Men’s Tennis Picked Fourth in A-Sun Preseason Poll

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida men's tennis team was picked to finish fourth in the 2010 Atlantic Sun Preseason Men's Tennis Poll as voted on by the league's head coaches.

Freshman Daniel Sotomarino, along with teammates junior Gleb Maslau and senior Kurt Gattiker, are ranked in the recent ITA poll.

“We're glad that we are considered one of the possible contenders for this year's championship,” said head coach Igal Buberman. “We are looking forward to being able to play our first postseason events. The three teams that are ahead of us are going to be really tough, but we are preparing now so that we can play the best matches we can against them this season.”

ETSU, the three-time defending A-Sun champion, was picked to win the conference, followed by USC Upstate and Stetson.

The Ospreys return just two players from last season's team that finished 10-9 overall and 5-5 in league action.

Returning for UNF are Gattiker and junior Graham Edgar. Gattiker tallied a 9-9 singles record last year playing in the No. 3 (1-3), No. 4 (2-0), No. 5 (4-5) and No. 6 (2-1) positions. He also tallied a doubles record in the No. 2 position of 11-8.

Edgar posted a 15-4 singles record last season, playing primarily in the No. 6 (9-1) spot, but seeing time in the No. 5 (4-5), No. 4 (2-0) and No. 3 (1-3) positions. He had a 9-9 doubles record playing at the No. 3 spot.

Sotomarino and Maslau enter the spring season ranked 39th nationally in the doubles rankings and fifth in the southeast region. The duo teamed up in the fall, winning the B Flight at the UNF Fall Invitational with four doubles wins over that weekend.

Sotomarino also saw success in singles action and is ranked 14th in the southeast region entering into the spring portion of the schedule. He picked up a win over A-Sun rival and No. 62 ranked ETSU's Jeremy Bonevalle at the UNF Fall Invitational. He also won the singles B flight at the Seminole Invitational, hosted by Florida State.

“The whole team is really, really excited about it,” commented Sotomarino. “We are making history already and we want to keep going and win the conference. Here at UNF the training is amazing. The training aspect and fitness aspect is extremely tough and extremely tiring, but it is very worth it, especially when you get to see how all of your hard work pays off.”

Gattiker enters the spring ranked 17th in the region in singles. He picked up a pair of wins over ranked teams in the fall. He defeated Armstrong State's No. 1 Paul Fitzgerald and 62nd-ranked ETSU's Ofir Weintraub.

“The rankings reflect the consistent play we had in the fall,” Buberman said. “We put a lot of work in improving our games and the guys were able to play consistently at a decent level. We still have room for improvement and we know that there is a whole different level out there that we are trying to achieve and prepare for."

The Ospreys will open up the season on Saturday, Jan. 30, when they host Georgia State at 11 a.m. UNF will host a pair of matches the following day when Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman visit the UNF Tennis Complex at 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., respectively.

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