BRADENTON – Florida sophomore Sekou Bangoura Jr., who calls this city home, made his way through the singles quarterfinals and semifinals at the Lakewood Ranch Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic Saturday.
Bangoura, ranked No. 111 nationally, won his quarterfinal match against No. 71 Tobias Wernet of Minnesota, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2, and followed it up with a 6-1, 6-4 semifinal victory over another Golden Gopher, Rok Bonin. Bangoura meets Arizona’s Andres Carrasco in the Sunday final.
The Gators also saw strong performances in the consolation bracket, as freshmen Michael Alford and Andrew Butz both picked up victories. Alford earned his first career win against a ranked opponent, topping Miami’s No. 72 Christian Blocker, 6-2, 6-3. Butz beat Adrian Forberg-Skogeng of Ole Miss, 7-6 (3), 6-4.
In doubles action, Alford and Butz moved into the semifinals with an 8-2 win over Pepperdine’s David Sofaer and Finn Tearney.