COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Eight tennis players from the University of Florida – four each from the women’s and men’s team – begin competition Wednesday in the NCAA Division I Tennis Singles and Doubles Championships at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center on the campus of Texas A&M University.
Representing coach Roland Thornqvist’s women are juniors Marrit Boonstra of The Netherlands and Anastasia Revzina of Russia, who earned berths in the singles draw of 64 players that begins play Wednesday. The doubles teams of Boonstra and freshman Joanna Mather and Revzina with freshman Jessica Alexander begin competition on Thursday.
Meanwhile, SEC Freshman of the Year Carlos Cueto of Spain and sophomore Alex Lacroix of France represent the men’s team of coach Andy Jackson in singles competition Wednesday. Junior Antoine Benneteau of France and freshman Joey Burkhardt of St. Augustine begin doubles competition Thursday.
Lacroix, ranked No. 33, opens against Pepperdine’s Omar Altmann (No. 44) at 10 a.m. Cueto (No. 23) is scheduled to take on Ohio State senior Bryan Koniecko (No. 3) in a 4 p.m. match. Lacroix is 19-8 at singles this season, including 4-0 against Top 25 competition. Cueto is 24-11 this season and owns one Top 10 victory over then No. 2 Michael Venus of Louisiana State.
Boonstra, who is seeded eighth, opens play Wednesday night against California’s Bojana Bobusic, who is ranked No. 32. That match is scheduled to start at 7 p.m., 30 minutes after No. 40 Revzina takes on California’s Marina Cossou (No. 26).
Boonstra, an All-American at doubles last year, and Mather make up the No. 18 team in the doubles draw, and they will be matched against the No. 4 team of Sophie Grabinski and Sanaz Marand of North Carolina Thursday. Revzina and Alexander, the No. 25 team, take on the No. 39 team of Macall Harkins and Anna Sydorska of Texas Christian. Benneteau and Burkhardt, ranked No. 16, meet the No. 7 team of Austin Krajicek and Conor Pollock of Texas A&M.
Boonstra, making her NCAA singles debut, was 33-9 this season, including 20-7 over ranked opponents. Revzina was 23-10 overall, including 11-8 against ranked opponents.
Burkhardt and Benneteau own a 15-12 record in doubles competition and are 3-4 against Top 10 teams. Boonstra and Mather are 15-5 as teammates, while Revzina and Alexander are 19-4 with a nine-game winning streak.
Florida has won two individual and one doubles titles in the men’s competition, while the women’s team has four singles champions and won four doubles championships.
Mark Merklein and David Blair won the doubles title in 1993 and then Merklein won the single title in 1994. Jeff Morrison won the singles title in 1999, beating current touring pro James Blake of Harvard.
Lisa Raymond won a pair of singles titles for the women’s program in 1992 and ’93, while Shaun Stafford (1988) and Jill Craybas (1996) won singles titles. The doubles team of Dawn Buth and Stephanie Nickitas won titles in 1996 and ’97, while the teams of Jillian Alexander-Nicole Arendt (1991) and Whitney Laiho-Jessica Lehnhoff (2001) also won NCAA doubles titles.
NCAA DIVISION I SINGLES AND DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIPS
At George P. Mitchell Tennis Center, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
SINGLES
Men
(33) Alex Lacroix (Florida) vs. (44) Omar Altmann (Pepperdine), 10 a.m.
(23) Carlos Cueto (Florida) vs. (3) Bryan Koniecko (Ohio State), 4 p.m.
Women
(8) Marrit Boonstra (Florida) vs. (32) Bojana Bobusic (California), 7 p.m.
(40) Anastasia Revzina (Florida) vs. (26) Marina Cossou (California), 6:30 p.m.
DOUBLES
Times to be determined
Men
(16) Antoine Benneteau-Joey Burkhardt (Florida) vs. (7) Austin Krajicek-Conor Pollock (Texas A&M)
Women
(18) Marrit Boonstra-Joanna Mather (Florida) vs. (4) Sophie Grabinski-Sanaz Marand (North Carolina)
(25) Jessica Alexander-Anastasia Revzina (Florida) vs. (39) Macall Harkins-Anna Sydorska (Texas Christian)