University of Florida’s Joanna Mather continued her outstanding performance in the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships by beating Stanford’s seventh-ranked Nicole Gibbs, 6-3, 6-1, to advance to the finals at the USTA-Billie Jean King Tennis Center on Saturday.
Mather will take on SMU’s 10th-ranked Marta Lesniak for the singles title on Sunday in a match that will not start before 12 p.m. Lesniak defeated Mather’s teammate Lauren Embree in the round of 16, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3.
“I’m so happy for Joanna” UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said. “She played at a high, high level. She used her speed and coupled it with only six unforced errors, which made her really difficult to beat.”
There were other members of the women’s tennis team that found success at the USF Fall Tennis Classic in Tampa. The singles and doubles squads had a combined 4-2 record on Saturday.
Alex Cercone and Sofie Oyen were victorious in their singles matches against USF competitors. Cercone won against Danielle Mills, 6-2, 7-5. Oyen came back against Loreto Alonso Martinez to win 0-6, 6-2, 7-5. Caroline Hitimana lost to USF’s Fanny Fracassi after Hitimana had to retire. Olivia Janowicz fell to USF’s 70th-ranked Ecaterina Vasenina, 6-1, 7-6(4).
On the doubles courts, Cercone and Oyen were triumphant over FSU’s Carolina De los Santos and Francesca Segarelli, 8-1. Hitimana and Janowicz came out on top against FSU’s Leyla Erkan and UCF’s Allison Hodges, 8-5.
The USF Fall Tennis Classic will wrap up play on Sunday.
USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships
USTA-Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
Flushing, N.Y.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Singles, Semifinals
Marta Lesniak (10), SMU d. Denise Dye (4), Washington, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3
Joanna Mather (26), UF d. Nicole Gibbs (7), Stanford, 6-3, 6-1
USF Fall Tennis Classic
Tampa, Fla.
Saturday, November 05, 2011
Singles (no draw)
(34) Alex Cercone, UF d. Danielle Mills, USF 6-2, 7-5
Fanny Fracassi, USF d. Caroline Hitimana 6-2, ret.
(70) Ecaterina Vasenina, USF d. (37) Olivia Janowicz, UF, 6-1, 7-6 (4)
(73) Sofie Oyen, UF d. Loreto Alonso Martinez, USF, 0-6, 6-2, 7-5
Doubles (no draw)
Hitmana/Janowicz (29), UF d. Leyla Erkan (FSU)/Allison Hodges (UCF), 8-5
Cercone/Oyen, UF d. Francesca Segarelli/Carolina De los Santos, USF, 8-1
Gator Country reporter Sara Ladwig contributed to this report and can be reached at sladwig@gatorcountry.com