Gators’ Mather makes it into main draw

University of Florida senior Joanna Mather (Duluth, Ga.) was dominant in her straight-set singles victory to earn one of eight spots into the main draw at the 2011 Riviera/ITA All-American Championships held at the Riviera Tennis Club.

The rain during the final round of qualifying action did not put a damper on Mather’s play. Wednesday night she faced South Carolina’s Dijana Stojic and posted a 6-1, 6-2 victory.

“Joanna played great tennis today in her win against a very good player who we’re familiar with in Dijana Stojic,” UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said. “This was the best I’ve seen Joanna play and what made it more impressive is that she did so after a long day on Tuesday.”

Mather had previously came back in a grueling second round match against Southern California’s Caitlyn Christian and posted a 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 win. In the first round she had a 6-2, 6-4 victory against LSU’s Whitney Wolf.

Mather will join her Gator teammates Lauren Embree (Marco Island, Fla.) and Allie Will (Boca Raton, Fla.) in the 32-player singles main draw. The Gators doubles teams of Sofie Oyen (Leopoldsburg, Belgium) and Will, and Embree and Mather will play in the 24-team main draw.

Embree, ranked fifth in the country, will take on Boston College’s 84th-ranked Katarina Galic in her first round match. Will, the No. 2 seed, meets up against Baylor’s 23rd-ranked Nina Secerbegovic. Mather’s opponent is currently unknown because the qualifiers have not been matched up to their competitors.

In doubles play, Oyen and Will earned a first-round bye. The 12th-ranked combo of Embree and Mather will face Harvard’s Hideko Tachibana and Kristin Norton.

2011 Riviera/ITA All-American Championships, Qualifying

Riviera Tennis Club

Pacific Palisades, Calif.  Wednesday, October 5, 2011

UF Pairings for Main Draw, beginning Oct. 6

Singles, First Round (Round of 32)

(5) Lauren Embree (UF) vs. (84) Katarina Galic (Boston College)

(2)Allie Will (UF) vs. (23) Nina Secerbegovic (Baylor)

Doubles, First Round (Field of 24)

(12) Lauren Embree/Joanna Mather (UF) vs. Kristin Norton/Hideko Tachibana, (Harvard)

(4)Sofie Oyen/Allie Will, UF – first round bye

Gator Country reporter Sara Ladwig can be reached at sladwig@gatorcountry.com