No. 2 UWF Receives No. 1 Seed in GSC Tournament
West Florida to Play in the Semifinals of the GSC Tournament on Saturday
PENSACOLA, Fla. – The No. 2-ranked University of West Florida men’s tennis team (21-2) received a bye in the quarterfinals and will open play in the semifinals of the GSC Men’s Tennis Championship on Saturday evening. The Argos, who are the No. 1 seed in the tournament, will face the winner of the match between No. 4-seed Delta State and No. 5-seed Alabama-Huntsville.
ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT
The GSC Men’s Tennis Championship will be held in Montgomery, Ala., on April 21st and 22nd. The tournament is being held in Montgomery for the fifth straight year. Matches will be played at Lagoon Park Tennis Center and Olean Black Underwood Tennis Center, which is on the Alabama State campus. Directions to both courts can be found at GSCSports.org.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Saturday, April 21
Quarterfinals (#1 West Florida seed receives a bye)
Match 1 (Lagoon Park Tennis Center) -- 11 am -- #4 Delta State vs. #5 Alabama-Huntsville
Match 2 (Olean Black Underwood Tennis Center) -- 11 am -- #2 Valdosta State vs. #7 Christian Brothers
Match 3 (Olean Black Underwood Tennis Center) -- 11 am -- #3 West Alabama vs. #6 North Alabama
Semifinals
Match 4 (Lagoon Park Tennis Center) -- 5 pm -- Match 1 winner vs. #1 West Florida
Match 5 (Olean Black Underwood Tennis Center) -- 5 pm -- Match 2 winner vs. Match 3 winner
Sunday, April 22
Finals
Match 6 (Lagoon Park Tennis Center) -- 12 pm -- Match 4 winner vs. Match 5 winner
Notes: All times are Central and subject to change.
WEST FLORIDA
The Argos are the No. 2 ranked team in the nation. West Florida is 21-2 this season. UWF’s losses were to Armstrong Atlantic, which was ranked No. 3 nationally when the two teams met and is now the No. 1 team in the nation, and Ole Miss, which at the time the match was played was the No. 15-ranked team in NCAA Division I men’s tennis. The Argos have won their last 12 matches. UWF has defeated 15 ranked opponents, including seven ranked in the top 10. UWF was a perfect 7-0 in GSC play this season and will be the No. 1 seed in the GSC Men’s Tennis Championship.
UWF Doubles
West Florida has two nationally ranked doubles teams. The UWF duo of Kevin Ducros (Aix-en-Provence, France) and Bruno Savi (Santana do Livramento, Brazil) are the No. 2 doubles tandem in the nation. Leandro Ferreira (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Andrey Pozhidaev (Sochi, Russia) team to form the No. 17 doubles team. Ducros and Savi are 18-4 overall this season, with all matches being at the No. 1 doubles position. The duo has defeated four nationally ranked doubles teams. Ferreira and Pozhidaev are 16-3 this season at the No. 2 line. They have won their last eight matches. Ferreira and Pozhidaev were 5-0 against GSC opponents during the regular season.
UWF Singles
West Florida has three singles players ranked in the top 25 nationally. Kevin Ducros is the No. 9 player, while Bruno Savi is listed at No. 12. Andrey Pozhidaev is the No. 21 ranked singles player. Ducros is 10-4 overall this season, including 5-0 at the No. 2 position. He has won his last four singles matches. Savi is 15-2 overall, with a 9-1 record at No. 1 and 6-1 at No. 2. Savi has won his last 12 matches. Pozhidaev is 18-2 this season and is riding an 11-match winning streak.
UWF’S History in the GSC Tournament/GSC Awards
West Florida has won eight Gulf South Conference championships, with the most recent one coming in 2006. The Argos won the national championship in 2004 and 2005. Last season, the Argos fell, 1-5, to eventual national champion Valdosta State in the GSC Tournament Finals. Head Coach Derrick Racine has been named the GSC Coach of the Year six times, most recently in 2006. Andrey Pozhidaev has been named to the All-GSC First Team three times (2009, 2010, 2011). Kevin Ducros is a two-time member of the All-GSC First-Team (2009, 2010). Leandro Ferreira has also received the honor twice (2010, 2011). Ducros was named the GSC East Division Freshman of the Year in 2009, while Ferreira received the accolade in 2010. Sean Gunnels (Mobile, Ala.) and Mike Lue (Richmond Hill, Ontario) were named to the GSC All-Academic Team in 2011.
THE TOURNAMENT FIELD
Seven teams will compete for the GSC Championship. New Orleans, which is transitioning to NCAA Division II, is not eligible for the GSC Championship this season and will not compete in the tournament. West Florida, which went 7-0 during the regular season in the GSC, is the No. 1 seed. UWF is followed by Valdosta State, West Alabama, Delta State, Alabama-Huntsville, North Alabama and Christian Brothers at the Nos. 2 through 7 seeds, respectively.
Valdosta State
Valdosta State is the No. 2 seed in the tournament and the defending national champions. As a team, VSU is ranked No. 5 nationally. VSU went 5-1 in the conference play during the regular season. No. 2 West Florida defeated No. 5 Valdosta State, 8-1, on March 30th in Pensacola. VSU has lost its last four matches.
West Alabama
West Alabama received the No. 3 seed in the GSC tournament. The Tigers went 4-3 in GSC play. West Florida, which was ranked No. 7 nationally at the time, tallied an 8-1 victory over UWA in Livingston, Ala., on March 9th. West Alabama has won its last five matches.
Delta State
The No. 4 seed in the tournament is Delta State. DSU is currently the No. 38th ranked team in the nation. Delta State went 3-5 in conference play and has lost its last five matches. On April 1st, No. 2 UWF defeated No. 38 Delta State, 5-0, in Pensacola.
Alabama-Huntsville
Alabama-Huntsville is the No. 5 seed. UAH went 2-5 in GSC play during the regular season. The Argos blanked UAH, 9-0, on March 11th in Huntsville, Ala.
North Alabama
The No. 6 seed is North Alabama. The Lions were 1-5 this season during GSC play. UNA has lost its last two matches. Then No. 7-ranked UWF defeated North Alabama, 8-1, on March 10th in Florence, Ala.
Christian Brothers
Christian Brothers is the No. 7 seed. CBU went 0-6 in conference play and has lost its last eight matches. UWF opened conference play on March 8th with a 9-0 blanking of Christian Brothers in Pensacola.
Results and recaps of all of West Florida’s matches in the GSC tournament will be available on GoArgos.com. Full tournament information can be found on the GSC’s website at GSCSports.org. For information on all UWF Athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.
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