My recap of the memorable Kalamazoo 18s final Sunday is now available at the Tennis Recruiting Network. I've seen many tense and dramatic matches in junior tennis over the years, but given the circumstances--the big crowd, the players' friendship, the physical and emotional twists and turns in the match, and the US Open main draw wild card on the line--none have risen to that level.
I still have videos to process from the finals, in addition to the ones I posted on Sunday, and I've captured a couple of amazing points, so check back for those tomorrow. Videos of the 16s are also forthcoming.
This album can be viewed on mobile devices here.
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Jumat, 14 Agustus 2015
Kamis, 13 Agustus 2015
My Kalamazoo 16s Recap; Three Kalamazoo Quarterfinalists Reach Futures Final Eight, Finalists Receive Cincinnati Qualifying Wild Cards; NCAA Approves No-Ad for Division I 2016 Championships;
Championship week is in full swing at the Tennis Recruiting Network, and my recap of Patrick Kypson's remarkable 16s title in Kalamazoo is available today. My wrap-up of the memorable 18s tournament will come out Friday afternoon.
Three of the Kalamazoo 18s quarterfinalists have reached the same stage at this week's $15,000 Futures tournament in Champaign, Illinois. Wild card Reilly Opelka defeated Aleksandar Vukic of Australia, a rising sophomore for the University of Illinois, 6-3, 7-6(6) in today's second round. Tommy Paul, the No. 6 seed, defeated Evan King(Michigan) 6-4, 6-1 and Alex Rybakov, who Paul beat in the Kalamazoo quarterfinals a week ago, upset No. 2 seed and former Virginia star Sanam Singh of India 6-3, 7-5.
Opelka's quarterfinal opponent is lucky loser Justin Shane(Virginia), while Paul faces No. 4 seed Kevin King(Georgia Tech) and Rybakov takes on unseeded Richard Gabb of Great Britain.
No. 4 seeds Evan and Kevin King (no relation) will play brothers Justin and Ryan Shane in the doubles final on Friday.
Vicky Duval won her second match at the Landisville $25,000 Pro Circuit tournament, but then withdrew with an injury from doubles, so her status going forward is uncertain. Qualifiers Robin Anderson, the ITA Player of the Year, and 17-year-old Nicole Frenkel have advanced to the quarterfinals, where they'll play fellow Americans Alexandra Mueller and No. 2 seed Shelby Rogers.
In Aptos, the two Americans into the quarterfinals at the $100,000 Challenger are No. 4 seed Bjorn Fratangelo and No. 7 seed Austin Krajicek, who are the only two players still in the running for the US Open wild card given in the USTA Challenge. Krajicek would have to win the tournament to pass Fratangelo.
The Cincinnati ATP Masters and WTA Premier event has announced its wild cards, with Kalamazoo 18s champion Frances Tiafoe and Kalamazoo 18s finalist Stefan Kozlov receiving qualifying wild cards. Main draw men's wild cards were given to Mardy Fish, Fratangelo, Jared Donaldson and Rajeev Ram. Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, CoCo Vandeweghe and Allison Riske received the women's wild cards.
In addition to Tiafoe and Kozlov, Ryan Harrison, Vicky Duval, Taylor Townsend, Sachia Vickery, Alexa Glatch, Louisa Chirico and Nicole Gibbs received qualifying wild cards. One more men's qualifying wild card is to be announced.
The full announcement is here.
The NCAA announced today that the format used in the ITA National Team Indoor Tournaments in February will be adopted for the 2016 NCAA Championships in Tulsa. This is a six-game no-ad set for three doubles matches, and best-of-three tiebreak sets with no-ad scoring for six singles match singles. The individual championships will also be played best of three with no-ad scoring, and in lieu of a third set in doubles, a match tiebreaker will be played as is done on the ATP and WTA tours.
As I detailed several times in the past year, I will not be providing any on-site coverage of these events due to my dislike of the no-ad tennis format, but I will continue to follow tournament results from home and write about the college game and players.
The men's and women's Division III NCAA championships are in Kalamazoo in 2016, so I will be providing on-site coverage of that event.
Three of the Kalamazoo 18s quarterfinalists have reached the same stage at this week's $15,000 Futures tournament in Champaign, Illinois. Wild card Reilly Opelka defeated Aleksandar Vukic of Australia, a rising sophomore for the University of Illinois, 6-3, 7-6(6) in today's second round. Tommy Paul, the No. 6 seed, defeated Evan King(Michigan) 6-4, 6-1 and Alex Rybakov, who Paul beat in the Kalamazoo quarterfinals a week ago, upset No. 2 seed and former Virginia star Sanam Singh of India 6-3, 7-5.
Opelka's quarterfinal opponent is lucky loser Justin Shane(Virginia), while Paul faces No. 4 seed Kevin King(Georgia Tech) and Rybakov takes on unseeded Richard Gabb of Great Britain.
No. 4 seeds Evan and Kevin King (no relation) will play brothers Justin and Ryan Shane in the doubles final on Friday.
Vicky Duval won her second match at the Landisville $25,000 Pro Circuit tournament, but then withdrew with an injury from doubles, so her status going forward is uncertain. Qualifiers Robin Anderson, the ITA Player of the Year, and 17-year-old Nicole Frenkel have advanced to the quarterfinals, where they'll play fellow Americans Alexandra Mueller and No. 2 seed Shelby Rogers.
In Aptos, the two Americans into the quarterfinals at the $100,000 Challenger are No. 4 seed Bjorn Fratangelo and No. 7 seed Austin Krajicek, who are the only two players still in the running for the US Open wild card given in the USTA Challenge. Krajicek would have to win the tournament to pass Fratangelo.
The Cincinnati ATP Masters and WTA Premier event has announced its wild cards, with Kalamazoo 18s champion Frances Tiafoe and Kalamazoo 18s finalist Stefan Kozlov receiving qualifying wild cards. Main draw men's wild cards were given to Mardy Fish, Fratangelo, Jared Donaldson and Rajeev Ram. Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, CoCo Vandeweghe and Allison Riske received the women's wild cards.
In addition to Tiafoe and Kozlov, Ryan Harrison, Vicky Duval, Taylor Townsend, Sachia Vickery, Alexa Glatch, Louisa Chirico and Nicole Gibbs received qualifying wild cards. One more men's qualifying wild card is to be announced.
The full announcement is here.
The NCAA announced today that the format used in the ITA National Team Indoor Tournaments in February will be adopted for the 2016 NCAA Championships in Tulsa. This is a six-game no-ad set for three doubles matches, and best-of-three tiebreak sets with no-ad scoring for six singles match singles. The individual championships will also be played best of three with no-ad scoring, and in lieu of a third set in doubles, a match tiebreaker will be played as is done on the ATP and WTA tours.
As I detailed several times in the past year, I will not be providing any on-site coverage of these events due to my dislike of the no-ad tennis format, but I will continue to follow tournament results from home and write about the college game and players.
The men's and women's Division III NCAA championships are in Kalamazoo in 2016, so I will be providing on-site coverage of that event.
Senin, 10 Agustus 2015
USTA National Champions; US Teams Take Silver and Bronze at World Junior Tennis Competition; Pedraza, Lee, Paulus Win ITF Tournaments
Congratulations to all the 2015 USTA National Champions, with results from the singles and doubles finals and the bronze ball matches listed below. Full draws can be found by clicking on the Division name, which will send you to the TennisLink site. The Tennis Recruiting Network will have coverage of all eight tournaments this week, with my 16s and 18s recaps available there on Thursday and Friday. A few thoughts that occurred to me while I was compiling these results:
Frances Tiafoe(B18s) is the only No. 1 seed to have won a singles title.
Saud Alhogbani(B12s) is the only player to have won both the Clay Courts and the Nationals this year.
Katie Volynets(G12s and G14s) is the only player to have won Nationals titles in consecutive years.
None of the singles champions won a doubles title.
Abigail Desiatnikov and Patrick Kypson receive main draw wild cards for the US Open Junior Championships next month.
Sonya Kenin and Frances Tiafoe receive singles wild cards into the US Open main draw, as do the doubles teams of Tornado Alicia Black and Ingrid Neel and Reilly Opelka and Taylor Fritz.
Boys 12s
Singles
Saud Alhogbani(3) def. Benjamin Kittay(5) 6-3, 6-0
3rd place: Hugo Hashimoto(1) def. Gavin Young(15) 6-2, 1-6, 6-4
Doubles
Kittay and Karl Lee(1) def. Alhogbani and Samuel Landau(9) 6-4, 6-4
Girls 12s
Singles
Nikki Yanez(17) def. Rachel Arbitman(5) 7-5, 7-6
3rd place: Emma Jackson(4) def. Sydni Ratliff(7) 3-6, 6-2, 7-5
Doubles
Arbitman and Kenadee Semenik(1) def. Ellie Coleman and Ellie Pittman 6-4, 6-4
Boys 14s
Singles
Nathan Han(4) def. Ronan Jachuck(5) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
3rd place: Jacob Bullard(17) def. Evin McDonald(9) 6-3, 6-0
Doubles
Jachuck and Nicholas Garcia(5) def. Jacob Bullard and Alan Yim(11) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Girls 14s
Singles
Katie Volynets(2) def. Naomi Cheong(11) 6-3, 6-1
3rd place: Lea Ma (4) def. Angelica Blake(5) 7-5, 3-1 Ret (ill)
Doubles
Ma and Kacie Harvey(5) def. Christina Hand and Chidimma Okpara(4) 6-2, 1-6, 6-3
Boys 16s:
Singles
Patrick Kypson(3) def. Alexandre Rotsaert(4) 6-3, 6-3
3rd place: JJ Wolf(1) def. Kyrylo Tsygura(8) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles
Bryce Pereira and Ivan Thamma(8) def. William Howells and Danny Thomas(7) 2-6, 6-1, 6-1
Girls 16s:
Singles
Abigail Desiatnikov def. Whitney Osuigwe(15) 6-1, 7-6(2)
3rd place: Natasha Subhash(1) d. Marlee Zein 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
Subhash and Ann Li(1) def. Anna Brylin and Clarissa Hand(5) 6-0, 6-2.
Girls 18s:
Singles
Sonya Kenin(3) def. Tornado Alicia Black(1) 6-2, 5-7, 7-5
3rd place: Raveena Kingsley(5) def. Sara Daavettila(16) walkover (inj)
Doubles
Black and Ingrid Neel(1) def. Jessie Aney and Ena Shibahara(2) 6-3, 6-3
Boys 18s:
Singles
Frances Tiafoe(1) def. Stefan Kozlov(3) 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 4-6, 6-4
3rd place: Taylor Fritz(2) def. Tommy Paul(4) walkover (ill)
Doubles
Fritz and Reilly Opelka(2) def. Joshua Sheehy and Parker Wynn(6) 6-3, 6-4
At the ITF's 14-and-under World Junior Tennis finals, the United States girls took the silver medal, losing to defending champion Russia 2-1. Both Caty McNally and Hurricane Tyra Black lost their singles matches, clinching the win for Russia, led by Anastasia Potapova.
The US boys lost to Spain in the semifinals, but beat Canada 3-0 to finish in third place. Korea won the boys title, coming from 1-0 down to win No. 1 singles and the deciding doubles match to beat Spain 2-1.
Complete results are available at the ITF junior website.
Eight Americans claimed titles on the ITF junior circuit last week.
At the ITF Grade 3 in Mexico, Raquel Pedraza, the No. 2 seed, beat Alexandra Sabe, the No. 7 seed, 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-2 in an all-American final. Sabe and her partner, Daniela Morales Beckmann of Mexico, the No. 2 seeds, lost to top seeds Camila Romero of Ecuador and Phillis Vanenburg of the Netherlands 5-7, 6-2, 10-4 in the doubles final.
Jason Legall and Evan Zhu won the boys doubles title. The unseeded pair defeated No. 2 seeds Alafia Ayeni and Alan Rubio Fierros of Mexico 5-7, 7-6(5), 10-6 in the final.
At the ITF Grade 5 in St. Lucia, 17-year-old Justin Lee won his first ITF title in just his second appearance in an ITF junior tournament main draw. Lee, who won three qualifying matches, defeated four seeds in his five matches, with a 7-6(3), 6-2 victory over No. 3 seed Ryan Mueller of Guatemala sealing the title.
Fifteen-year-old Kate Paulus won the girls title in St. Lucia. The No. 3 seed defeated Kianah Motosono, the No. 2 seed, 6-4, 6-1 in another all-American final. It was Paulus's second final and first title on the ITF junior circuit. Unseeded Dakota Fordham and Elizabeth Mandlik won the doubles title with a 6-4, 7-5 decision over Motosono and Anaelle Roch of Guadeloupe.
In the boys doubles, Cole Lacap of Canada and Jack Pulliam won the title, with the No. 3 seeds beating the unseeded team of Mueller and Salvador Bolanos of El Salvador 7-6(6), 7-6(1) in the final.
Senin, 27 Juli 2015
Talking with ITF Junior No. 1 Taylor Fritz; Ayeni Sweeps ITF Grade 4 Titles in Dominican Republic; Donaldson Qualifies for BB&T Open in Atlanta
As the No. 1 ranked ITF junior boy, Taylor Fritz was a popular interview subject at Wimbledon this year, and I spoke with him several times during the junior tournament. Although many of his peers have turned pro this spring and summer, Fritz has not yet made that decision officially. But from this article I put together for The Tennis Recruiting Network based on those interviews, it appears unlikely that he will attend college.
All the major sports management agencies are interested in Fritz, so his choice will be a story this summer (he says by the end of the US Open). But it's not as if it is a lifetime commitment. Jack Sock, who signed with CAA initially, has moved to IMG, it was announced today.
Olukayode Alafia Ayeni, who turns 16 next month, won his first two ITF titles last week at the Grade 4 Copa Merengue in the Dominican Republic. Ayeni, seeded No. 11, beat the No. 7, No. 4 and No. 1 seeds to reach the final, where he defeated No. 2 seed Salvador Mijares of Venezuela 6-2, 6-1. Ayeni and Robert Loeb won the doubles title, with the No. 3 seeds taking a 7-6(8), 7-5 decision from No. 4 seeds Valentino Caratini and Camilo Ugo Carabelli of Argentina.
At the $50,000 Sacramento women's Pro Circuit tournament, which finished late last night, 2014 US Open girls finalist Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine, the No. 8 seed, beat top seed An-Sophie Mestach of Belgium 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. It's the third Pro Circuit title for the 18-year-old, but the first at the $50,000 level.
Ashley Weinhold and Caitlin Whoriskey(Tennessee) won the doubles title, beating another unseeded pair, Nao Hibino of Japan and Rosie Johanson of Canada, 6-4, 3-6, 14-12 in the final. It's Whoriskey's ninth pro doubles title, but her first at a $50,000 tournament and her first with Weinhold as a partner.
The third and final tournament in the USTA's Women's US Open Wild Card Challenge is this week in Lexington. As you can see from the standings chart, it's still anyone's wild card, although Brooke Austin lost in the first round of Lexington qualifying to Jamie Loeb, so she can't accumulate any more points. Loeb is one of five Americans in Tuesday's final round of qualifying.
The men's Lexington Challenger is just the second of their three tournaments, and next week at Aptos is a $100,000 event, so there is a very long way to go in that race. Noah Rubin qualified for Lexington with three wins, including a win over No. 2 seed Frederik Nielsen of Denmark and today's victory over Dimitar Kutrovsky(7) of Bulgaria. Alex Kuznetsov also qualified, putting a total of eight Americans in the main draw.
Rain has stopped play at the BB&T Atlanta Open today, but Jared Donaldson, Austin Krajicek and Denis Kudla won their final qualifying matches to join nine Americans already in the main draw. Donaldson, who was unseeded in the qualifying, beat Gastao Elias of Portugal in the first round, No. 5 seed JP Smith of Australia in the second round and No. 2 seed Guido Pella of Argentina in today's final round of qualifying. Kudla, the No. 1 seed, won both his qualifying matches in straight sets, as did No. 3 seed Krajicek.
The lower level Pro Circuit events this week are a $15,000 Futures for the men in Edwardsville, Illinois, and a $10,000 tournament for women in Austin, Texas.
All the major sports management agencies are interested in Fritz, so his choice will be a story this summer (he says by the end of the US Open). But it's not as if it is a lifetime commitment. Jack Sock, who signed with CAA initially, has moved to IMG, it was announced today.
Olukayode Alafia Ayeni, who turns 16 next month, won his first two ITF titles last week at the Grade 4 Copa Merengue in the Dominican Republic. Ayeni, seeded No. 11, beat the No. 7, No. 4 and No. 1 seeds to reach the final, where he defeated No. 2 seed Salvador Mijares of Venezuela 6-2, 6-1. Ayeni and Robert Loeb won the doubles title, with the No. 3 seeds taking a 7-6(8), 7-5 decision from No. 4 seeds Valentino Caratini and Camilo Ugo Carabelli of Argentina.
At the $50,000 Sacramento women's Pro Circuit tournament, which finished late last night, 2014 US Open girls finalist Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine, the No. 8 seed, beat top seed An-Sophie Mestach of Belgium 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. It's the third Pro Circuit title for the 18-year-old, but the first at the $50,000 level.
Ashley Weinhold and Caitlin Whoriskey(Tennessee) won the doubles title, beating another unseeded pair, Nao Hibino of Japan and Rosie Johanson of Canada, 6-4, 3-6, 14-12 in the final. It's Whoriskey's ninth pro doubles title, but her first at a $50,000 tournament and her first with Weinhold as a partner.
The third and final tournament in the USTA's Women's US Open Wild Card Challenge is this week in Lexington. As you can see from the standings chart, it's still anyone's wild card, although Brooke Austin lost in the first round of Lexington qualifying to Jamie Loeb, so she can't accumulate any more points. Loeb is one of five Americans in Tuesday's final round of qualifying.
The men's Lexington Challenger is just the second of their three tournaments, and next week at Aptos is a $100,000 event, so there is a very long way to go in that race. Noah Rubin qualified for Lexington with three wins, including a win over No. 2 seed Frederik Nielsen of Denmark and today's victory over Dimitar Kutrovsky(7) of Bulgaria. Alex Kuznetsov also qualified, putting a total of eight Americans in the main draw.
Rain has stopped play at the BB&T Atlanta Open today, but Jared Donaldson, Austin Krajicek and Denis Kudla won their final qualifying matches to join nine Americans already in the main draw. Donaldson, who was unseeded in the qualifying, beat Gastao Elias of Portugal in the first round, No. 5 seed JP Smith of Australia in the second round and No. 2 seed Guido Pella of Argentina in today's final round of qualifying. Kudla, the No. 1 seed, won both his qualifying matches in straight sets, as did No. 3 seed Krajicek.
The lower level Pro Circuit events this week are a $15,000 Futures for the men in Edwardsville, Illinois, and a $10,000 tournament for women in Austin, Texas.
Selasa, 21 Juli 2015
Tiafoe, Rubin Win Opening Round Matches at Binghamton Challenger; Auger Aliassime, 14, Reaches Second Round at Granby $100K; Sarkissian Posts First ATP Victory
It was a busy day in the Americas, with noteworthy wins from Canada to Colombia.
Frances Tiafoe, who has struggled a bit since his Challenger run this spring, picked up his first main draw win since May in the opening round of the $50,000 Challenger in Binghamton, New York. He defeated Gregoire Barrere of France 6-4, 7-6(1) today to set up a second round match against No. 2 seed Bjorn Fratangelo, who he beat back in April during the run that secured the USTA's French Open wild card.
Wild card Noah Rubin picked up his second Challenger level win, defeating Omar Jasika of Australia 6-3, 6-3 in a battle between two recent junior slam champions. Rubin will play top seed Kyle Edmund of Great Britain in the second round Thursday. Edmund beat Ernesto Escobedo 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-1.
Wimbledon champion Reilly Opelka lost his Challenger debut to qualifier Sekou Bangoura 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 after leading 4-2 in the final set. Bangoura held and broke to pull even in the third set, and then a huge wind gust tore the wind screen from the fence, which basically made the court unplayable. After the storm passed, the players returned to the court and Bangoura held (from deuce), then broke Opelka for the win.
No. 5 seed Jared Donaldson had just completed his 6-3, 6-2 win over Takuto Niki of Japan when play was suspended. Due to the delay, Tommy Paul's match with Gonzalo Escobar of Ecuador was postponed until Wednesday.
At the $15,000 Futures in Godfrey, Illinois, the top two seeds are out. Clay Thompson advanced over top seed Deiton Baughman 3-6, 7-5, 3-0 retired, and Fred Saba, the former Duke star, beat No. 2 seed Kaichi Uchida of Japan 6-4, 6-1. Nick Chappell, the recent TCU standout, defeated No. 4 seed Harry Bourchier of Australia 7-5, 6-3.
The top two seeds in the women's $10,000 tournament in Evansville, Indiana--Bianca Botto of Peru and Naomi Totka of Hungary--will begin play on Wednesday. A host of US college and junior players are in the draw, with wild card Sara Daavettila collecting her first professional level main draw victory. No. 7 seed Alexa Graham, Daavettila's future teammate at North Carolina, defeated Francesca Di Lorenzo 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-4.
Qualifying for the women's $50,000 Sacramento Challenger was completed today, with Michaela Gordon moving into the main draw with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Jacqueline Cako. Nicole Frenkel defeated Kelly Chen in the final round of qualifying, but both reached the main draw, with Chen taking a lucky loser spot. Gordon will play wild card Brooke Austin and Chen will meet wild card Jamie Loeb, with Frenkel drawing No. 6 seed Mayo Hibi of Japan. In first round action today, No. 3 seed CiCi Bellis, No. 8 seed Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine and No. 2 seed Eri Hozumi of Japan advanced to the second round with straight-set wins.
In Granby, Canada, at the $100,000 men's Challenger, Felix Auger-Aliassime recorded his first Challenger victory, beating fellow qualifier Andrew Whittington of Australia 6-3, 6-2. Auger-Aliassime, who turns 15 next month, made a big splash in March when he qualified for the Drummondville Challenger, but an injury forced him to withdraw before he could play his first round match. In Granby qualifying, he beat fellow Canadian teen Jack Lin and Jean-Yves Aubone to advance to the main draw. Auger-Aliassime's ITF junior ranking is not high enough to get him into the junior slams, and, although he has had good results this summer in ITF events on European clay, he has yet to win an ITF tournament above a Grade 3. He will play No. 8 seed Darian King of Barbados in the second round, after King defeated qualifier Raymond Sarmiento 6-2, 6-3.
Young Canadians Katherine Sebov and Charlotte Robillard-Millette are playing the women's $50,000 tournament in Granby, with Sebov qualifying for the main draw and Robillard-Millette getting a first round win. Qualifier Ellie Halbauer advanced to the second round with a 6-3, 6-1 win over wild card Erin Routliffe of Canada, a two-time NCAA doubles champion at Alabama.
At the ATP 250 in Bogota, Colombia, 2014 NCAA finalist Alex Sarkissian won his first ATP-level match tonight, defeating ATP No. 97 John Millman of Australia 6-3, 6-3. The former Pepperdine star will play No. 7 seed Malek Jaziri of Tunisia in the second round.
The Tennis Recruiting Network has begun its Clay Courts Championship Week coverage with recaps of the 12s tournaments. The article on Saud Alhogbani's title is here, and Elvina Kalieva's championship is here.
The USTA's New Balance High School Championships began on Monday in Boston, and the draws can be found here.
Frances Tiafoe, who has struggled a bit since his Challenger run this spring, picked up his first main draw win since May in the opening round of the $50,000 Challenger in Binghamton, New York. He defeated Gregoire Barrere of France 6-4, 7-6(1) today to set up a second round match against No. 2 seed Bjorn Fratangelo, who he beat back in April during the run that secured the USTA's French Open wild card.
Wild card Noah Rubin picked up his second Challenger level win, defeating Omar Jasika of Australia 6-3, 6-3 in a battle between two recent junior slam champions. Rubin will play top seed Kyle Edmund of Great Britain in the second round Thursday. Edmund beat Ernesto Escobedo 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-1.
Wimbledon champion Reilly Opelka lost his Challenger debut to qualifier Sekou Bangoura 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 after leading 4-2 in the final set. Bangoura held and broke to pull even in the third set, and then a huge wind gust tore the wind screen from the fence, which basically made the court unplayable. After the storm passed, the players returned to the court and Bangoura held (from deuce), then broke Opelka for the win.
No. 5 seed Jared Donaldson had just completed his 6-3, 6-2 win over Takuto Niki of Japan when play was suspended. Due to the delay, Tommy Paul's match with Gonzalo Escobar of Ecuador was postponed until Wednesday.
At the $15,000 Futures in Godfrey, Illinois, the top two seeds are out. Clay Thompson advanced over top seed Deiton Baughman 3-6, 7-5, 3-0 retired, and Fred Saba, the former Duke star, beat No. 2 seed Kaichi Uchida of Japan 6-4, 6-1. Nick Chappell, the recent TCU standout, defeated No. 4 seed Harry Bourchier of Australia 7-5, 6-3.
The top two seeds in the women's $10,000 tournament in Evansville, Indiana--Bianca Botto of Peru and Naomi Totka of Hungary--will begin play on Wednesday. A host of US college and junior players are in the draw, with wild card Sara Daavettila collecting her first professional level main draw victory. No. 7 seed Alexa Graham, Daavettila's future teammate at North Carolina, defeated Francesca Di Lorenzo 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-4.
Qualifying for the women's $50,000 Sacramento Challenger was completed today, with Michaela Gordon moving into the main draw with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Jacqueline Cako. Nicole Frenkel defeated Kelly Chen in the final round of qualifying, but both reached the main draw, with Chen taking a lucky loser spot. Gordon will play wild card Brooke Austin and Chen will meet wild card Jamie Loeb, with Frenkel drawing No. 6 seed Mayo Hibi of Japan. In first round action today, No. 3 seed CiCi Bellis, No. 8 seed Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine and No. 2 seed Eri Hozumi of Japan advanced to the second round with straight-set wins.
In Granby, Canada, at the $100,000 men's Challenger, Felix Auger-Aliassime recorded his first Challenger victory, beating fellow qualifier Andrew Whittington of Australia 6-3, 6-2. Auger-Aliassime, who turns 15 next month, made a big splash in March when he qualified for the Drummondville Challenger, but an injury forced him to withdraw before he could play his first round match. In Granby qualifying, he beat fellow Canadian teen Jack Lin and Jean-Yves Aubone to advance to the main draw. Auger-Aliassime's ITF junior ranking is not high enough to get him into the junior slams, and, although he has had good results this summer in ITF events on European clay, he has yet to win an ITF tournament above a Grade 3. He will play No. 8 seed Darian King of Barbados in the second round, after King defeated qualifier Raymond Sarmiento 6-2, 6-3.
Young Canadians Katherine Sebov and Charlotte Robillard-Millette are playing the women's $50,000 tournament in Granby, with Sebov qualifying for the main draw and Robillard-Millette getting a first round win. Qualifier Ellie Halbauer advanced to the second round with a 6-3, 6-1 win over wild card Erin Routliffe of Canada, a two-time NCAA doubles champion at Alabama.
At the ATP 250 in Bogota, Colombia, 2014 NCAA finalist Alex Sarkissian won his first ATP-level match tonight, defeating ATP No. 97 John Millman of Australia 6-3, 6-3. The former Pepperdine star will play No. 7 seed Malek Jaziri of Tunisia in the second round.
The Tennis Recruiting Network has begun its Clay Courts Championship Week coverage with recaps of the 12s tournaments. The article on Saud Alhogbani's title is here, and Elvina Kalieva's championship is here.
The USTA's New Balance High School Championships began on Monday in Boston, and the draws can be found here.
Jumat, 17 Juli 2015
My Wimbledon Recap; USTA Clay Court Finals Set; Nedovyesov Tops Kyrgios in Davis Cup; Zhao Wins Pan Am Gold
My recap of the Wimbledon Junior Championships is available today at the Tennis Recruiting Network. Although Sunday was a bit bleak, in general the weather was outstanding, the best I've experienced in my four trips. And it's always a plus for me when US juniors do well which they certainly did this year: six quarterfinalists and a singles champion and doubles finalist in Reilly Opelka.
Because Wimbledon was a week later this year, I was unable to cover the Girls 18s Clay Courts in Memphis after being there the previous seven years. All finals in the four age divisions are scheduled for Saturday. The results of today's semifinals, with full draws available by clicking the link contained in the age division heading.
Boys 18s:
Sam Riffice(1) def. Nathan Perrone(17) 6-2, 1-6, 6-2
Alexandre Rotsaert(17) def. (9) Vasil Kirkov(9)
7-6, 6-1
Girls 18s:
Boys 16s:
Danny Thomas(17) d. Robert Maciag 6-3, 6-3
Girls 16s:
Samantha Martinelli(2) def. Nicole Mossmer(4) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
Natasha Subhash(1) def. Hannah Lairmore(3) 6-3, 6-4
Boys 14s:
Jenson Brooksby(4) def. JanMagnus Johnson 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-3
William Grant(7) def. (17) Stefan Leustian(17) 6-1, 6-2
Girls 14s:
Hailey Baptiste(17) def. Victoria Hu(8) 5-7, 6-4, 6-1
Alexa Noel(1) def. Alana Wolfberg(4) 6-2, 6-1
Boys 12s:
Girls 12s:
Davis Cup is underway, and Bobby Knight has all the results involving current and former collegians from World Group to Group III competition at College Tennis Today. The biggest win for a college player was that of former Oklahoma State star Aleksandr Nedovyesov of Kazakhstan. Nedovyesov defeated Nick Kyrgios 7-6(5), 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-4 to give Kazakhstan a 2-0 lead over the Australians in a World Group quarterfinal in Darwin.
Also playing Davis Cup this week is 16-year-old Hady Habib, who is representing Lebanon in its relegation playoff with Sri Lanka. Habib, currently 91 in the ITF world junior rankings, is a regular on the ITF circuit here in the United States.
Because Wimbledon was a week later this year, I was unable to cover the Girls 18s Clay Courts in Memphis after being there the previous seven years. All finals in the four age divisions are scheduled for Saturday. The results of today's semifinals, with full draws available by clicking the link contained in the age division heading.
Boys 18s:
Sam Riffice(1) def. Nathan Perrone(17) 6-2, 1-6, 6-2
Alexandre Rotsaert(17) def. (9) Vasil Kirkov(9)
7-6, 6-1
Girls 18s:
| Ellyse Hamlin(6) def. Mia Horvit(5) | 6-2, 7-6(3) |
| Kaitlyn McCarthy(17) def. Meible Chi | (8) 6-4, 7-5 |
Boys 16s:
| Aleks Huryn(17) def. Kyrylo Tsygura(6) 6-3, 6-4 |
Girls 16s:
Samantha Martinelli(2) def. Nicole Mossmer(4) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
Natasha Subhash(1) def. Hannah Lairmore(3) 6-3, 6-4
Boys 14s:
Jenson Brooksby(4) def. JanMagnus Johnson 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-3
William Grant(7) def. (17) Stefan Leustian(17) 6-1, 6-2
Girls 14s:
Hailey Baptiste(17) def. Victoria Hu(8) 5-7, 6-4, 6-1
Alexa Noel(1) def. Alana Wolfberg(4) 6-2, 6-1
Boys 12s:
Saud Alhogbani(12) def. Alexander Bernard(8) 6-4, 6-3
Karl Lee(4) def. Hugo Hashimoto(1) 7-6(4), 6-3
Girls 12s:
Elvina Kalieva(9) def. Ellie Pittman(17) 5-7, 6-3, 6-1
Charlotte Owensby(1) def. Rachel Arbitman(17) 6-2, 6-3
Also playing Davis Cup this week is 16-year-old Hady Habib, who is representing Lebanon in its relegation playoff with Sri Lanka. Habib, currently 91 in the ITF world junior rankings, is a regular on the ITF circuit here in the United States.
Other international tennis competitions concluded today, with gold medals decided at the Pacific Games and the Pan American Games. Papua New Guinea's Abigail Tere-Apisah, the former Georgia State All-American and 2014 NCAA semifinalist, collected four gold medals, winning singles, doubles, mixed and team events.
At the Pan American Games in Toronto, the women's doubles gold went to the Canadian team of Carol Zhao(Stanford) and Gaby Dabrowski. They defeated the Mexican team of Victoria Rodriguez and Marcela Zacarias 6-1, 4-6, 10-5. Mariana Duque-Marino of Colombia won the singles gold medal, beating Rodriguez 6-4, 6-4. Monica Puig of Puerto Rico took the bronze with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Lauren Davis.
Jumat, 03 Juli 2015
June Aces; Mmoh Wins Roehampton; Wimbledon Junior Championships Begin Saturday
©Colette Lewis 2015--
Wimbledon--
There was a lot going on today, but in my attempt to minimize my jet lag and try to get over some sort of bug I picked up on the plane(s), I'll make this brief.
My monthly collection of outstanding performances, June version, is available now at the Tennis Recruiting Network.
Michael Mmoh won the ITF Grade 1 in Roehampton today. The No. 3 seed defeated No. 5 seed Viktor Durasovic of Norway 7-6(4), 6-3. No. 3 seed Dalma Galfi of Hungary took the girls title, beating top seed and world No. 1 Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 7-6(3), 6-2.
Tommy Paul and William Blumberg lost in the boys doubles final to Australians Jake Delaney and Marc Polmas 6-7(3), 6-1, 10-7. The outstanding play of top girls doubles seeds Miriam Kolodziejova and Vondrousova continued with their 6-3, 6-3 win over Australians Destanee Aiava and Olivia Tjandramulia.
Emil Reinberg qualified for the Wimbledon boys junior championships today, defeating Alexandar Lazarov of Bulgaria 2-6, 6-4, 8-6. Reinberg will join 17 other Americans in the boys and girls singles draws, but as with all qualifiers, he will have the day off on Saturday and will begin play on Monday, as do all the Roehampton finalists. Top seed Taylor Fritz plays a qualifier, so he too will begin play on Monday.
US boys seeded, in addition to Fritz, are Michael Mmoh(4), Tommy Paul(7) and William Blumberg(9). Two US girls are seeded: Usue Arconada(6) and Sonya Kenin(9).
The US juniors in action on Saturday in bold:
Wild card Anastasia Potapova (RUS) vs Francesca Di Lorenzo
Luisa Stefani (BRA) [13] vs Claire Liu
Wild card Lauryn John-Baptiste (GBR) vs Ingrid Neel
Usue Arconada [6] vs Monika Kilnarova (CZE)
Yusuke Takahashi (JPN) vs Nathan Ponwith
Rebeka Masarova (SUI) vs Michaela Gordon
Kayla Day vs Tessah Andrianjafitrimo (FRA)
Katherine Sebov (CAN) vs wild card Tornado Alicia Black
Caroline Dolehide vs Julieta Lara Estable (ARG) [14]
Congratulations to unseeded Americans Denis Kudla and CoCo Vandeweghe for making the second week at Wimbledon with wins today.
Wimbledon--
There was a lot going on today, but in my attempt to minimize my jet lag and try to get over some sort of bug I picked up on the plane(s), I'll make this brief.
My monthly collection of outstanding performances, June version, is available now at the Tennis Recruiting Network.
Michael Mmoh won the ITF Grade 1 in Roehampton today. The No. 3 seed defeated No. 5 seed Viktor Durasovic of Norway 7-6(4), 6-3. No. 3 seed Dalma Galfi of Hungary took the girls title, beating top seed and world No. 1 Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 7-6(3), 6-2.
Tommy Paul and William Blumberg lost in the boys doubles final to Australians Jake Delaney and Marc Polmas 6-7(3), 6-1, 10-7. The outstanding play of top girls doubles seeds Miriam Kolodziejova and Vondrousova continued with their 6-3, 6-3 win over Australians Destanee Aiava and Olivia Tjandramulia.
 |
| Alejandro Tabilo of Canada and Tornado Alicia Black |
Emil Reinberg qualified for the Wimbledon boys junior championships today, defeating Alexandar Lazarov of Bulgaria 2-6, 6-4, 8-6. Reinberg will join 17 other Americans in the boys and girls singles draws, but as with all qualifiers, he will have the day off on Saturday and will begin play on Monday, as do all the Roehampton finalists. Top seed Taylor Fritz plays a qualifier, so he too will begin play on Monday.
US boys seeded, in addition to Fritz, are Michael Mmoh(4), Tommy Paul(7) and William Blumberg(9). Two US girls are seeded: Usue Arconada(6) and Sonya Kenin(9).
The US juniors in action on Saturday in bold:
Wild card Anastasia Potapova (RUS) vs Francesca Di Lorenzo
Kayla Day vs Tessah Andrianjafitrimo (FRA)
There will be live scoring at the Wimbledon website. The complete draws are here. The complete qualifying results are here.
Congratulations to unseeded Americans Denis Kudla and CoCo Vandeweghe for making the second week at Wimbledon with wins today.
Jumat, 26 Juni 2015
My Interview with USTA's Martin Blackman; 23 Americans in Wimbledon Singles Draws; Study of Past Junior Slam Boys Winners; Arconada Reaches Baton Rouge $25K Semis, Rubin Advances to Tulsa Semis
Last week I had an opportunity to speak with the USTA's new General Manager for Player Development Martin Blackman, who took over the position from Patrick McEnroe on June 1. It was my third opportunity to ask him questions, with the first during the conference call that introduced him back in April, and the second in a small face-to-face conference with two other reporters when I was in Boca Raton for the ITF Team events. In our phone conversation last week, I had an opportunity to explore topics in more detail, particularly from the junior and college tennis perspective, and he obviously has a better feel for the direction he wants to take now that he's officially in charge.
If you have an interest in junior, college or American tennis, this Tennis Recruiting Network interview is one you should read.
The draws for Wimbledon came out today, with 16 US women and seven US men in singles.
The US men, with their opponents in parentheses:
No. 17 John Isner (Go Soeda JPN)
Denis Kudla (No. 28 Pablo Cuevas URU)
Donald Young (Marcos Baghdatis CYP)
Steve Johnson (Lukas Lacko SVK)
Tim Smyczek (No. 30 Fabio Fognini ITA)
No. 31 Jack Sock (Sam Groth AUS)
Sam Querrey (Igor Sijsling NED)
The US women:
No. 1 Serena Williams (Margarita Gasparyan RUS)
No. 16 Venus Williams (Madison Brengle)
Bethanie Mattek-Sands (Alison Van Uytvanck BEL)
Nicole Gibbs (Lesia Tsurenko UKR)
Shelby Rogers (No. 14 Andrea Petkovic GER)
Irina Falconi (No. 11 Karolina Pliskova CZE)
CoCo Vandeweghe (Anna Karolina Schmiedlova SVK)
Edina Gallovits-Hall (Urszula Radwanska POL)
Sloan Stephens (No. 27 Barbora Strycova CZE)
Lauren Davis (Polona Hercog SLO)
Alison Riske (No. 6 Lucie Safarova CZE)
Varvara Lepchenko (No. 20 Garbine Muguruza ESP)
Christina McHale (Johanna Larsson SWE)
Sachia Vickery (No. 8 Ekaterina Makarova RUS)
No. 21 Madison Keys (Stefanie Voegele SUI)
The complete draws are here. Although the schedule is not yet out, the top half of both draws plays Monday, the bottom half Tuesday.
I will be covering my fourth Wimbledon Junior Championships beginning Saturday, July 4th, and with the one Australian Open I have covered and the 11 US Opens, I have seen plenty of junior slam champions over the years. Stefano Berlincioni recently researched and analyzed the boys champions over the period 1990-2010 and found that winning a junior slam guaranteed nothing, but most do go on to reach the ATP Top 100. The US Open has been the most predictive of pro success and the Australian the least. Given the cost and distance the first doesn't surprise me, but I wouldn't have guessed that the US Open would beat out the French or Wimbledon. Anyway, have a look at what he's found. He's said he will try to do a similar study for girls/women.
I didn't get the update from the Grand Slam Nations Challenge in Great Britain until today, but the US girls finished second by defeating France 5-1 on Thursday. Australia finished in first place, going undefeated in the three matches against Great Britain, France and the US.
The semifinals are set in the USTA Pro Circuit Baton Rouge $25,000 tournament, with an American assured of capturing the title.
Usue Arconada, who beat top seed Taylor Townsend in the first round, completed her second round earlier today after rain interrupted it Thursday, then went on to reach the semifinals with a 7-6(5), 6-0 win over recent Ole Miss graduate Julia Jones. Arconada will play former USC standout Danielle Lao, who beat former Penn star Connie Hsu of Taiwan, seeded No. 8, 6-3, 6-3. The other semifinal features No. 4 seed Samantha Crawford against qualifier Brooke Austin. Crawford, who beat No. 7 seed Carol Zhao 7-5, 6-4 after finishing off a three-set win over Kelly Chen, and Austin, who beat LSU's Joana Vale Costa of Portugal are junior rivals, with Austin holding a 3-1 edge in the previous meetings, all at the junior level.
Noah Rubin has reached the semifinals of the $15,000 Tulsa Futures, his first tournament as a pro, beating No. 6 seed Ernesto Escobedo 6-4, 7-6(2). He will play No. 2 seed Tennys Sandgren in Saturday's semifinal.
If you have an interest in junior, college or American tennis, this Tennis Recruiting Network interview is one you should read.
The draws for Wimbledon came out today, with 16 US women and seven US men in singles.
The US men, with their opponents in parentheses:
No. 17 John Isner (Go Soeda JPN)
Denis Kudla (No. 28 Pablo Cuevas URU)
Donald Young (Marcos Baghdatis CYP)
Steve Johnson (Lukas Lacko SVK)
Tim Smyczek (No. 30 Fabio Fognini ITA)
No. 31 Jack Sock (Sam Groth AUS)
Sam Querrey (Igor Sijsling NED)
The US women:
No. 1 Serena Williams (Margarita Gasparyan RUS)
No. 16 Venus Williams (Madison Brengle)
Bethanie Mattek-Sands (Alison Van Uytvanck BEL)
Nicole Gibbs (Lesia Tsurenko UKR)
Shelby Rogers (No. 14 Andrea Petkovic GER)
Irina Falconi (No. 11 Karolina Pliskova CZE)
CoCo Vandeweghe (Anna Karolina Schmiedlova SVK)
Edina Gallovits-Hall (Urszula Radwanska POL)
Sloan Stephens (No. 27 Barbora Strycova CZE)
Lauren Davis (Polona Hercog SLO)
Alison Riske (No. 6 Lucie Safarova CZE)
Varvara Lepchenko (No. 20 Garbine Muguruza ESP)
Christina McHale (Johanna Larsson SWE)
Sachia Vickery (No. 8 Ekaterina Makarova RUS)
No. 21 Madison Keys (Stefanie Voegele SUI)
The complete draws are here. Although the schedule is not yet out, the top half of both draws plays Monday, the bottom half Tuesday.
I will be covering my fourth Wimbledon Junior Championships beginning Saturday, July 4th, and with the one Australian Open I have covered and the 11 US Opens, I have seen plenty of junior slam champions over the years. Stefano Berlincioni recently researched and analyzed the boys champions over the period 1990-2010 and found that winning a junior slam guaranteed nothing, but most do go on to reach the ATP Top 100. The US Open has been the most predictive of pro success and the Australian the least. Given the cost and distance the first doesn't surprise me, but I wouldn't have guessed that the US Open would beat out the French or Wimbledon. Anyway, have a look at what he's found. He's said he will try to do a similar study for girls/women.
I didn't get the update from the Grand Slam Nations Challenge in Great Britain until today, but the US girls finished second by defeating France 5-1 on Thursday. Australia finished in first place, going undefeated in the three matches against Great Britain, France and the US.
The semifinals are set in the USTA Pro Circuit Baton Rouge $25,000 tournament, with an American assured of capturing the title.
Usue Arconada, who beat top seed Taylor Townsend in the first round, completed her second round earlier today after rain interrupted it Thursday, then went on to reach the semifinals with a 7-6(5), 6-0 win over recent Ole Miss graduate Julia Jones. Arconada will play former USC standout Danielle Lao, who beat former Penn star Connie Hsu of Taiwan, seeded No. 8, 6-3, 6-3. The other semifinal features No. 4 seed Samantha Crawford against qualifier Brooke Austin. Crawford, who beat No. 7 seed Carol Zhao 7-5, 6-4 after finishing off a three-set win over Kelly Chen, and Austin, who beat LSU's Joana Vale Costa of Portugal are junior rivals, with Austin holding a 3-1 edge in the previous meetings, all at the junior level.
Noah Rubin has reached the semifinals of the $15,000 Tulsa Futures, his first tournament as a pro, beating No. 6 seed Ernesto Escobedo 6-4, 7-6(2). He will play No. 2 seed Tennys Sandgren in Saturday's semifinal.
Rabu, 17 Juni 2015
My Interview with Noah Rubin; Tommy Paul Turns Pro; USTA Names Pan American Team; New Balance High School Tournament Registration Closes Thursday; New Bollettieri Scholarship Available
At last month's NCAAs, I sat down to talk to with Noah Rubin, who was on his way to reaching the singles final. At that time, he was still undecided about returning for his sophomore year at Wake Forest, but earlier this month he decided not to go back. I spoke to him briefly after he made that decision, and those questions are included at the end of this interview for the Tennis Recruiting Network.
For more on Wake Forest's reaction to Rubin's decision, see this article from the Winston-Salem Journal.
Wimbledon boys champion Rubin won a junior slam and decided to go to school, but Tommy Paul, who won the French Open boys title and two Futures since the beginning of May, has decided not to attend the University of Georgia. Paul, 18, signed with Nike this week, although he is not currently represented by a sports management agency. He is back in Europe now, where he is entered in both the Roehampton Grade 1 and Wimbledon Junior championships after being home for a week.
The USTA announced the team that will represent the United States at the Pan Am Games next month in Toronto. Louisa Chirico, Lauren Davis and Sachia Vickery are the women's team, coached by Kathy Rinaldi. Jean-Yves Aubone, Dennis Novikov and recent Vanderbilt graduate Gonzales Austin are the men's team, coached by Brad Stine.
For more on the team, see this article at USTA.com.
The New Balance High School tournament, now in its second year, will be held next month in Boston. Registration closes Thursday, June 18 at 11:59 am (click the above link or the banner at the top left of this page). For more about the tournament, read this recent post at the Tennis Recruiting Network.
I just received an announcement on a new scholarship available at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Developed in honor of Nick Bollettieri, this scholarship will be given to a rising senior interested in spending the upcoming school year at the Academy. The deadline to apply is July 10, 2015. See this article for more information.
For more on Wake Forest's reaction to Rubin's decision, see this article from the Winston-Salem Journal.
Wimbledon boys champion Rubin won a junior slam and decided to go to school, but Tommy Paul, who won the French Open boys title and two Futures since the beginning of May, has decided not to attend the University of Georgia. Paul, 18, signed with Nike this week, although he is not currently represented by a sports management agency. He is back in Europe now, where he is entered in both the Roehampton Grade 1 and Wimbledon Junior championships after being home for a week.
The USTA announced the team that will represent the United States at the Pan Am Games next month in Toronto. Louisa Chirico, Lauren Davis and Sachia Vickery are the women's team, coached by Kathy Rinaldi. Jean-Yves Aubone, Dennis Novikov and recent Vanderbilt graduate Gonzales Austin are the men's team, coached by Brad Stine.
For more on the team, see this article at USTA.com.
The New Balance High School tournament, now in its second year, will be held next month in Boston. Registration closes Thursday, June 18 at 11:59 am (click the above link or the banner at the top left of this page). For more about the tournament, read this recent post at the Tennis Recruiting Network.
I just received an announcement on a new scholarship available at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Developed in honor of Nick Bollettieri, this scholarship will be given to a rising senior interested in spending the upcoming school year at the Academy. The deadline to apply is July 10, 2015. See this article for more information.
Selasa, 16 Juni 2015
USTA Collegiate Team Announced; Perkins Jasper Takes Position at ITA; US Open National Playoffs Update
The USTA announced the 2015 Collegiate Team, which this year consists of seven American players who have not yet completed their collegiate eligibility.They are: Mackenzie McDonald, UCLA, Noah Rubin, Wake Forest*,
Ryan Shane, Virginia, Brooke Austin, Florida, Jennifer Brady, UCLA,*
Julia Elbaba, Virginia, Jamie Loeb, North Carolina
*Player has indicated he/she will turn pro.
When current Virginia assistant Dustin Taylor was the USTA's National Collegiate coach, the team had a set number of spots and the possibility of earning a place on the team through a summer training camp, as detailed in this Tennis Recruiting Network article I wrote back in June of 2013. It also included an opportunity to earn a place on the team with the best results in a number of designated Futures events.
With Stephen Amritraj taking over for Taylor, changes were made, including in some of the automatic criteria. In addition NCAA singles champion, ITA Rookie of the Year, ITA All-American singles champion, USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships singles champion, the highest-ranked American in the final ITA rankings was added as an automatic qualifier, and the ATP and WTA rankings were changed to Top 400 for women and Top 600 for men. (Tommy Paul with his ATP ranking of 451, would be eligible to join the team if he does enroll at Georgia this fall). I spoke with Amritraj about his plans for the program for the Tennis Recruiting Network last fall.
The college coaches traveling to USTA Pro Circuit events for the men are: Bo Hodge (Oklahoma), Derek Schwandt (Georgia Tech), and Christian Groh. For the women, the coaches are: Sara Anundsen (Davidson), Laura Granville (Princeton), Lee Taylor Walker (TCU) and Riza Zalameda (Columbia).
The ITA announced last week that Angel Prinos, the longtime Associate Director and Chief Operating Officer of the organization, would be leaving for a position at the University of Pennsylvania, and today Erica Perkins Jasper was named to succeed Prinos. Perkins Jasper was head women's coach at the University of New Mexico for the past three years; prior to that she was Senior Manager of Junior and Collegiate Competition at USTA Player Development in Boca Raton. I interviewed Perkins Jasper about her background and USTA responsibilities back in 2010 in this Tennis Recruiting Network article.
Assistant Kelcey McKenna will take over for Perkins Jasper at New Mexico.
Three more sections completed their US Open National Playoff competitions recently with the results below. It's great to see so many future and current college players begin to take advantage of this opportunity. Links to all the draws can be found here.
Midwest:
Women’s Singles: Sara Daavettila
Men’s Singles: Martin Joyce
Mixed Doubles: Tyler Faulkner and Simone Jardim
Women’s Doubles: Daavettila and Alyvia Jones
Men’s Doubles: Charlie Emhardt and Jeffrey B. Schorsch
Southern Cal:
Women’s Singles: Megan McCray
Men’s Singles: Henry Craig
Mixed Doubles: Danielle Lao and Jonny Wang
Women’s Doubles: Lorraine Guillermo and Lao
Men’s Doubles: Haythem Abid and Joel Kielbowicz (Kielbowicz also won men’s singles & mixed doubles in Southwest section competition)
Eastern:
Women’s Singles: Julia Elbaba
Men’s Singles: Nikita Kryvonos
Mixed Doubles: Rima Asatrian and Ilia Shatashvili
Women’s Doubles: Magda Okruashvili and Ketevan Okruashvili
Men’s Doubles: Daniel M. Cochrane and Phillip Simmonds
==========================================
Previous results:
Southwest:
Women’s Singles: Jacqueline Cako
Men’s Singles: Joel Kielbowicz
Mixed Doubles: Cako and Kielbowicz
Women’s Doubles: Savannah Slaysman and Allie Sanford
Men’s Doubles: Ben Newell and Zachary Newell
Intermountain:
Women’s Singles: Gail Brodsky
Men’s Singles: Chris Wettengel
Mixed Doubles: Brodsky and Brian Wilson
Women’s Doubles: Jacqueline Cako and Keri Wong
Men’s Doubles: Jordan Kerr and Travis Parrott
Missouri Valley:
Women’s Singles: Sophie Chang
Men’s Singles: Dusty Boyer
Mixed Doubles: Boyer and Julia Schiller
Women’s Doubles: Katherine Cao and Jaci Cochrane
Men’s Doubles: Julio Peralta and Matt Seeberger
Mid-Atlantic:
Women’s Singles: Nika Kukharchuk
Men’s Singles: Mikelis Libietis
Mixed Doubles: Sydney Rider and Matt Stillwagon
Women’s Doubles: Lizzie Baker and Mackenzie Clark
Men’s Doubles: Mikelis Libietis and Hunter Reese
Rabu, 10 Juni 2015
My Interview with Brooke Austin; NCAA Team Tournament Slideshow; Division I Coaching Changes
While I was in Waco for the NCAAs last month, I had an opportunity to talk with University of Florida freshman Brooke Austin, who, a few days earlier, had been named ITA Rookie of the Year. Austin's first year brought success both on the court and in the classroom, and she details the reasons she feels Florida was a perfect choice for her in this article at the Tennis Recruiting Network.
The slideshow below is from the NCAA Team Championships. I will have another on the Individual Championships and a few videos up sooner rather than later.
The link to view album via mobile device is here.
Announcements of coaching changes begin popping up as soon as the season ends, and this year is no exception.
The University of Wisconsin men's tennis coach Greg Van Emburgh has resigned after ten years.
Danielle Lund McNamara has resigned as women's head coach at the University of Texas, after being named to the position last September.
Cristina Moros has been named head women's coach at the University of South Florida, succeeding Agustin Moreno, who was dismissed in February.
University of Houston's women's coach Patrick Sullivan has resigned after three seasons.
Damon Coupe has resigned as the women's coach at Cal Poly after four seasons.
Jamie Sanchez is moving from the women's head coaching position at Loyola Marymount into athletic administration. Sanchez, who coached the women's team at Loyola Marymount for 40 years, is the only coach the program has ever had.
The University of North Carolina-Wilmington is also looking for a new women's head coach.
The slideshow below is from the NCAA Team Championships. I will have another on the Individual Championships and a few videos up sooner rather than later.
The link to view album via mobile device is here.
Announcements of coaching changes begin popping up as soon as the season ends, and this year is no exception.
The University of Wisconsin men's tennis coach Greg Van Emburgh has resigned after ten years.
Danielle Lund McNamara has resigned as women's head coach at the University of Texas, after being named to the position last September.
Cristina Moros has been named head women's coach at the University of South Florida, succeeding Agustin Moreno, who was dismissed in February.
University of Houston's women's coach Patrick Sullivan has resigned after three seasons.
Damon Coupe has resigned as the women's coach at Cal Poly after four seasons.
Jamie Sanchez is moving from the women's head coaching position at Loyola Marymount into athletic administration. Sanchez, who coached the women's team at Loyola Marymount for 40 years, is the only coach the program has ever had.
The University of North Carolina-Wilmington is also looking for a new women's head coach.
Minggu, 07 Juni 2015
Caty McNally and JJ Wolf Take ITF Grade 4 Grass Court Titles; Rubin Leaving Wake Forest after Freshman Year; Pro Circuit Update
While most of the attention was on Paris the past two weeks, and for me, on the juniors there the past week, it's time to catch up on the other junior and Pro Circuit results.
At the ITF Grade 4 International Grass Courts, Caty McNally and JJ Wolf won the singles titles. The 13-year-old McNally, playing in only her fourth ITF junior tournament, won her first singles title in Philadelphia. The No. 8 seed, McNally didn't drop a set, beating No. 4 seed Carson Branstine 7-6(4), 6-4 in the final.
The 16-year-old Wolf was playing in only his third ITF event, all this spring, and was not seeded at the Grass Courts, but he lost only one set all week, defeating No. 2 seed Sebastian Arcila of Puerto Rico 6-4, 6-4 in the final.
Branstine and Taylor Johnson won the girls doubles title, with the No. 2 seeds beating unseeded Bridget Forster and Jacqueline Pelletier 6-4, 6-3 in the final. No. 4 seeds Alexaner Donski of Canada and Sebastian Mermersky beat William Peters and Karl Poling 7-5, 3-6, 10-4 to win the boys doubles title.
At the ITF Grade 4 in Costa Rica, unseeded 15-year-old Floridian Melissa Plambeck won her first ITF title, defeating unseeded Tania Aizenman Sanchez of Costa Rica 6-4, 6-2. Plambeck did not lose a set in her five victories.
Noah Rubin, the 2015 NCAA finalist, will leave Wake Forest after his freshman year, announcing that decision on Twitter Saturday.
Bobby Knight has Rubin's full collegiate record posted at College Tennis Today. Rubin went 21-4 in singles, with his four losses to Oklahoma's Andrew Harris, Duke's Nicolas Alvarez, Tennessee's Mikelis Libietis, and Virginia's Ryan Shane, the latter in the NCAA singles final.
Rubin played the $15,000 ITF Men's Futures in Winston-Salem last week, losing 6-1, 7-5 to former Tennessee All-American Tennys Sandgren in the second round. Sandgren, the No. 3 seed, lost in the final today to former Princeton All-American Matija Pecotic of Croatia, the top seed, 6-2, 6-3. Pecotic, an Ace last month for his two consecutive Futures titles in Nigeria, now has three titles in a row.
At the $10,000 Women's USTA Pro Circuit event in Bethany Beach, Delaware, 16-year-old North Carolina recruit Alexa Graham lost in the final, with the No. 6 seed falling to former Iowa standout Sonja Molnar of Canada, the fifth seed, 6-1, 7-5. Graham had beaten No. 2 seed Jacqueline Cako(Arizona State) 6-1, 6-3 in the semifinals.
Sophie Chang (Virginia incoming freshman) and Andie Daniell (Alabama incoming freshman) won their second Pro Circuit title together in the doubles championship. The No. 3 seeds beat unseeded Australians Ellen Perez (Georgia rising sophomore) and Belinda Woolcock (Florida, rising junior) 6-4, 6-1 in the final.
In Korea, 2014 NCAA finalist Alex Sarkissian won his first Challenger title, with the former Pepperdine star, the No. 8 seed, beating Connor Smith, the former Ohio State standout and No. 5 seed, 7-6(5), 6-4 in the $50,000 tournament's final. It's Sarkissian's first Challenger title after winning three Futures titles in his first 12 months as a professional.
In other ITF Pro Circuit events outside the United States, former Cal Poly All-American Andre Dome (like Sarkissian and Pecotic, a May Ace) won his second $10,000 Futures title in the past two months, this one in Mexico. Dome, who was unseeded, beat No. 5 seed Tigre Hank of Mexico 6-3, 6-7(7), 7-5 in the final.
Rising Florida State senior Benjamin Lock of Zimbabwe won his first Futures title in at the $10,000 tournament in Mozambique. He defeated Kentucky's rising sophomore William Bushamuka, a qualifier, 6-4, 6-4 in the final.
Rising Southern Cal senior Giuliano Olmos, who grew up in the US but plays under the Mexico flag, won her first pro title at the $10,000 ITF Women's event in Mexico. Olmos, unseeded, beat top seed Fernanda Brito of of Chile 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-0 in the final. Tornado Alicia Black and Dasha Ivanova reached the doubles final before falling to Carolina Betancourt of Mexico and Steffi Carruthers of Samoa 6-3, 6-3 in the championship match.
At the ITF Grade 4 International Grass Courts, Caty McNally and JJ Wolf won the singles titles. The 13-year-old McNally, playing in only her fourth ITF junior tournament, won her first singles title in Philadelphia. The No. 8 seed, McNally didn't drop a set, beating No. 4 seed Carson Branstine 7-6(4), 6-4 in the final.
The 16-year-old Wolf was playing in only his third ITF event, all this spring, and was not seeded at the Grass Courts, but he lost only one set all week, defeating No. 2 seed Sebastian Arcila of Puerto Rico 6-4, 6-4 in the final.
Branstine and Taylor Johnson won the girls doubles title, with the No. 2 seeds beating unseeded Bridget Forster and Jacqueline Pelletier 6-4, 6-3 in the final. No. 4 seeds Alexaner Donski of Canada and Sebastian Mermersky beat William Peters and Karl Poling 7-5, 3-6, 10-4 to win the boys doubles title.
At the ITF Grade 4 in Costa Rica, unseeded 15-year-old Floridian Melissa Plambeck won her first ITF title, defeating unseeded Tania Aizenman Sanchez of Costa Rica 6-4, 6-2. Plambeck did not lose a set in her five victories.
Noah Rubin, the 2015 NCAA finalist, will leave Wake Forest after his freshman year, announcing that decision on Twitter Saturday.
Bobby Knight has Rubin's full collegiate record posted at College Tennis Today. Rubin went 21-4 in singles, with his four losses to Oklahoma's Andrew Harris, Duke's Nicolas Alvarez, Tennessee's Mikelis Libietis, and Virginia's Ryan Shane, the latter in the NCAA singles final.
Rubin played the $15,000 ITF Men's Futures in Winston-Salem last week, losing 6-1, 7-5 to former Tennessee All-American Tennys Sandgren in the second round. Sandgren, the No. 3 seed, lost in the final today to former Princeton All-American Matija Pecotic of Croatia, the top seed, 6-2, 6-3. Pecotic, an Ace last month for his two consecutive Futures titles in Nigeria, now has three titles in a row.
At the $10,000 Women's USTA Pro Circuit event in Bethany Beach, Delaware, 16-year-old North Carolina recruit Alexa Graham lost in the final, with the No. 6 seed falling to former Iowa standout Sonja Molnar of Canada, the fifth seed, 6-1, 7-5. Graham had beaten No. 2 seed Jacqueline Cako(Arizona State) 6-1, 6-3 in the semifinals.
Sophie Chang (Virginia incoming freshman) and Andie Daniell (Alabama incoming freshman) won their second Pro Circuit title together in the doubles championship. The No. 3 seeds beat unseeded Australians Ellen Perez (Georgia rising sophomore) and Belinda Woolcock (Florida, rising junior) 6-4, 6-1 in the final.
In Korea, 2014 NCAA finalist Alex Sarkissian won his first Challenger title, with the former Pepperdine star, the No. 8 seed, beating Connor Smith, the former Ohio State standout and No. 5 seed, 7-6(5), 6-4 in the $50,000 tournament's final. It's Sarkissian's first Challenger title after winning three Futures titles in his first 12 months as a professional.
In other ITF Pro Circuit events outside the United States, former Cal Poly All-American Andre Dome (like Sarkissian and Pecotic, a May Ace) won his second $10,000 Futures title in the past two months, this one in Mexico. Dome, who was unseeded, beat No. 5 seed Tigre Hank of Mexico 6-3, 6-7(7), 7-5 in the final.
Rising Florida State senior Benjamin Lock of Zimbabwe won his first Futures title in at the $10,000 tournament in Mozambique. He defeated Kentucky's rising sophomore William Bushamuka, a qualifier, 6-4, 6-4 in the final.
Rising Southern Cal senior Giuliano Olmos, who grew up in the US but plays under the Mexico flag, won her first pro title at the $10,000 ITF Women's event in Mexico. Olmos, unseeded, beat top seed Fernanda Brito of of Chile 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-0 in the final. Tornado Alicia Black and Dasha Ivanova reached the doubles final before falling to Carolina Betancourt of Mexico and Steffi Carruthers of Samoa 6-3, 6-3 in the championship match.
Jumat, 05 Juni 2015
May Aces; Fritz and Paul Meet in First All-American French Open Boys Championship Match; Doubles Finals in Paris for Two US Teams
Tommy Paul is featured in my May Aces column at the Tennis Recruiting Network, with his two Futures titles last month impressive accomplishments regardless of his results at the French Open Junior Championships this week.
The 18-year-old has hasn't missed a beat however, running his record to 18-1 on European clay in the past four weeks, and he will face Taylor Fritz in Saturday's boys final, the first between two Americans in the nearly 70 years the tournament has been played.
Once Fritz, the No. 2 seed, defeated No. 4 seed Corentin Denolly of France, the historic final was inevitable; the question was which American would be across the net, No. 13 seed Paul or No. 6 seed Michael Mmoh.
Fritz had lost to Denolly in straight sets last month in the Grade A in Milan, but in Friday's match he did not face a break point in his 46-minute 6-1, 6-2 victory over the left-hander from France, who turns 18 Saturday.
Paul took a 3-0 lead over Mmoh, but he was unable to hold on to that break when serving for the first set at 5-4. Mmoh, who got only 38% of his first serves in in the opening set, surrendered another break in the next game however to give Paul the first set. Paul did not face a break point in the second set, breaking Mmoh in the eighth game and closing out the 6-4, 6-3 victory with a love hold. That he converted his first match point is notable, because Paul had a match point in each of his two losses to Mmoh last fall--at both the Pan American Closed Grade B1 and the Eddie Herr Grade 1.
Paul and Fritz, both of whom have won all their matches this week in straight sets. met in the semifinals of a Futures in Spain last month; Paul went on to win the title after beating Fritz 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. They had also met back in 2011 in the third round of USTA 14s Nationals in San Antonio, with Paul winning 6-1, 6-4.
"Taylor used to be not really good,'' Paul is quoted as saying in this ESPN.com article about the boys upcoming final. "But recently, he got really, really good."
Regardless of the outcome of Saturday's final, the first junior slam final for either boy, Fritz will take over the top spot in the ITF junior rankings come Monday, the first American boy since Donald Young in 2005 to be World No. 1.
The girls final will feature No. 12 seed Paul Badosa Gibert of Spain and No. 16 seed Anna Kalinskaya of Russia. Badosa Gibert took out top seed Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 7-6(8) and Kalinskaya rolled past No. 4 seed CiCi Bellis 6-2, 6-1. Kalinskaya, who had not had much success this spring on clay, lost her first set of the tournament 6-0 to Canadian qualifier Bianca Andreescu, but she has found her form since then.
Two American teams have reached the doubles final, with Paul playing for a sweep of the junior titles Saturday. He and William Blumberg, the No. 4 seeds, advanced to the final with a 7-5, 6-2 win over unseeded Franco Capalbo and Geronimo Espin Busleiman of Argentina. Paul and Blumberg, who have not lost a set in the tournament, will play the unseeded Spanish team of Alvaro Lopez San Martin and Juame Munar, who defeated unseeded Tim Sandkaulen of Germany and Mate Valkusz of Hungary 4-6, 7-5, 10-4.
No. 6 seeds Caroline Dolehide and Katerina Stewart will play top seeds Vondrousova and Miriam Kolodziejova for the girls doubles title Saturday. Dolehide and Stewart defeated No. 5 seeds Usue Arconada and Argentina's Nadia Podoroska 6-1, 7-6(0), while the Czech team got by Jil Teichmann of Switzerland and Shilin Xu of China, an unseeded team, 6-4, 7-5.
The finals are all scheduled for Saturday, and both singles finals are at the same time, on courts 1 and 2. Playing the finals simultaneously is not usually the case at the French, and never done at the Australian Open or Wimbledon, where the juniors are given a chance to experience Rod Laver Arena and Court 1 respectively. Even the US Open, which had long scheduled simultaneous junior finals on small show courts, changed their approach last year, using Court 17 and providing streaming for the Sunday championships. Keeping pace with the other slams, yes even regarding juniors, is important, and Roland Garros seems to be getting lapped right now.
Complete draws can be found at the tournament website, but no coverage of the junior tournament appears there, which is sadly not unusual for Roland Garros.
For additional articles on the finals, see Tennis Shorts and USA Today.
Senin, 01 Juni 2015
Eleven US Juniors Reach Second Round of French Championships, Dolehide Advances to Round of 16; Tennis Recruiting Network's Ranks Stanford Women, Georgia Men No. 1 in 2015 Recruiting Classes
The first round of the French Open Junior Championships was completed today, with 11 US juniors through to the second round. One, Caroline Dolehide, played her second round match today, and she advanced to the round of 16.
After picking up two first round wins on Sunday, US boys claimed five more today, with only two of them in straight sets. No. 6 seed Michael Mmoh defeated Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 6-2, 6-3 and No. 13 seed Tommy Paul managed to avoid a third set against Jumpei Yamasaki of Japan with a 6-2, 7-6(3) win. Nathan Ponwith had just won the second set from Germany's Louis Wessels Sunday night when play was called for darkness, but the delay didn't help Wessels, as Ponwith jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead and closed out a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory.
Alex Rybakov found his form for a 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 win over Aziz Dougaz of Tunisia and Reilly Opelka got by Alvaro Lopez San Martin of Spain 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-3. Opelka and Lopez San Martin were holding serve regularly, with the first break going to the Spaniard with Opelka serving at 3-4 in the second set. Serving for the match, Lopez San Martin was broken at love, a highly improbable occurrence given the way the match had been going. Opelka won the second set tiebreaker, and got the only break he needed early in the third set to post his second junior slam win.
No. 9 seed William Blumberg could not record his second junior slam win, falling to Alexander Bublik of Russia 3-6, 7-6(3), 9-7. Blumberg had a match point at at 5-6, 30-40 in the second set, but Bublik held, won the tiebreaker, then took a 2-0 lead in the third set. Blumberg fought back, breaking and holding for 2-2, then went up 4-3 and 5-4, but was himself broken back each time. Serving for the match at 5-4, he won only one point in the game, but held his next two service games. After Bublik held for 8-7 however, Blumberg was broken at love to end the match.
The US girls had mixed results. No. 4 seed CiCi Bellis defeated Greet Minnen of Belgium 6-1, 6-1 in under an hour, but Raveena Kingsley and No. 11 seed Sonya Kenin both fell in three sets. Kingsley's match with top seed Marketa Vondrousova was continued from Sunday, with Kingsley taking the first set 7-5, but Vondrousova holding a 4-1 lead in the second. Kingsley won only three more games when play resumed, with Vondrousova pulling away for a 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 victory. Kenin played Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia, who was the highest ranked player not seeded, and Kenin was broken at love in the final game to given Zidansek a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 victory.
In addition to Kenin, the only other seeded girl to fall in Monday's first round action was Australian Open champion Tereza Mihalikova, who went out to Fiona Ferro of France 6-3, 6-1.
For reasons unclear to me, four girls second round singles matches were played today, while two first round girls doubles matches were not. Caroline Dolehide was one of the four advancing to the round of 16, with the 16-year-old from Illinois beating wild card Margot Yerolymos of France 6-3, 6-3. Yerolymos had beaten No. 2 seed Shilin Xu of China on Sunday. Dolehide will play No. 16 seed Anna Kalinskaya of Russia in the third round. Jill Teichmann of Switzerland cruised past No. 9 seed Gabby Ruse of Romania 6-1, 6-2 and will play Australian Open finalist and No. 8 seed Katie Swan of Great Britain, who beat Canadian Katherine Sebov 7-5, 7-5.
The doubles began today with most Americans in action advancing. Usue Arconada(No. 5 seed with Nadia Podoroska), Michaela Gordon(No. 4 seed with Charlotte Robillard-Millette), Francesca Di Lorenzo(with Luisa Stefani) and Dolehide and Katerina Stewart(No. 6 seeds) have all reached the second round in girls doubles.
Taylor Fritz (No. 1 seed with Orlando Luz), Mmoh(No. 3 seed with Akira Santillan) and Blumberg and Paul(No. 4 seeds) all reached the second round with straight-set wins today.
Sixteen boys singles and seven boys doubles matches (three first round, four second round) and 12 girls singles and six girls doubles matches (two first round, four second round) are on Tuesday's schedule.
Draws are available here. For more on today's action, see the ITF junior website.
The Tennis Recruiting Network has published its 2015 Recruiting Class rankings, with the Stanford women and Georgia men taking the top spots in the voting. I participate in the voting twice every year, recognizing that it is subjective and not especially predictive, but the poll does provide an opportunity for everyone to see most of the incoming recruits in a big picture kind of way, and it provides marketing material for SIDs who search for ways of promoting their schools' programs.
After picking up two first round wins on Sunday, US boys claimed five more today, with only two of them in straight sets. No. 6 seed Michael Mmoh defeated Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 6-2, 6-3 and No. 13 seed Tommy Paul managed to avoid a third set against Jumpei Yamasaki of Japan with a 6-2, 7-6(3) win. Nathan Ponwith had just won the second set from Germany's Louis Wessels Sunday night when play was called for darkness, but the delay didn't help Wessels, as Ponwith jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead and closed out a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory.
Alex Rybakov found his form for a 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 win over Aziz Dougaz of Tunisia and Reilly Opelka got by Alvaro Lopez San Martin of Spain 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-3. Opelka and Lopez San Martin were holding serve regularly, with the first break going to the Spaniard with Opelka serving at 3-4 in the second set. Serving for the match, Lopez San Martin was broken at love, a highly improbable occurrence given the way the match had been going. Opelka won the second set tiebreaker, and got the only break he needed early in the third set to post his second junior slam win.
No. 9 seed William Blumberg could not record his second junior slam win, falling to Alexander Bublik of Russia 3-6, 7-6(3), 9-7. Blumberg had a match point at at 5-6, 30-40 in the second set, but Bublik held, won the tiebreaker, then took a 2-0 lead in the third set. Blumberg fought back, breaking and holding for 2-2, then went up 4-3 and 5-4, but was himself broken back each time. Serving for the match at 5-4, he won only one point in the game, but held his next two service games. After Bublik held for 8-7 however, Blumberg was broken at love to end the match.
The US girls had mixed results. No. 4 seed CiCi Bellis defeated Greet Minnen of Belgium 6-1, 6-1 in under an hour, but Raveena Kingsley and No. 11 seed Sonya Kenin both fell in three sets. Kingsley's match with top seed Marketa Vondrousova was continued from Sunday, with Kingsley taking the first set 7-5, but Vondrousova holding a 4-1 lead in the second. Kingsley won only three more games when play resumed, with Vondrousova pulling away for a 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 victory. Kenin played Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia, who was the highest ranked player not seeded, and Kenin was broken at love in the final game to given Zidansek a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 victory.
In addition to Kenin, the only other seeded girl to fall in Monday's first round action was Australian Open champion Tereza Mihalikova, who went out to Fiona Ferro of France 6-3, 6-1.
The doubles began today with most Americans in action advancing. Usue Arconada(No. 5 seed with Nadia Podoroska), Michaela Gordon(No. 4 seed with Charlotte Robillard-Millette), Francesca Di Lorenzo(with Luisa Stefani) and Dolehide and Katerina Stewart(No. 6 seeds) have all reached the second round in girls doubles.
Taylor Fritz (No. 1 seed with Orlando Luz), Mmoh(No. 3 seed with Akira Santillan) and Blumberg and Paul(No. 4 seeds) all reached the second round with straight-set wins today.
Sixteen boys singles and seven boys doubles matches (three first round, four second round) and 12 girls singles and six girls doubles matches (two first round, four second round) are on Tuesday's schedule.
Draws are available here. For more on today's action, see the ITF junior website.
The Tennis Recruiting Network has published its 2015 Recruiting Class rankings, with the Stanford women and Georgia men taking the top spots in the voting. I participate in the voting twice every year, recognizing that it is subjective and not especially predictive, but the poll does provide an opportunity for everyone to see most of the incoming recruits in a big picture kind of way, and it provides marketing material for SIDs who search for ways of promoting their schools' programs.
Kamis, 28 Mei 2015
My NCAA Individual Championships Recap; Catching Up on NCAA Division II and Division III Titles; Johnson, Stiefelmeyer Features
My recap of the NCAA singles and doubles tournaments is available today at the Tennis Recruiting Network, and if you missed it last week, my recap of the team tournament is here.
The Raleigh News and Observer published this feature on women's champion Jamie Loeb, and the Charlottesville Daily Progress spoke with Virginia's Ryan Shane about his title.
In addition to getting behind on junior news while I was in Waco, I also was short on time to follow the Division II and Division III tournaments.
Barry won the men's Division II team title for the second time in three years, beating Hawaii-Pacific 5-3 in the final and finishing the season undefeated.
The women's Division II team championship is also the property of an undefeated powerhouse, with Armstrong State defeating Barry 5-2. The Pirates have won six of the last eight Division II women's team titles.
In Division III, which has both team and individual tournaments, the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's team took the rare Triple Crown, winning the team, singles and doubles titles. Top seed CMS defeated Middlebury 5-0 to win the team title, and Warren Wood defeated teammate Skyler Butts 6-1, 6-4 for the singles title. The Stags also took the doubles championship, with Wood and Joe Dorn beating North Carolina Wesleyan's Robert Kjellberg and Sebastian Sikh 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4.
Top seed Williams won the women's Division III team title, beating No. 2 seed Emory 5-4 for its seventh title in eight years. The Williams team of Linda Shin and Juli Raventos, who were the Ephs No. 2 team during the season and alternates into the doubles tournament won their school's second title, beating the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps team of Katie Kousman and Caroline Ward 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-3. Top seed Eudice Chong of Wesleyan won the singles title, the first NCAA national title for her school, beating Joulia Likhanskaia of Bowdoin 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.
Sandra Harwitt is at the French Open and she caught up with Steve Johnson, who plays his third round match against Stan Wawrinka Friday, to talk about his college tennis career.
2014 ITA All-American champion Sebastian Stiefelmeyer of Louisville recently answered questions about his college tennis experience, his future, and why he chose to come to the United States to attend college and continue competing. This interview, at Smartathlete.com, is important reading for anyone looking for an honest account of a player's college tennis experience, whether you're a fan, coach, player, parent or journalist.
The Raleigh News and Observer published this feature on women's champion Jamie Loeb, and the Charlottesville Daily Progress spoke with Virginia's Ryan Shane about his title.
In addition to getting behind on junior news while I was in Waco, I also was short on time to follow the Division II and Division III tournaments.
Barry won the men's Division II team title for the second time in three years, beating Hawaii-Pacific 5-3 in the final and finishing the season undefeated.
The women's Division II team championship is also the property of an undefeated powerhouse, with Armstrong State defeating Barry 5-2. The Pirates have won six of the last eight Division II women's team titles.
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| Warren Wood and Skyler Butts of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps photo via twitter |
Top seed Williams won the women's Division III team title, beating No. 2 seed Emory 5-4 for its seventh title in eight years. The Williams team of Linda Shin and Juli Raventos, who were the Ephs No. 2 team during the season and alternates into the doubles tournament won their school's second title, beating the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps team of Katie Kousman and Caroline Ward 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-3. Top seed Eudice Chong of Wesleyan won the singles title, the first NCAA national title for her school, beating Joulia Likhanskaia of Bowdoin 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.
Sandra Harwitt is at the French Open and she caught up with Steve Johnson, who plays his third round match against Stan Wawrinka Friday, to talk about his college tennis career.
2014 ITA All-American champion Sebastian Stiefelmeyer of Louisville recently answered questions about his college tennis experience, his future, and why he chose to come to the United States to attend college and continue competing. This interview, at Smartathlete.com, is important reading for anyone looking for an honest account of a player's college tennis experience, whether you're a fan, coach, player, parent or journalist.
Jumat, 15 Mei 2015
Jake DeVine Feature; Women's Division I Team Championships' Round of 16 Begins Today
Before the first round of women's matches at the finals site begin here in Waco, I wanted to post a link to the Tennis Recruiting Network feature story I wrote on Jake DeVine, who will be joining the USC Trojans in the fall. DeVine's serious back injury kept him from competing throughout 2014, but he's been playing regularly since early this year, and is looking at his break from tennis as a blessing in disguise.
It's wet in Waco this morning, but here is the schedule for the women's matches today, all times Central:
It's wet in Waco this morning, but here is the schedule for the women's matches today, all times Central:
Miami(15) vs North Carolina(2) 9 am
UCLA(7) vs Texas A&M(10) 9 am
Georgia(6) vs Michigan(11) noon
Stanford(14) vs Cal(3) noon
Vanderbilt(4) vs Clemson 3 pm
Florida(5) vs Oklahoma St(12) 3 pm
Baylor(8) vs Virginia(9) 7 pm
Southern Cal(1) vs Texas Tech(16) 7 pm
Rabu, 13 Mei 2015
NCAA Division I Team Championships Begin Thursday with Men's Round of 16; Blanch Reaches Quarterfinals in Italy Grade 1; Tiafoe's Coaching Change
©Colette Lewis 2015--
Waco, TX--
After a long day of travel made longer by a weather-related flight cancellation, I'm in Waco, ready for Thursday's Round of 16 in the men's Division I team tournament.
It is currently not raining, but should the showers begin again, the six courts at SMU, in Dallas, will serve as the alternate site, much as Georgia Tech did last year when rain marred the women's first day of play in Athens.
Tomorrow's schedule, for now, is as follows:
South Florida vs Baylor(2) 7 pm
Live scoring and video is available from the links at the Baylor website's Tournament Central.
Bobby Knight at College Tennis Today has previews of all eight matches and predictions for how each singles match will go.
The Division III tennis quarterfinals begin this weekend, with the Tennis Recruiting Network today publishing previews of those 16 matches (eight men's and eight women's).
At the ITF Grade 1 in Santa Croce Italy, Ulises Blanch is the sole American junior still alive, with the No. 6 seed reaching the quarterfinals. Blanch meets No. 3 seed and Orange Bowl finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece Thursday. Live scoring can be found here.
In Plantation, the quarterfinals are set for the Grade 4, with six US boys and eight US girls advancing. Junior Orange 12s and Easter Bowl 14s champion Whitney Osuigwe, who just became eligible to compete in ITF junior competition last month at age 13, defeated No. 2 seed Victoria Emma 6-2, 7-6(4) and is now 6-1 in her first two ITF tournaments. Lucky loser Brian Shi, seeded 15th, defeated top seed William Tutecky of Canada 6-3, 6-4 in today's third round.
Frances Tiafoe's recent coaching change, detailed in this New York Times article by Ben Rothenberg, has been a hot topic of conversation in the past few days. Misha Kouznetsov, who had, in tandem with Frank Salazar, coached Tiafoe at the Junior Tennis Champions Center, was initially hired by Tiafoe after he turned pro. But Kouznetsov is now out, with the USTA providing Tiafoe's coaching. Nicolas Todero, formerly Stefan Kozlov's coach at the USTA, is traveling with Tiafoe now, with Jose Higueras overseeing Tiafoe's development and providing coaching additional coaching.
Susan Zaro recently interviewed Higueras about his background, coaching philosophy, the American tennis culture, shielding players from media hype, among many other topics.
Waco, TX--
It is currently not raining, but should the showers begin again, the six courts at SMU, in Dallas, will serve as the alternate site, much as Georgia Tech did last year when rain marred the women's first day of play in Athens.
Tomorrow's schedule, for now, is as follows:
Men’s Round of 16 matches and times Thursday (Central):
Oklahoma(1) vs UCLA(16) 9 am
Texas(9) vs Georgia(8) 9 am
TCU(5) vs Wake Forest(12) noon
North Carolina(13) vs Illinois(4) noon
Virginia(3) vs Columbia 4 pm
Ohio State(11) vs Texas A&M(6) 4 pm
Southern Cal(7) vs Duke(10) 7 pmSouth Florida vs Baylor(2) 7 pm
Live scoring and video is available from the links at the Baylor website's Tournament Central.
Bobby Knight at College Tennis Today has previews of all eight matches and predictions for how each singles match will go.
The Division III tennis quarterfinals begin this weekend, with the Tennis Recruiting Network today publishing previews of those 16 matches (eight men's and eight women's).
At the ITF Grade 1 in Santa Croce Italy, Ulises Blanch is the sole American junior still alive, with the No. 6 seed reaching the quarterfinals. Blanch meets No. 3 seed and Orange Bowl finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece Thursday. Live scoring can be found here.
In Plantation, the quarterfinals are set for the Grade 4, with six US boys and eight US girls advancing. Junior Orange 12s and Easter Bowl 14s champion Whitney Osuigwe, who just became eligible to compete in ITF junior competition last month at age 13, defeated No. 2 seed Victoria Emma 6-2, 7-6(4) and is now 6-1 in her first two ITF tournaments. Lucky loser Brian Shi, seeded 15th, defeated top seed William Tutecky of Canada 6-3, 6-4 in today's third round.
Frances Tiafoe's recent coaching change, detailed in this New York Times article by Ben Rothenberg, has been a hot topic of conversation in the past few days. Misha Kouznetsov, who had, in tandem with Frank Salazar, coached Tiafoe at the Junior Tennis Champions Center, was initially hired by Tiafoe after he turned pro. But Kouznetsov is now out, with the USTA providing Tiafoe's coaching. Nicolas Todero, formerly Stefan Kozlov's coach at the USTA, is traveling with Tiafoe now, with Jose Higueras overseeing Tiafoe's development and providing coaching additional coaching.
Susan Zaro recently interviewed Higueras about his background, coaching philosophy, the American tennis culture, shielding players from media hype, among many other topics.
Selasa, 12 Mei 2015
USTA Girls National Team Selected; Tim Russell Named to Succeed David Benjamin as Head of ITA; Where Are They Now? Wall Street Edition
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| Carson Branstine, Alexandra Sanford, Kayla Day, Kylie McKenzie (photo via TeamUSA Facebook page) |
Back in August of 2012, I wrote an article about the former Junior Davis Cup team for the Tennis Recruiting Network (no subscription required). In all my conversations about it, I never met anyone who didn't express dismay at its demise, so this revival, for 16-and-under players now, is encouraging news.
Four of the spots on the eight-player team were decided by a playoff, held last week in Boca Raton. Kylie McKenzie, Kayla Day, Carson Branstine and Alexandra Sanford earned their places on the team. The results from that competition are below.
Sixteen girls born in either 1999 or 2000 were selected to participate in the playoff for the 2015 Team USA National Junior Team. After three days of round robin competition, the top two players from each round robin group, named after past American female champions, squared off in a final playoff match to determine which four players made the team.
Round Robin Results:
Billie Jean King Playoff Group
Kayla Day d. Elysia Bolton, 6-0, 6-1
Victoria Emma d. Ryan Peus, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
Althea Gibson Playoff Group
Alexandra Sanford d. Emma Decoste, 7-6 (3), 6-3
Carson Branstine d. Morgan Coppoc, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1
Chris Evert Playoff Group
Kylie McKenzie d. Grace Joyce, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-5
Kylie McKenzie d. Grace Joyce, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-5
Sofia Sewing d. Victoria Flores, 6-0, 1-6, 6-1
Maureen Connolly Brinker Playoff Group
Rachel Lim d. Meible Chi, 6-3, 6-2
Annette Goulak d. Clarissa Hand, 6-0, 6-2
Day 2 – Wednesday, May 6
Billie Jean King Playoff Group
Kayla Day d. Victoria Emma, 6-1, 7-5
Ryan Peus d. Elysia Bolton, 7-5, 6-4
Annette Goulak d. Clarissa Hand, 6-0, 6-2
Day 2 – Wednesday, May 6
Billie Jean King Playoff Group
Kayla Day d. Victoria Emma, 6-1, 7-5
Ryan Peus d. Elysia Bolton, 7-5, 6-4
Althea Gibson Playoff Group
Carson Branstine d. Alexandra Sanford, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
Morgan Coppoc d. Emma Decoste, 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 7-5
Chris Evert Playoff Group
Kylie McKenzie d. Victoria Flores, 6-4, 6-2
Sofia Sewing d. Grace Joyce, 7-5, 6-2
Maureen Connolly Brinker Playoff Group
Annette Goulak d. Rachel Lim, 6-0, 5-7, 6-0
Clarissa Hand d. Meible Chi, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(5)
Day 3 – Thursday, May 7
Billie Jean King Playoff Group
Kayla Day d. Ryan Peus, 6-1, 6-4
Victoria Emma d. Elysia Bolton, 6-2, 6-2
Carson Branstine d. Alexandra Sanford, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
Morgan Coppoc d. Emma Decoste, 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 7-5
Chris Evert Playoff Group
Kylie McKenzie d. Victoria Flores, 6-4, 6-2
Sofia Sewing d. Grace Joyce, 7-5, 6-2
Maureen Connolly Brinker Playoff Group
Annette Goulak d. Rachel Lim, 6-0, 5-7, 6-0
Clarissa Hand d. Meible Chi, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(5)
Day 3 – Thursday, May 7
Billie Jean King Playoff Group
Kayla Day d. Ryan Peus, 6-1, 6-4
Victoria Emma d. Elysia Bolton, 6-2, 6-2
Althea Gibson Playoff Group
Alexandra Sanford d. Morgan Coppoc, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
Carson Branstine d. Emma Decoste, 6-4, 6-2
Chris Evert Playoff Group
Kylie McKenzie d. Sofia Sewing, 6-3, 6-1
Grace Joyce d. Victoria Flores, 0-6, 6-1, 6-1
Maureen Connolly Brinker Playoff Group
Annette Goulak d. Meible Chi, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
Rachel Lim d. Clarissa Hand, 6-3, 6-2
Alexandra Sanford d. Morgan Coppoc, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
Carson Branstine d. Emma Decoste, 6-4, 6-2
Chris Evert Playoff Group
Kylie McKenzie d. Sofia Sewing, 6-3, 6-1
Grace Joyce d. Victoria Flores, 0-6, 6-1, 6-1
Maureen Connolly Brinker Playoff Group
Annette Goulak d. Meible Chi, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
Rachel Lim d. Clarissa Hand, 6-3, 6-2
Final Playoff – Friday, May 8, 2015
Kayla Day d. Sofia Sewing, 6-3, 6-2
Carson Branstine d. Rachel Lim, 6-3, 6-2
Kylie McKenzie d. Victoria Emma, 6-2, 6-4
Alexandra Sanford d. Annette Goulak, 6-1, 6-3
In addition to the four girls who advanced via the playoffs, four others were named to the team based on an established criteria. They are CiCi Bellis, Claire Liu, Michaela Gordon and Kelly Chen. For a complete explanation of the criteria, as well as the criteria for a USTA excellence grant, see this document, which also provides a schedule of events for this summer's team.
The boys playoffs will be held July 1-11. I presume the camp mentioned is the reason it is longer than the girls' playoff. The boys criteria and schedule is here.
The ITA announced today that its Board of Directors has appointed Dr. Tim Russell to succeed David Benjamin as CEO. Russell, currently a Professor of Music at Arizona State University, has served as chair of the USTA's Collegiate Varsity committee from 2007-2010 and as chair of the Junior Competition committee in 2011-2012. For more on his appointment, see this release from the ITA.
Thanks to a reader for passing along this account of Wall Street's recent annual tennis tournament, which serves as a fundraiser for the R Baby Foundation. If you follow college and junior tennis at all(and why would be reading this if you don't?), you will recognize many of the participants, most of whom now work in the finance industry in New York. Auburn's Dan Cochrane, Stanford's Ryan Thacher, Yale's Marc Powers and Illinois' Phil Stolt were among the competitors.
Jumat, 08 Mei 2015
NCAA Roundtable Part II; First Round Drama as D-I Team Championships Begin; Four Americans Reach $50K Semifinals; Finals Set at Delray Beach Grade 4
Part II of the Tennis Recruiting Network's NCAA Division I Roundtable was posted this morning, with the panel asked to pick a possible upset victim in the regionals and give their choices to win the team championships.
As is customary in the first round, there were no huge upsets, but several No. 3 seeds did beat No. 2 seeds. Because the men kick off play this year in Waco next Thursday, all their first round matches were today, while only half of the women's first round matches were on the schedule.
Two women's matches were decided in the last match on. The first saw No. 2 seed Georgia Tech, playing without No. 2 Paige Hourigan, defeat Wichita State 4-3, with Yellowjacket Megan Kurey saving two match points in the second set, then coming from 5-3, 30-0 down in the third set against Abby Stevens to claim the 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-5 victory at line 4. Due no doubt to Hourigan's absence, a doubles lineup dispute delayed the match's start by 40 minutes. The other 4-3 decision came in the Vanderbilt regional, where No. 3 seed Oklahoma outlasted No. 2 seed Ohio State. Christina Brigante of Oklahoma defeated Ferny Aneles Paz of Ohio State 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 at line 4 to put the Sooners in the final against Vanderbilt.
The draw is here, with today's women's results below (regional host in parentheses in 2 vs 3):
The men had even more drama, with two matches decided by third-set tiebreakers. No. 3 seed San Diego State defeated No. 2 seed San Diego 4-3 in the Southern Cal regional, with the match coming down to line 6. Freshman Santiago Cevallos of San Diego State defeated Ciaran Fitzgerald 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(3), for the Aztecs' first NCAA win since 2003.
As is customary in the first round, there were no huge upsets, but several No. 3 seeds did beat No. 2 seeds. Because the men kick off play this year in Waco next Thursday, all their first round matches were today, while only half of the women's first round matches were on the schedule.
Two women's matches were decided in the last match on. The first saw No. 2 seed Georgia Tech, playing without No. 2 Paige Hourigan, defeat Wichita State 4-3, with Yellowjacket Megan Kurey saving two match points in the second set, then coming from 5-3, 30-0 down in the third set against Abby Stevens to claim the 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-5 victory at line 4. Due no doubt to Hourigan's absence, a doubles lineup dispute delayed the match's start by 40 minutes. The other 4-3 decision came in the Vanderbilt regional, where No. 3 seed Oklahoma outlasted No. 2 seed Ohio State. Christina Brigante of Oklahoma defeated Ferny Aneles Paz of Ohio State 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 at line 4 to put the Sooners in the final against Vanderbilt.
The draw is here, with today's women's results below (regional host in parentheses in 2 vs 3):
[2] LSU def. [3] New Mexico 4-0 (Texas Tech)
[2] Georgia Tech def. [3]Wichita State 4-3 (Florida)
[2] Clemson def. [3] South Alabama 4-0 (Alabama)
[3] Oklahoma def. [2] Ohio State 4-3 (Vanderbilt)
[3] Mississippi State def. [2] Houston 4-2 (Cal)
[2] Pepperdine def. [3] Auburn 4-2 (Stanford)
[3] DePaul def. [2] Kentucky 4-1 (Michigan)
[2] Ole Miss def. [3] Denver 4-1 (Miami)
[1] Miami def. [4] North Florida 4-0
[1] Stanford def. [4] Stony Brook 4-0
[1] Michigan def. [4] Miami Ohio 4-0
[1] Vanderbilt def. [4] Murray State 4-0
[1] Alabama def. [4] Samford 4-0
[1] Florida def. [4] Bethune Cookman 5-0
[1] Texas Tech def. [4]New Mexico St 4-0
[1] Cal def. [4]Bryant 4-0
At the Norman regional, No. 2 Northwestern and No. 3 Harvard battled through a lightning delay and a tornado evacuation, with Northwestern claiming a 4-3 victory when Harvard's Kenny Tao was overruled on match point leading 6-5 in the tiebreaker against Fedor Baev. It was Tao's third overrule of the match, meaning a point penalty had to be assessed, which gave Baev a 7-6 lead. According to the Harvard twitter account, Baev then hit an ace, giving Northwestern a 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(6) victory. Northwestern's reward is a match with overall No. 1 Oklahoma.
Three No. 3 seeds beat No. 2 seeds in the men's action, with the already discussed San Diego State win, Pepperdine beating Florida 4-3, and Drake defeating Louisville. Other 4-3 victories were Mississippi State's over Denver and Tulsa's over North Carolina State.
Only one No. 1 seed lost so much as a point in today's action, which you can see from the results below. Thanks to Bobby Knight of College Tennis Today for the template for these results.
[2] Stanford def. [3] Tennessee (Duke) – 4-2
[2] Mississippi State def. [3] Denver (UNC) – 4-3
[2] Minnesota def. [3] Princeton (Virginia) – 4-1
[2] Vanderbilt def. [3] Notre Dame (Ohio St) – 4-1
[2] Cal def. [3] Texas A&M CC (Texas) – 4-0
[2] Florida State def. [3] Troy (UGA) – 4-0
[2] South Florida def. [3] Boise State (VT) – 4-0
[3] Pepperdine def. [2] Florida (Wake Forest) – 4-3
[2] Oklahoma St def. [3] New Mexico (A&M) – 4-0
[2] Tulsa def. [3] NC State (TCU) – 4-3
[2] Columbia def. [3] Georgia Tech (Ole Miss) – 4-1
[2] Texas Tech def. [3] UCSB (UCLA) 4-2
[3] San Diego State def. [2] San Diego (Southern Cal) – 4-3
[3] Drake def. [2] Louisville (Illinois) - 4-2
[2] LSU def. [3] Texas-San Antonio (Baylor) – 4-0
[2] Northwestern def. [3] Harvard (Oklahoma) - 4-3
[1] Duke def. [4] South Carolina State - 4-0
[1] North Carolina def [4] William & Mary - 4-0
[1] Virginia def. [4] St. John's - 4-0
[1] Ohio State def. [4] Buffalo - 4-0
[1] Georgia def. [4] Winthrop - 4-0
[1] Texas def. [4] Navy – 4-0
[1] Virginia Tech def. [4] East Tennessee State – 4-1
[1] Wake Forest def. [4] George Washington - 4-0
[1] Texas A&M def. [4] Eastern Kentucky – 4-0
[1] TCU def. [4] Marist - 4-0
[1] UCLA def. [4] Florida Gulf Coast - 4-0
[1] Ole Miss def. [4] Alabama State – 4-0
[1] Southern Cal def. [4] Idaho – 4-0
[1] Oklahoma def. [4] New Mexico State – 4-0
[1] Illinois def. [4]Wisconsin-Green Bay - 4-0
[1] Baylor def. [4] Bryant – 4-0
The men's draw is here.
At the $50,000 Women's Pro Circuit event in Indian Harbour Beach, all three French Open wild card contenders advanced, with No. 7 seed Katerina Stewart beating No. 3 seed Paula Ormaechea of Argentina 6-1, 6-1, Louisa Chirico beating Francoise Abanda of Canada 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, and Allie Kiick beating Jessica Moore of Australia 6-4, 6-4. Stewart and Kiick will play in the semifinals, with Chirico taking on No. 5 seed Maria Sanchez, the fourth American in the semifinals. Sanchez defeated Storm Sanders of Australia 7-6(1), 6-3 and, although she has no chance for the wild card, the former Southern Cal star can play a significant role in its distribution.
At the $10,000 men's Futures in Orange Park, No. 4 seed Stefan Kozlov reached the semifinals, defeating Wil Spencer 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-4. He'll face Sekou Bangoura, who beat Tennys Sandgren 0-6, 6-3, 7-6(4).
At the ITF Grade 4 in Delray Beach, wild card Oliver Crawford will meet No. 5 seed Patrick Kypson for the boys title. In the girls final, No. 4 seed Hurricane Tyra Black will face wild card Taylor Johnson. Draws and the order of play for Saturday can be found here
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