The four members of the University of Florida women’s tennis team competing at the ninth annual Freeman Memorial Championships combined for a perfect 8-0 singles and doubles record on the first day of play held at the Fertitta Tennis Complex on the UNLV campus. in Las Vegas.
Florida began the day on the doubles court, where the freshmen pair of Alex Cercone and Olivia Janowicz defeated Stanford’s Kristie Ahn and Nicole Gibbs, 8-5. The slightly older and veteran Gator tandem of sophomore Lauren Embree and junior Joanna Mather earned an 8-1 opening round victory against Oregon’s 59th-ranked duo of Particia Skowronski and Pavlina Smatova.
On the singles court, Cercone, Janowicz and Mather each won their respective first and second round matches and advanced to the round of eight, where all remaining competitors are nationally ranked.
Cercone netted singles wins against Stanford’s Natalie Dillon, 6-1, 6-1 and UCLA’s McCall Jones, 6-4, 7-6. Mather defeated UCLA’s Maya Johansson, 6-2, 7-5, and Arizona State’s Hannah James, 6-2, 6-1. Janowicz collected victories over Arizona State’s Sianna Simmons, 6-2, 6-2, and Southern California’s Kaitlyn Christian, 6-3, 6-4.
“Those two freshmen continued to impress me,” UF head coach Roland Thornqvist said. “They played doubles this morning with poise. Jo and Lauren also played really well. They are like a well-oiled machine. They spent the last half of last year playing together and you can tell how much they learned from that because they work very, very well as a team.
“In singles we had excellent day,” Thornqvist continued. “I think we actually got better over the holiday break, which is rare. Our players really spent time working on their games over the break and it shows. This is as sharp as we’ve been at this tournament in a long time.
“The first day was a pleasant surprise and I’m very proud of them,” Thornqvist shared. “We have greater challenges ahead on Saturday. In singles, all eight players are ranked nationally and it gets tougher from here. Today, though, was a good day for the Gators.”
The Gator quartet joins athletes from No. 1 Stanford, No. 5 UCLA, No. 6 North Carolina, No. 19 USC, No. 20 Arizona State as well as the University of Oregon and host UNLV, ranked No. 29.
Action continues on Saturday with doubles getting underway at 10 a.m. PST on with the finals scheduled for Sunday.
Women’s Tennis Freeman Memorial Championships
Fertitta Tennis Complex
Las Vegas
Friday, January 14, 2011
Complete Results
Singles, Flight 1 First Round (Round of 32)
(1) #3 Maria Sanchez (USC) def. Trudie du Toit (UO) 6-0, 6-2
Adrienn Hidvegi (UNLV) def. Ashlee Brown (ASU) 7-5, 3-6, 7-6
Pavlina Smatova (UO) def. (7) #47 Stacey Tan (STAN) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
Michelle Brycki (ASU) def. Tessa Lyons (UNC) 6-1, 6-1
(4) #28 Alex Cercone (UF) def. Natalie Dillon (STAN) 6-1, 6-1
McCall Jones (UCLA) def. #86 Lauren McHale (UNC) 7-6, 6-2
(6) #34 Kelcy McKenna (ASU) def. Cristala Andrews (USC) 6-2, 6-2
#80 Nicole Gibbs (STAN) def. Anna Maskaljun (UNLV) 6-2, 6-2
#90 Hannah James (ASU) def. #92 Jelena Durisic (UNC) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
(5) #30 Joanna Mather (UF) def. Maya Johansson (UCLA) 6-2, 7-5
Patricia Skowronski (UO) def. Nives Pavlovic (UNLV) 2-6, 7-6, 6-2
(3) #23 Kristie Ahn (STAN) def. Laura Slater (UNC) 6-3, 6-2
#74 Micaela Hein (ASU) def. #57 Noelle Hickey (UCLA) by default
(8) #54 Shinann Featherston (UNC) def. Jana Albers (UNLV) 6-2, 6-3
#114 Kaitlyn Christian (USC) def. Carolyn McVeigh (STAN) 6-2, 7-5
(2) #22 Olivia Janowicz (UF) def. Sianna Simmons (ASU) 6-2, 6-2
Singles, Flight 1 Second Round (Round of 16)
(1) #3 Maria Sanchez (USC) def. Adrienn Hidvegi (UNLV) 6-2, 6-4
Michelle Brycki (ASU) def. Pavlina Smatova (UO) 6-4, 6-3
(4) #28 Alex Cercone (UF) def. McCall Jones (UCLA) 6-4, 7-6
#80 Nicole Gibbs (STAN) def. (6) #34 Kelcy McKenna (ASU) 6-4, 7-5
(5) #30 Joanna Mather (UF) def. #90 Hannah James (ASU) 6-2, 6-1
(3) #23 Kristie Ahn (STAN) def. Patricia Skowronski (UO) 6-0, 6-1
(8) #54 Shinann Featherston (UNC) def. #74 Micaela Hein (ASU) 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
(2) #22 Olivia Janowicz (UF) def. #114 Kaitlyn Christian (USC) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles, Flight 1, First Round (Round of 16)
Ashlee Brown/Sianna Simmons (ASU) def. (1) #8 Shinaan Featherston/Lauren McHale (UNC) 8-6
Nives Pavlovic/Anna Maskaljun (UNLV) def. Cristala Andrews/Hayley Miller (USC) 8-4
(4) McCall Jones/Maya Johansson (UCLA) def. #48 Hannah James/Michelle Brycki (ASU) 8-4
Olivia Janowicz/Alex Cercone (UF) def. Kristie Ahn/Nicole Gibbs (STAN) 8-5
Carolyn McVeigh/Stacey Tan (STAN) def. Jana Albers/Adrienn Hidvegi (UNLV) 8-4
(3) #80 Maria Sanchez/Kaitlyn Christian (USC) def. #80 Jelena Durisic/Tessa Lyons (UNC) 9-7
Joanna Mather/Lauren Embree (UF) def. #59 Paulina Smatova/Patricia Skowronski (UO) 8-1
(2) #28 Kelcy McKenna/Micaela Hein (ASU) def. Natalie Dillon/Elizabeth Ecker (STAN) 8-1
Team Codes:
ASU = Arizona State
OU = Oregon
STAN = Stanford
UF = Florida
UNC = North Carolina
USC = Southern California