LOS ANGELES – Florida freshman Alex Cercone and junior Joanna Mather advanced to the qualifying draw of the 2010 Riviera/ITA Women’s Tennis All American Championships after both won their respective third-round matches on Sunday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
Cercone (pronounced sir-CONE) defeated Georgia’s Alina Jerjomina, 6-3, 6-3, while Mather downed Georgia Tech’s 113th-ranked Christina Ngo, 2-6, 6-0, 6-2, to advance to the qualifying draw that is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday at the Riviera Tennis Club in nearby Pacific Palisades.
Cercone and Mather join Florida sophomore Caroline Hitimana, who earned an automatic spot in the 64-player qualifying draw where competitors need to win three matches to advance to the main draw. Hitimana takes on Alabama’s Alex Clay in the first round, while Mather is scheduled to play Stanford’s Stacy Tan and Cercone will face Notre Dame’s Shannon Mathews.
Also on Sunday, freshman Sofie Oyen was in action and lost her third-round match, 7-5, 6-2, to Georgia Tech’s Jillian O’Neill. While Oyen’s singles competition in finished at the event, she will pair later in the week with sophomore Allie Will in the main draw after receiving an automatic berth.
On the doubles court, Cercone and Caroline Hitimana began the day defeating Tulane’s Emma Levy and Mariam Kurdaldze, 8-2, but lost to eighth-seeded Sanaa Bhambri and Sandhya Nagaraj from North Carolina State, 8-6, ending their bid one win shy of competing in the qualifying draw.
RIVIERA/ITA WOMEN’S ALL AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Pre-qualifying / Los Angeles Tennis Center / Sunday, Oct. 3, 2010
SINGLES
Round of 16
(98) Joanna Mather (Florida) def. (113) Christina Ngo (Georgia Tech), 2-6, 6-0, 6-2; Alex Cercone (Florida) def. Alina Jerjomina (Georgia), 6-3, 6-3; Jillian O’Neill (Georgia Tech) def. Sofie Oyen (Florida), 7-5, 6-2.
DOUBLES
Round of 16
Alex Cercone-Caroline Hitimana (Florida) def. Emma Levy-Mariam Kurdaldze (Tulane), 8-2.
Round of 8
(8) Sanaa Bhambri-Sandhya Nagaraj (North Carolina State) def. Alex Cercone-Caroline Hitimana (Florida), 8-6.