Four members of the Florida men’s tennis team opened play on Friday at the 2012 USTA Clay Court Invitational at Disney, hosted by Florida State. The event runs through Sunday at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex.

Redshirt freshman Thomas Proisy (Saint Nom La Breteche, France), making his first tournament appearance for the Gators, beat FAU’s Sean Bacha, 6-4, 7-6 (4), in the opening round of the Spear Draw. Proisy will face USTA junior Chase Perez-Blanco in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

In the Gold Draw, senior Billy Federhofer (North Miami) lost to No. 1 seed Chris Mengel of Duke, 6-4, 6-2, while redshirt freshman Gordon Watson (Naples) fell to No. 3 seed Tom Jomby from Kentucky, 6-3, 7-6 (5). Freshman Luke Johnson (Leeds, England) lost to USTA junior George Goldhoff, 6-4, 6-1, in the Round of 16 of the Garnet Draw.

Federhofer and Watson teamed up in doubles to beat Tulsa’s Grant Ive and Tristan Jackson, the No. 3 seed in the Doubles Gold Draw, 9-7. The Gator duo will face Florida State’s pair of Benjamin Lock and Dominic Cotrone on Saturday.

FLORIDA RESULTS

Friday, November 2, 2012

Gold Draw Doubles Round of 16
Federhofer/Watson (UF) def. Ive/Jackson (Tulsa) 9-7

Gold Draw Singles Round of 32
Mengel (Duke) def. Federhofer (UF) 6-4, 6-2
Jomby (UK) def. Watson (UF) 6-3, 7-6 (5)

Garnet Draw Singles Round of 16
Goldhoff (USTA) def. Johnson (UF) 6-4, 6-1

Spear Draw Singles Round of 16
Proisy (UF) def. Bacha (FAU) 6-4, 7-6 (4)