Gators Tennis Wraps Up ITA All-American

After a week of competitive play, Florida men’s and women’s tennis has returned from the ITA All-American Championships with Florida’s strongest finish coming from the men in the doubles round.

In the Tulsa, Oklahoma, event, doubles partners Henry Jefferson and Tanapatt Nirundorn fought to the semifinals. The two entered the tournament as the preseason No. 33-ranked duo in the nation. Their ranking automatically allowed them into the qualifier round. But due to another team withdrawing from the main draw, they joined the most competitive bracket. 

They ultimately defeated pairs from No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 20 Auburn and No. 39 Texas. However, in the semifinals, No. 1 Mississippi State’s Benito Sanchez Martinez and Peter Jovanovic ended Jefferson and Nirundorn’s surprise run. 

Additionally, Jefferson joined No. 45  Jeremy Jin in the singles portion of the tournament. But the two lost their opening matches, which provided them a direct ticket to the consultation bracket. Jefferson lost his first match of the consolation round, putting an end to his time in singles. Jin took down Mississippi State’s No. 95 Mario Martinez Serrano and Stanford’s No. 41 Alex Chang before Kentucky’s No. 28 Jack Loutit eliminated him in the third round.

In Cary, North Carolina, Florida women’s tennis’ Valery Gynina and Gabi Paskaukas finished out their time in the ITA All-American Championships in the consultation round, as well. Paskauskas’s main draw bid concluded in a loss to Michigan’s No. 10 Piper Charney. The defeat put Paskaukas into the same bracket of the consolation round as Gynina. Paskauskas went on to defeat Kentucky’s No. 57 Julia Zhu and Stanford’s No. 90 Alyssa Ahn. She was set to play Cal’s No. 17 Mao Mushika, but withdrew from the tournament before the match. 

Gynina won the qualifiers Round of 32 of the consultation bracket. The victory moved her to the consolation Round of 32, where she fell to Ahn in three sets. 

Category: Gator Sports, Gators Tennis, Tennis