt Dorsh of Baylor. Ouellette’s victory Wednesday was the 85th of his career. He now stands alone in sixth-place on UF’s all-time singles wins list.

Thursday will also mark the beginning of the NCAA doubles draw where Levine and Ouellette will team as the No. 3 seed against Ohio State’s Chris Klingemann and Devine Mullings (No. 11).

Florida has had two NCAA singles champions (Mark Merklein in 1994 and Jeff Morrison in 1999) and one doubles champion (Merklein and David Blair in 1993).

2007 NCAA Men’s Tennis Championships Singles Draw
Dan Magill Tennis Complex
Athens, Ga.

Singles Round of 64
(3) Jesse Levine (Florida) def. (25) Treat Huey (Virginia), 6-3, 6-4
(21) Greg Ouellette (Florida) def. (61) Clancy Shields (Boise State), 6-2, 6-4

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