The Florida men’s tennis team opened impressively Friday in two tournaments – the Napa Valley Classic in St. Helena, Calif., and the Southern Intercollegiate Championship in Athens, Ga.
In the first day of round-robin play at the Napa Valley Classic, three of four Gators posted wins led by ninth-ranked senior Alexandre Lacroix’s straight-sets win over Christoffer Konigsfeldt of California-Berkley.
Sophomore Bob van Overbeek tallied a straight-sets victory of his own, downing 32nd-ranked Alex Musialek of Kentucky, while sophomore Sekou Bangoura Jr. battled to a 2-6, 6-0, 6-1 win over David Holiner of Texas.
The lone Florida loss came when Nassim Slilam dropped his match against Texas’ Jean Anderson.
In Southern Intercollegiate action, freshman Andrew Butz posted a three-set, first-round victory over Alabama-Birmingham’s David Zimmerman that included two tiebreakers. Fellow freshman Michael Alford also scored a victory, downing Robin Akser of East Tennessee State in straight sets. Sophomore Billy Federhofer fell in three sets to Juan Melian Puigentos of Georgia Southern.
Alford and Butz later notched first- and second-round victories in the doubles draw, taking an 8-6 first-round decision over UAB’s David Zimmerman and Tom Puetz followed by a 9-7 win over College of Charleston’s Lukas Koncilia and Mickael Trintignac to earn a spot in Saturday’s Round of 16.
NAPA VALLEY CLASSIC
St. Helena, Calif.
Singles
(111) Sekou Bangoura Jr. def. David Holiner (Texas), 2-6, 6-0, 6-1; (9) Alexandre Lacroix def. (122) Christoffer Konigsfeldt (Cal), 6-1, 6-3; Jean Andersen (Texas) def, Nassim Slilam (UF), 6-1, 6-2; (105) Bob van Overbeek (UF) def. (32) Alex Musialek (Kentucky), 6-4, 6-3.
SOUTHERN INTERCOLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Athens, Ga.
Singles
Andrew Butz (UF) def. David Zimmerman (UAB), 6-7 (4), 6-2, 7-6 (5); Michael Alford (UF) def. Robin Akser (ETSU), 6-3, 6-1; Juan Melian Puigentos (Georgia Southern) def. Billy Federhofer (UF), 6-7, 7-5, 6-4.