LOS ANGELES – Florida’s Alex Cercone, Joanna Mather and Sofie Oyen all advanced into the third round of the pre-qualifying draw of the 2010 Riviera/ITA Women’s Tennis All American Championships at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
Rain delayed action on the first day of play, resulting in a late night for all competitors, but the Gators came through by posting a combined 7-1 singles and doubles record. Cercone, Mather and Oyen play their respective third-round matches Sunday afternoon, aiming to win one more match and reach the qualifying round. Qualifying and main draw matches will be played at the Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., where qualifying action is scheduled for Oct. 5-6, with the main draw held from Oct. 7-10.
“I thought we played very, very well today,” Florida coach Roland Thornqvist said. “We’re hitting the ball well and we’re competing really well. Alex played and won a tiebreaker and Sofie battled back from a 4-2 deficit in her second match to earn a straight-set win. We showed great play and good mental toughness. Overall, I thought it was a great day.”
Eight athletes will advance to the qualifying singles portion of the week-long tournament, which is the first national singles and doubles event of the season. The Riviera/ITA Women’s Tennis All American Championships also is considered the first leg of the collegiate Grand Slam.
Cercone won both of her singles matches against nationally-ranked opponents and will play Georgia’s Alina Jerjomina Sunday for the right to move into the qualifying draw of the national event. Cercone defeated Harvard’s No. 114th-ranked Hideko Tachibana, 6-4, 7-6 (2), before downing SMU’s No. 117-th-ranked Heather Steinbauer,
Mather earned a 6-4, 6-0 first-round victory over Utah’s Evgenia Kryuchkova, before defeating LSU’s No. 122nd-ranked Whitney Wolf, 2-6, 6-0, 6-2.
Oyen earned an impressive 6-0, 6-3 victory against Louisiana-Monroe’s 101st-ranked Claire Clark in her collegiate debut, before turning her attention to Harvard’s Kristin Norton, whom she took out 6-3, 6-4.
On the doubles court, Cercone and Caroline Hitimana defeated UCLA’s Maya Johansson and Carling Seguco, 9-7, in the first round and will play Tulane’s Levy and Kurdadze Sunday in the first of what will be two rounds played. The winners of each of those third-round contests advance to the qualifying draw, playing for the right to compete in the main draw.
Junior Claire Bartlett dropped her first-round singles contest to Maryland’s Ana Belzunce.
RIVIERA/ITA WOMEN’S ALL AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Pre-qualifying rounds / Los Angeles Tennis Center / Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010
SINGLES
First round
(98) Joanna Mather (UF) def. Evgenia Kryuchkova (Utah), 6-4, 6-0; Alex Cercone (UF) def. (114) Hideko Tachibana (Harvard), 6-4, 7-6; (2) Sofie Oyen (UF) def. (101) Claire Clark (La.-Monroe), 6-0, 6-3; Ana Belzunce (Maryland) def. Claire Bartlett (UF), no score provided.
Second round
(98) Joanna Mather (UF) def. (122) Whitney Wolf (LSU), 2-6, 6-0, 6-2; Alex Cercone (UF) def. (117) Heather Steinbauer (SMU), 7-5, 6-2; Sofie Oyen (UF) def. Kristin Norton (Harvard), 6-3, 6-4.
DOUBLES
First round
Alex Cercone/Caroline Hitimana (UF) d. Maya Johansson/Carling Seguco (UCLA), 9-7.