Dostanic Delivers in Wake Forest's 4-3 Victory Over TCU for Demon Deacons Second ITA Men's Team Indoor Championship

©Colette Lewis 2025--
Dallas Texas--

Wake Forest's Stefan Dostanic returned to college tennis this year for a moment like the one he found himself in Tuesday night with the championship of the ITA Men's Division I Team Indoor on his racquet leading 5-4 in the final set of his match with TCU's Jack Pinnington Jones at line 1.

Dostanic rose to the occasion, starting that nerve-racking game with an ace and making every first serve to hold at love and deliver the Demon Deacons' second Team Indoor Championship in front of a disappointed crowd clad in Horned Frogs Purple.

"This is probably the best moment on a tennis court I've ever had," said the 23-year-old from Irvine California, who spent the first four years of eligibility at the University of Southern California. "At the end, I saw it was going to come down to me, and I thought, just embrace the moment, these are the moments I want to play for, so just have fun and go for it."

Wake Forest looked to be headed for less stressful ending when they took the doubles point and four first sets in singles. 

Dostanic and DK Suresh took out the 2024 NCAA fall champions Lui Maxted and Pedro Vives 6-2 at line 1, while Pinnington Jones and Cooper Woestendick defeated Luciano Tacchi and Luca Pow 6-4, leaving the point up to line 3.  Wake Forest's Franco Capalbo, playing with Ioannis Xilas, served for the match against Duncan Chan and Albert Pedrico at 5-3, but wasn't able to hold. Serving at 4-5, Pedrico and Chan faced two match points, but saved them both, with Chan making a shot so spectacular that it produced a scream of disbelief from a TCU fan before the ball had bounced twice. The referee reminded the crowd not to call out until a point is complete, and play resumed, with Xilas holding at love to go up 6-5. Chan led 40-0 and it looked as if a tiebreaker would decide the point, but a series of errors, including a missed volley by Pedrico on the deciding point, gave Wake Forest a 7-5 set and a one point lead.

Wake's strong start in singles meant TCU needed to force third sets in two matches where they had dropped the first, and they got one of those splits from freshman Woestendick at line 5, against Tacchi, just as Pow was putting Wake Forest up 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Pedrico at 6.

TCU pulled even with Maxted defeating freshman Charlie Robertson 7-5, 6-3 at line 3 and Vives, who had saved three set points in the first set tiebreak against Suresh, completing a 7-6(7), 6-3 victory.

Xilas made it 3-2 Wake, fighting off three set points in the second set tiebreaker against Chan at line 4 for a 6-2, 7-6(9) win. 

Pinnington Jones had hung around after dropping a first-set tiebreaker to Dostanic and he seized one of the few opportunities Dostanic gave him, getting the break at 5-6 to force a third set.

In the meantime, Woestendick had taken a 5-3 lead in the third set against Tacchi and was able to close out that comeback, putting all eyes on Court 1, where a full third set would decide the National Championship.

Dostanic got an early break with Pinnington Jones serving a 1-1, and while that would normally be much too early to declare the match over, Dostanic played and served too well throughout the set, giving Pinnington Jones no openings.

"We host an ATP event and you could argue that was Top 100 level tennis there between those two guys," said Wake Forest head coach Tony Bresky, who took the head coaching position in 2011. "At that moment, the way Stef serves that out, I don't know what to say, that's what a pro does. It was unbelievable tennis, unbelievable from JPJ, too. He played maybe one or two bad points in his second service game and that was it."

Dostanic said he took to heart the advice he got from associate head coach Brian Baker on the changeover.

"At 5-4 I'm asking Bakes what do you think I should do," Dostanic said. "He told me, go for the patterns you know best, go for the serves you trust, have a high first serve percentage, don't let him see second serves, and don't back away. My best tennis is my 1-2, so I stuck to my guns and played my high percentage tennis." 

In less than two months as a Demon Deacon, Dostanic has already fulfilled a dream.

"Coming to Wake, I knew they had a great team," Dostanic said. "This is what I wanted to do, play for a national title. I didn't think it would be a 3-all in the finals of National Indoors, but I'm very happy it did end like this."

Bresky, who led Wake to a first National Indoor title and a first NCAA title in 2018, joked in trophy presentation that there was a little too much purple in the stands, but appreciated the atmosphere which neared capacity throughout the three-and-a-half-hour match.

"You want to play in front of fans," Bresky said. "We had fans and felt their support, but it was nothing like TCU had here; having the seats filled is amazing for college tennis."

TCU head coach David Roditi pointed out in his remarks at the trophy ceremony that the last time TCU lost a Team Indoor final 4-3, which was last year's loss to Ohio State, the season ended with an NCAA championship.

"At the end of day, it was just a great college tennis match," said Roditi, whose teams won the 2022 and 2023 titles. "Amazing for the fans; they got their money's worth. So much purple. It obviously sucks to lose, but at the same time I feel like our program won today, with people coming out to share what these guys are doing. I'm bummed, because we're competitive, but at the same time I love what I saw today. We'd love to win all of them, but Stefan stepped up."

Wake Forest[1] 4, TCU[1] 3

Doubles:

1. Stefan Dostanic and DK Suresh(WAKE) v Lui Maxted and Pedro Vives(TCU) 6-2

2. Jack Pinnington Jones and Cooper Woestendick(TCU) d. Luciano Tacchi and Luca Pow(WAKE) 6-4

3. Franco Capalbo and Ioannis Xilas(WAKE) d. Duncan Chan and Albert Pedrico(TCU) 7-5

Order of finish: 1, 2, 3

Singles:

1. Stefan Dostanic(WAKE) d. Jack Pinnington Jones(TCU) 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-4

2. Pedro Vives(TCU) d. DK Suresh(WAKE) 7-6(7), 6-3

3. Lui Maxted(TCU) d. Charlie Robertson(WAKE) 7-5, 6-3

4. Ioannis Xilas(WAKE) d. Duncan Chan(TCU) 6-2, 7-6(9)

5. Cooper Woestendick(TCU) d. Luciano Tacchi(WAKE) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

6. Luca Pow(WAKE) d. Albert Pedrico(TCU) 6-2, 6-3

Order of finish: 

6, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1

Wake Forest Squeezes Past Texas 4-3 to Reach ITA Men's D-I Team Indoor Final, TCU Breezes Past Stanford to Advance to Fourth Straight Indoor Final

©Colette Lewis 2025--
Dallas Texas--

It was business as usual for both Wake Forest and TCU, with the top seeds reaching Tuesday evening's final of ITA Division I Men's Team Indoor Championships in contrasting fashion, with the SMU No. 1 seed Demon Deacons getting their third 4-3 win of the season over Texas, while the No. 1 Baylor seed Horned Frogs advanced to their fourth straight Team Indoor final with a 4-0 victory over Stanford.

The Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex on the SMU campus, the site of the semifinals and finals, drew fans for both Texas teams, but the Longhorn faithful were unable to dent the confidence of the undefeated Wake team, who have won every match this year, including three earlier wins over teams that went on to make the Indoor field. 

Wake started out up 1-0, which they have done in all 13 of their victories this year, by taking the doubles point from Texas with wins at lines 1 and 3, and that point proved the cushion they needed when the teams split first sets in singles.

But by the time Wake's Charlie Robertson had secured a 70-minute 7-6 first set in his match with Pierre-Yves Bailly at line 3, DK Suresh of Wake had already taken the second set from Sebastian Gorzny at line 2, giving Wake a little breathing room. 

But a straightforward 6-4, 6-2 win from Texas freshman Timo Legout over Stefan Dostanic at line 1 brought the Longhorns even, and a second set comeback from Texas freshman Oliver Ojakaar at line 5, who trailed Luciano Tacchi 4-1 before closing out a 6-1, 7-6(3) victory, gave Texas a 2-1 lead. That was short lived, with Wake's Luca Pow pulling his team even with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Sebastian Eriksson at line 6.

In the three remaining matches, Gorzny and Suresh were at 3-3 in the third, Wake's Ioannis Xilas was up 6-3, 5-5 in the second in his line 4 match with Jonah Braswell, and Robertson and Bailly were at 1-1 in the second set. 

Xilas, who lost his break in the second set, still had two match points in the second set tiebreaker, but Braswell approached on the first, forcing a missed pass from Xilas, then blasted a forehand winner on the run within inches of the baseline on the second. Braswell, who had clinched the quarterfinal win over Virginia on Saturday, then converted his first set point in the tiebreaker, with a good first serve forcing a return error, earning a third set.

"I knew I was fitter, I knew I was playing better," said the 23-year-old graduate student from Greece. "I was a bit unlucky in the second set to lose that, I was a break up and had a couple of match points in the breaker, but honestly, he played them very well, so I just kept staying in the present."

Bailly took the second set from Robertson as Gorzny and Suresh were headed to a third set tiebreaker, which was 3-3 at the first change of ends, with Suresh holding for a 4-3 lead. Gorzny then called a ball out on the sideline, which Wake head coach Tony Bresky told Suresh to challenge, and when the ball was reviewed and deemed good, he had his crucial mini-break.

"In the heat of the moment I didn't think to challenge, but TB was there to help me out," said Suresh, a junior from India. "I wasn't sure, but Tony was there and that was good by him."

Gorzny held his next serve for 5-4, but a great first serve gave Suresh two match points, and he converted the first, with his net cord volley falling on Gorzny's side of the net, making 3-2 Wake Forest.

Bailly had built a big lead over Robertson in the third, so Texas still had a chance, although Braswell had to win as well. Serving at 2-3 30-15, Braswell got a time violation point penalty, then lost a deciding point to give Xilas the lead, which he stretched to 5-2. 

"It was a pretty important point at that moment, because I ended up breaking," Xilas said of the time violation. "But to be completely honest, I felt he was taking a bit more time."

After Bailly closed out Robertson 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-1, both teams gathered around court 4, to see if Xilas could serve out the match after Braswell had held for 5-3. Xilas went up 30-0, but a backhand winner from Braswell and forehand error made it 30-all before he stepped up to finish a backhand volley to earn a match point. He missed his first serve, but early in the rally, Braswell sent a forehand long to put Wake Forest, a semifinalist in 2024, into its first Team Indoor final since 2019.

In facing TCU, located 40 minutes from the SMU campus, Bresky is expecting the Wake Forest supporters to be outnumbered in tomorrow night's match.

"We pretty used to that, with some of the road matches we've played," Bresky said. "Our guys on the bench do a great job to keep our guys inspired. I welcome a big crowd, it's great for the guys, it's everything we need. I think you want that atmosphere; it makes it more fun."

Wake Forest[1] 4, Texas[3] 3

Doubles:

1. Stefan Dostanic and DK Suresh(WAKE) d. Lucas Brown and Timo Legout(TEX) 6-3

2. Luciano Tacchi and Luca Pow(WAKE) v Pierre-Yves Bailly and Sebastian Gorzny 6-5, unf.

3. Franco Capalbo and Ioannis Xilas(WAKE) d. Jonah Braswell and Oliver Ojakaar(TEX) 6-4

Order of finish: 1, 3

Singles:

1. Timo Legout(TEX) d. Stefan Dostanic(WAKE) 6-4, 6-2

2. DK Suresh(WAKE) d. Sebastian Gorzny(TEX) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4)

3. Pierre-Yves Bailly(TEX) d. Charlie Robertson(WAKE) 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-1

4. Ioannis Xilas(WAKE) d. Jonah Braswell(TEX) 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-3

5. Oliver Ojakaar(TEX) d. Luciano Tacchi(WAKE) 6-1, 7-6(3)

6. Luca Pow(WAKE) d. Sebastian Eriksson(TEX) 6-2, 7-5

Order of finish: 1, 6, 5, 2, 3, 4

In the nightcap, TCU managed to win an extremely close doubles point from Stanford; after the teams had split 7-5 decisions at lines 1 and 2, the point came down to No. 3, with TCU's Duncan Chan and Albert Pedrico taking a 7-6(7) decision after seeing a 5-1 lead in the tiebreaker evaporate.

"That doubles point was so close," said TCU head coach David Roditi, whose team had beaten Stanford on the SMU courts in January in a much closer match than the 7-0 score would suggest. "That was a big doubles point, big momentum."

TCU rode that momentum into singles, taking five first sets, mostly with late breaks to take them 6-4, although Pedrico posted a 6-0 first set at line 6 in his match with freshman Alexander Razeghi. 

Stanford made a small push after Pedrico closed out Razeghi 6-0, 6-4 and freshman Cooper Woestendick took out Hudson Rivera 6-4, 6-1 at line 5. But down 3-0 and unable to get a win from Henry Von Der Schulenburg at line 4, with Duncan Chan gaining a split, the challenge was too great. Stanford sophomore Kyle Kang, returning from a wrist injury that had kept him out until this weekend, did force a third set at line 3 against Lui Maxted, and Samir Banerjee had gotten back on serve in the second set against Jack Pinnington Jones at line 1, but Pedro Vives was on the verge of a victory at line 2, and he delivered, beating Max Basing 6-4, 6-3 to reach his fourth consecutive National Indoor Team Championships final.

Roditi, who has led TCU to Indoor titles in 2022 and 2023 and to the final against Ohio State last year, is not entirely sure why his team excels indoors.

"I think (assistant coach) Devin Bowen does a better job than most getting the guys ready from the very beginning," Roditi said. "We start working early and we take this tournament, and the road to the Indoors, very seriously. But we also have good players, and if you have good players, all of a sudden you're a good coach."

Vives, who is 6-0 in singles in dual matches this year, and is the 2024 fall NCAA doubles champion with another four-year Indoor veteran in Maxted, isn't convinced that all the Horned Frogs' experience will have an impact on Tuesday's result.

"I don't think it will be an advantage," said Vives, a 23-year-old from Spain. "It will just be one more match. Maybe if they were to be in a position to clinch--some of us have been in that position, so maybe that could be on of the differences, but they have a very veteran team, I think their average age is like 21, 22, so I think they're mature enough not to have it in their heads that much, but it's going to be great, and I can't wait for it."

TCU[1] 4, Stanford[6] 0

Doubles:

1. Lui Maxted and Pedro Vives(TCU) d. Max Basing and Kyle Kang(STAN) 7-5

2. Samir Banerjee and Alexander Razeghi(STAN) d. Jack Pinnington Jones and Cooper Woestendick(TCU) 7-5

3. Duncan Chan and Albert Pedrico(TCU) d. Nicholas Godsick and Henry Von Der Schulenburg(STAN) 7-6(7)

Order of finish: 2, 1, 3

Singles:

1. Jack Pinnington Jones(TCU) v Samir Banerjee(STAN) 6-4, 4-5, unf.

2. Pedro Vives(TCU) d. Max Basing(STAN) 6-4, 6-3

3. Lui Maxted(TCU) v Kyle Kang(STAN) 4-6, 6-1, 1-1

4. Duncan Chan(TCU) v Henry Von Der Schulenburg(STAN) 4-6, 6-3, unf.

5. Coppoer Woestendick(TCU) d. Hudson Rivera(STAN) 6-4, 6-1

6. Albert Pedrico(TCU) d. Alexander Razeghi(STAN) 6-0, 6-4

Order of finish: 6, 5, 2

The match is scheduled for 6:30 pm central time, with Cracked Racquets providing coverage at their YouTube Channel.

Italy's Vasami and Sweden's Wallberg Claim J500 Titles in Egypt; Dussault Earns J200 Title, Three More US Juniors Capture ITF Singles Titles; Johns Takes Naples $15K; Ngounoue Wins W50 in Great Britain; Anisimova Earns WTA 1000 Doha Title

I spent most of today's off-day for the main draw ITA Division I Men's Team Indoor Championships watching consolation matches and catching up with some of the freshmen from Stanford and TCU who had arrived in SMU after winning their quarterfinal matches in Baylor on Saturday, but I won't be providing any reporting on Virginia's 4-1 win over North Carolina State or Texas A&M's 4-2 win over Kentucky, so that I can review the week on the ITF Junior Circuit, USTA Pro Circuit, the ITF Women's WTT and the pros, before I return to detailed coverage of the Men's Team Indoor semifinals and finals the next two days. Streaming of the semifinals Monday, beginning at 3:30 pm Central time will be available at the Cracked Racquet YouTube channel. Wake Forest plays Texas first, with the semifinal between TCU and Stanford to follow.

The first ITF J500 tournament of 2025, contested in Cairo Egypt this week, concluded with titles No. 3 seed Jacopo Vasami of Italy and No. 10 seed Nellie Taraba Wallberg of Sweden, both 17-year-olds in their final year of junior eligibility.

Taraba Wallberg defeated No. 11 seed Rada Zolotareva of Russian 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-3 in the final, while Vasami won his first J500 singles title in just his second appearance at that level, claiming a 6-2, 6-2 victory over unseeded Savva Rybkin of Russia in the championship match.

Vasami swept the titles in Cairo, partnering with Alan Wazny of Poland to take the doubles championship. The top seeds defeated unseeded Alvaro Jimenez of Spain and Ziga Sesko of Slovenia 6-3, 6-4 in the final.

No. 7 seeds Charo Esquiva Banuls of Spain and Flora Johnson of Great Britain won the girls doubles title, beating No. 6 seed Dora Miskovic of Croatia and Sonja Zhenikhova of Germany 6-2, 6-1 in the final. 

It was a banner week for Americans on the ITF Junior Circuit, and although both Keaton Hance[6] and Noah Johnston[5] lost in the singles semifinals of the J300 Asuncion Bowl in Paraguay, Thea Frodin did capture the doubles title there with Yoana Konstantinova of Bulgaria. The top seeds defeated Ana Maria Fedotova of the Dominican Republic and Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi of Argentina 6-2, 6-2 in the final. Tops seeds Hance and Valentin Garay of Argentina lost the boys final via a walkover, given to Thomas Miranda and Leornardo Storck Franca of Brazil.

At the J200 in the Dominican Republic, American boys swept the titles, with Maximus Dussault, the top seed, defeating Gavin Goode, the No. 12 seed 7-5, 6-3 in the all-US final. It's Dussault's second ITF Junior Circuit singles title, with the other coming at a J60 in the Dominican Republic in 2023. The boys doubles title was also decided among Americans, with unseeded Ford McColllum and Nischal Spurling defeating No. 4 seed Simon Caldwell and Zachary Cohen 7-6(2), 6-4 in the final.  

2024 USTA National 16s champion Ishika Ashar, the No. 2 seed, lost in the girls singles final to top seed Nadia Lagaev of Canada 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-2. Lagaev and Daniela Piani of Great Britain took the girls doubles title, beating Sabrina Lin and Serbia's Masa Jankovic, the No. 7 seeds, 6-2, 7-5 in the final.

At the J100 in South Africa, 15-year-old Navneet Raghuram won his first ITF Junior Circuit singles title, with the No. 8 seed defeating No. 5 seed Xavier Massotte of Canada 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the final. He also reached the doubles final, with Canadian partner Finn Muller. The No. 4 seeds lost to the unseeded British team of Rhys Lawlor and Eric Lorimer 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 in the championship match. 

JoAnna Kennedy took the title this week at the J60 in Medford New Jersey, one of two ITF Indoor tournaments in the United States in February. The unseeded 17-year-old from Colorado, didn't drop a set during the week, beating No. 2 seed Anastasia Pleskun 6-2, 6-4 in the all-US final. Unseeded Shristi Selvan and Kendall Smith won the girls doubles title, beating top seeds Aurora Lugo of Puerto Rico and Arina Vansovich of Belarus 7-6(2), 6-3 in the final.  

An unseeded team also won the boys doubles title in an all-US final, with Kayden Colombo and Anthony Dry defeating Jack Dermenjyan and Muyang Yi 6-2, 3-6, 11-9 in the final.

The fourth singles title for an American junior came at the J60 in Guatemala, with 14-year-old Jordyn Hazelitt, the No. 3 seed, winning her second singles title on the ITF Junior Circuit with a 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-5 win over unseeded compatriot Scarlett Fagan, also 14.

Hazelitt also took the doubles title, with Canadian partner Elicia Lin, with the top seeds defeating Camille Allegre and Olivia Allegre 6-2, 4-6, 10-7 in the final.

At the J60 in Mexico, Joseph Hernandez won the boys doubles title with Miguel Daiha of Brazil, with the No. 6 seeds beating No. 8 seeds Nicolas Dagda Mireles and Guillermo Narcio of Mexico 5-7, 7-6(4), 10-7 in the final. Sophia Cedeno, who reached the girls singles final, won the doubles title with partner Zoe Levresse Zavala of Mexico. The top seeds defeated No. 2 seed Emanuela Lares and Maria Isabel Suarez of Colombia 6-3, 6-1 in the championship match.

And at the J30 in Bahrain, Muaz Malik won the boys doubles title with Kaushik Arunkumar of India. The No. 4 seeds defeated No. 3 seeds Amir Jaber and Talai Shatara of Jordan 6-2, 6-3 in the final.

At the USTA Pro Circuit men's $15,000 tournament in Naples Florida, former Duke All-American Garrett Johns won his second title in the last three weeks on the green clay. The 24-year-old from Georgia, seeded No. 8, defeated No. 7 seed Lorenzo Joaquin Rodrigues of Argentina 6-4, 6-4 in today's final. 

Former Georgia Tech teammates Keshav Chopra and Andres Martin won the doubles title, with the No. 4 seeds beating No. 3 seeds Rodriguez and Ignacio Monzon of Argentina 7-6(5), 6-4 in the final. 

Eighteen-year-old Clervie Ngounoue, the 2023 Wimbledon girls and USTA National 18s champion, won the W50 this week in Birmingham England, her fourth ITF women's World Tennis Tour singles title. Unseeded, Ngounoue defeated the No. 3 and No. 2 seeds en route to the final, where she beat No. 5 seed Viktoria Hruncakova of Slovakia 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Ngounoue, who will rise to around 250 in the WTA ranking when the points are added, is just a few good results away from earning entry into the women's singles qualifying at Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year.

At the ATP 250 in Delray Beach, Alex Michelsen advanced to the semifinals in singles, but it was Brandon Nakashima(Virginia) earning the American title this week. Partnering with singles champion Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia, Nakashima and Kecmanovic defeated Dallas Open champions Christian Harrison and Evan King(Michigan) 7-6(3), 1-6, 10-3 in the final. It's the first ATP doubles title for Nakashima. For more on the doubles final, see this article from the ATP website.

Amanda Anisimova won the WTA 1000 in Doha, beating Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-4, 6-3 in the final. It's the third and biggest title for the 23-year-old, who will move into the WTA Top 20 for the first time. For more on the final, see this article from the WTA website.

And at the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires, ATP Next Gen Finals champion Joao Fonseca of Brazil won his first title, with the unseeded 18-year-old defeating Francisco Cerundolo(South Carolina) of Argentina 6-4, 7-6(1). The 2023 US Open champion is the youngest South American champion in the ATP Tour era, which dates to 1990. For more on the final, see this article from the ATP website.

Remarkable Finish Propels Texas Past Virginia and into ITA D-I Men's Team Indoor Semifinals; Wake Forest Survives Another Test to Stay Undefeated; TCU and Stanford Join Texas and Wake Forest in Dallas for Monday's Semifinals

©Colette Lewis 2025--
Dallas Texas--

The last time Texas and Virginia met, less than two weeks ago in Charlottesville, Texas took the doubles point and five first sets in singles, before the Cavaliers mounted an improbable comeback, with freshman Rafael Jodar saving three team match points en route before he and Stiles Brockett at line 6 put up the third and fourth point for Virginia.

Texas's 4-1 win today over Virginia in the quarterfinals of the ITA Men's Team Indoor Championships was, if possible in a neutral setting, even more exciting, and certainly more rare, with the final three singles matches in third-set tiebreakers when Texas's Jonah Braswell secured a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) victory over Keegan Rice at line 4.

In all my years of covering college tennis, I've never seen three matches in lockstep like the contests at line 1, between Jodar and Timo Legout, at line 2, between Sebastian Gorzny and Virginia's Dylan Dietrich and the Braswell and Rice battle. No one, including coaches and officials who have decades of experience with thousands of collegiate matches, could recall anything remotely similar, and the hundreds of fans at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex were treated to a rare spectacle that was unimaginable from the 4-1 score.

Virginia started out well in doubles, taking a 1-0 lead with 6-3 victories at lines 1 and 2, positions that are usually the strength of the Longhorns doubles point. That the Cavaliers could not mange to take another point, after getting four singles points in Charlottesville, demonstrated just what a struggle every game was in every match.

Texas pulled even in the only straight-sets singles match, with freshman Sebastian Eriksson beating fellow freshman Jungjin Kim 6-4, 6-1 at line 6. Eriksson, who lost to Kim 6-3, 6-3 in that previous match, had not been feeling well that day, so Texas head coach Bruce Berque had no doubts that he could reverse that loss today.

"He didn't lose because it was a bad matchup," Berque said of Eriksson's loss in Charlottesville, which came at line 5. "Sometimes it might be, but we just thought it was an execution thing, and sometimes there might be extra motivation from losing. But we were committed to having all of them play (Eriksson, Oliver Ojakaar and Lucas Brown) and whoever did not play yesterday was going to play today."

Each team won three first sets, but in a 30-minute stretch the five remaining singles matches all went to a third set. Shortly after Gorzny and Dietrich split at line 2, Ojakaar put Texas up 2-1 with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win at line 5. 

Texas looked in good shape when Pierre-Yves Bailly had taken a 4-0 third set lead over James Hopper at line 3, but Hopper got both breaks back and was serving at 3-4 before dropping a deciding point. Bailly was up 40-15 serving for the match at 5-3 but Hopper forced a deciding point, which Bailly won with a brave volley that Hopper had to call out in order to challenge. The Play Replay electronic line calling system confirmed the ball was good, giving Texas their third point with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory.

The remaining three matches were at 4-4, at line 1 and 2 and 5-4 at line 4, then 5-4, 5-4 and 5-5. Dietrich broke Gorzny to serve for the match at 6-5, but lost his serve, while Jodar held on a deciding point to go up 6-5 and was up 0-30 with Legout serving, but Jodar appeared to suffer a cramp during that game and Legout held.

Braswell was serving from behind throughout the third set, but said he managed to cope with that pressure.

"It was tough," said the junior from Florida, who lost the deciding match in the NCAA final against TCU last May. "It was definitely a lot of pressure. Props to Keegan Rice, a freshman, a Canadian, I think he played really, really well and I think he likes these indoor courts. I felt the pressure, he was coming after me really good but I was able to stay calm, use my experience a little bit, use that to my advantage. I wasn't playing my best tennis today, but Bruce was able to keep me calm, give me some good advice and it was a team win."

Braswell had a 4-1 lead in the tiebreaker, but gave won of those mini-breaks back, as the baseline rallies went to the server in the next four points. That made it 6-4 Braswell, who lost his second mini-break and first match point, but was able to coax a backhand error from Rice at 5-6 to take the victory and end the Longhorns' 10-match losing streak to the Cavaliers.

At the time the match was clinched, Dietrich led Gorzny 5-2 and Legout led Jodar 3-1 in their third set tiebreakers.

"They are a great team," Berque said. "I was really impressed with Virginia today. They came out great in doubles, and they were really determined. And the singles, as you saw, was a battle."

Quarterfinal:

Texas[3] 4, Virginia[2] 1

Doubles:

1. Keegan Rice and James Hopper(UVA) d. Lucas Brown and Timo Legout(TEX) 6-3

2. Mans Dahlberg and Dylan Dietrich(UVA) d. Pierre-Yves Bailly and Sebastian Gorzny(TEX) 6-3

3. Jangjun Kim and Rafael Jodar(UVA) v Jonah Braswell and Oliver Ojakaar(TEX) 4-3, unf.

Order of finish: 2, 1

Singles:

1. Rafael Jodar(UVA) v Timo Legout((TEX) 6-4, 4-6, 6-6(1-3) unf.

2. Dylan Dietrich(UVA) v Sebastian Gorzny(TEX) 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-6 (5-2) unf.

3. Pierre-Yves Bailly(TEX) d. James Hopper(UVA) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3

4. Jonah Braswell(TEX) d. Keegan Rice(UVA) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5)

5. Oliver Ojakaar(TEX) d. Mans Dahlberg(UVA) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 

6. Sebastian Eriksson(TEX) d. Jangjun Kim(UVA) 6-4, 6-1

Order of finish: 6, 5, 3, 4

The fans barely had time to catch their collective breath before the second quarterfinal of the day, featuring top seed Wake Forest and No. 5 seed NC State, began moving toward an only slightly less tense conclusion, with Wake Forest again surviving a stern challenge, this time by a 4-2 score.

Wake took the doubles point, although NC State did take No. 1 doubles before the Demon Deacons closed out the point at lines 2 and 3.

The teams split first sets, so NC State needed to find a split, which they got, at line 5, with Wolfpack newcomer Nikolay Nedelchev forcing a third with Luciano Tacchi. They also earned a split on 2, with Martin Borisiouk taking the second from DK Suresh, while Wake Forest countered with a split on 6 with Luca Pow taking the second from Jules Leroux and Ioannis Xilas forcing a third from Fons Van Sambeek at line 4.

The matches that were decided in straight sets took two hours to finish, and they too were split, with NC State's Luca Stahaeli beating Charlie Robertson at line 3 6-3, 7-6(5) to make it 1-1 and a minute later, Wake's Stefan Dostanic defeating Braden Shick 7-6(4), 7-6(3) to immediately put the Deacons back in front. 

Tacchi made it 3-1 with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Nedelchev, after dropping the first two games of the third set, but Borisiouk had taken a big lead over Suresh in their third set. Von Sambeek was up a break in the third for NC State, but the Wolfpack needed to win the remaining three matches, which was certainly possible, given how close they were.

Borisiouk needed nine match points, having 15-40 leads in the final three games of the third set, before finally closing out Suresh 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to make it 3-2.  Pow had a 5-2 lead and had served for the match before Borisiouk could close out Suresh, but Leroux broke at love, which is not how Pow had envisioned that final game.

"I came out at 5-2 and told coach, I've got this, and got broke to love" said the sophomore from England. "And then we sat down at 5-4 and I said again, I've got this. Because I kind of like having the pressure on me. I don't shy away from that. I had to serve for it in doubles with Tacchi and that went great. But it was key getting that first point after losing four points in the previous game on my serve. But I like the pressure and I was ready for it."

Up 30-0, Pow was fortunate that Leroux missed a routine overhead, but Leroux saved the first match point by making another overhead for 40-15. But Pow's good fortune continued with a Leroux's shot clipping the tape and sitting up for him, and he made no mistake on the finish.

Wake Forest head coach Tony Bresky acknowledged that luck has played a role in his team's best start to the season since their NCAA championship in 2018, but he also credited his team's physical condition and their experience with coming through so many close matches.

"Knock on wood, I think we're in incredible shape," Bresky said. We work really hard on our fitness, thinking that's one variable we can take out of the equation. And guys who have been in moment. Obviously, a guy like Luca, losing the first set and doesn't panic, or Tacchi, who's been in that moment now. I think he had a super valuable experience against Ohio State (a 4-3 win for Wake) where he was up in the third and kind of lost his focus and ended up losing. And sometimes a little luck doesn't hurt."

Quarterfinal:

Wake Forest[1] 4, NC State[5] 2

Doubles:

1. Braden Shick and Fons Van Sambeek(NCST) d. Stefan Dostanic and DK Suresh(WAKE) 6-3

2. Luca Pow and Luciano Tacchi(WAKE) d. Jules Leroux and Luca Staeheli(NCST) 6-4

3. Ioannis Xilas and Franco Capalbo(WAKE) d. William Manning and Nikolay Nedelchev(NCST) 6-3

Order of finish: 1, 3, 2

Singles:

1. Stefan Dostanic(WAKE) d. Braden Shick(NCST) 7-6(4), 7-6(3)

2. Martin Borisiouk(NCST) d. DK Suresh(WAKE) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3

3. Luca Staeheli(NCST) d. Charlie Robertson(WAKE) 6-3, 7-6(5)

4. Fons Van Sambeek(NCST) v Ioannis Xilas(WAKE) 6-4, 4-6, 5-2, unf.

5. Luciano Tacchi(WAKE) d. Nikolay Nedelchev(NCST) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3

6. Luca Pow(WAKE) d. Jules Leroux(NCST) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

Order of finish: 3, 1, 5, 2, 6

The last main draw matches at the Baylor University site were completed today, with No. 6 seed Stanford ending the Cinderella story of Central Florida by a 4-0 score, and top seed TCU, the 2022 and 2023 National Indoor Champions and 2024 finalist, now able to return closer to home, after claiming a hard-fought 4-2 win over No. 5 seed San Diego, who suffered its first loss of the season.

Quarterfinal:

Stanford[6] 4, Central Florida[7] 0

Doubles:

1. Liam Branger and Paul Colin(UCF) d. Kyle Kang and Max Basing(STAN) 6-4

2. Samir Banerjee and Alexander Razeghi(STAN) d. Mehdi Benchakroun and Santiago Giamichelle(UCF) 7-5

3. Nicholas Godsick and Henry Von Der Schulenburg (STAN) d. Yassine Dlimi and Emilio Sanchez(UCF) 6-4

Order of finish: 3, 1, 2

Singles:

1. Samir Banerjee(STAN) v Yassine Dlimi(UCF) 6-1, 3-6, 2-1 unf.

2. Max Basing(STAN) d.  Paul Colin(UCF) 6-0, 6-4

3. Mehdi Benchakroun(UCF) v Kyle Kang(STAN) 6-4, 3-3, unf.

4. Henry Von Der Schulenburg(STAN) d. Liam Branger(UCF) 6-3, 6-2

5. Hudson Rivera(STAN) v Santiago Giamichelle(UCF) 7-6(2), 3-2, unf.

6. Alexander Razeghi(STAN) d. Nicolas Oliveira(UCF) 6-1, 6-1

Order of finish: 6, 2, 4

TCU[1] 4. San Diego[5] 2

Doubles:

1. Lui Maxted and Pedro Vives(TCU) d. Stian Klaassen and Oliver Tarvet(USD) 6-3

2. Jack Pinnington Jones and Cooper Woestendick(TCU) d. Savriyan Danilov and Iiro Vasa(USD) 6-3

3. Adrien Berrut and Nikhil Niranjan(USD) v Duncan Chan and Albert Pedrico(TCU) 5-5, unf.

Order of finish: 2, 1

Singles:

1. Oliver Tarvet(USD) d. Jack Pinnington Jones(TCU) 6-4, 6-2

2. Pedro Vives(TCU) d. Savriyan Danilov(USD) 6-1, 7-6(7)

3. Lui Maxted(TCU) d. Iiro Vasa(USD) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1

4. Stian Klaassen(USD) d. Duncan Chan(TCU) 6-4, 6-2

5. Adrien Berrut(USD) v Cooper Woestendick(TCU) 4-6, 6-4, 4-3, unf.

6. Albert Pedrico(TCU) d. Neo Niedner(USD) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2

Order of finish: 4, 1, 2, 3, 6

Sunday is an off-day for the semifinalists this year, with the four teams returning to action on Monday at 3:30 pm and 6:30 pm  at SMU. The final is scheduled for 6:30 pm on Tuesday. (All times Central).

Cracked Racquets will continue their coverage then at their YouTube Channel.

No. 2 Seed Ohio State, No. 3 Seed Columbia Fall in Opening Round of ITA Division I Men's Team Indoor; San Diego Tops No. 4 Seed Duke in Thriller; Texas and Virginia Rematch Set for Saturday

©Colette Lewis 2025--
Dallas, Texas--

The first day of the ITA Men's Division I Team Indoor Championships was uneventful at the SMU site, where I'm located for the duration of the tournament, but at the second venue on the Baylor campus, the first round was a St. Valentine's Day massacre for the favored teams. Although Waco's No. 1 seed, TCU, did take out host Baylor 4-1 in the nightcap, the No. 2, 3 and 4 seeds were all eliminated, with Central Florida's 4-2 win over second seed and defending champion Ohio State the result that had all the teams in Dallas talking.

Because I wasn't there, I won't be attempting a recap of the match, but the box score is below, along with a link to the Central Florida website's coverage here.

Central Florida[7] 4, Ohio State[2] 2

Doubles:

1. Aidan Kim and Will Jansen(OSU) d. Liam Branger and Paul Colin(UCF) 6-1

2. Preston Stearns and Bryce Nakashima(OSU) v Mehdi Benchakroun and Santiago Giamichelle(UCF) 3-3, unf.

3. Brandon Caprico and Nikita Filin(OSU) d. Yassine Dlimi and Emilio Sanchez(UCF) 6-1

Order of finish 3, 1

Singles:

1. Yassine Dlimi(UCF) d.  Aidan Kim(OSU) 6-3, 6-4

2. Alexander Bernard(OSU) d.  Paul Dolin(UCF) 6-4, 7-5

3. Mehdi Benchakroun(UCF) d. Will Jansen(OSU) 6-2, 1-6, 6-4

4. Liam Branger(UCF) d. Jack Anthrop(OSU) 7-5, 3-6, 6-4

5. Bryce Nakashima(OSU) v Santiago Giamichelle(UCF) 6-7(3), 6-4, 3-3  unf.

6. Nicolas Oliveira(UCF) d. Christopher Li(OSU) 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-1

Order of finish: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6

No. 6 seed Stanford defeated No. 3 seed Columbia 4-1, with the Stanford recap here.

Stanford[6] 4, Columbia[3] 1

Doubles:

1. Max Basing and Kyle Kang(STAN) d. Michael Zheng and Nicolas Kotzen(COL) 6-3

2. Samir Banerjee and Alexander Razeghi(STAN) v Max Westphal and Sachin Palta(COL) 5-4, unfinished

3. Nicolas Godsick and Henry Von Der Schulenburg(STAN) d. Hugo Hasimoto and Jayden Templeman(COL) 6-3

Order of finish: 3, 1

Singles:

1. Samir Banerjee(STAN) d. Michael Zheng(COL) 6-3, 7-6(4)

2. Max Basing(STAN) d. Nicolas Kotzen(COL) 7-6(5), 7-5

3. Max Westphal(COL) d. Henry Von Der Schulenburg(STAN) 6-2, 6-3

4. Hugo Hashimoto(COL) v Hudson Rivera(STAN) 6-4, 3-6, 3-2, unf.

5. Nicholas Godsick(STAN) v Sachin Palta(COL) 2-6, 6-2, 5-3, unf.

6. Alexander Razeghi(STAN) d. Thanapat Boosarawongse(COL) 6-2, 7-5

Order of finish:

3, 1  6, 2

No. 5 seed San Diego's 4-3 win over No. 4 seed Duke came down to No. 5 singles, with Adrien Berrut defeating Gerard Planelles Ripoll 7-5, 6-7(5), 7-5 in a three-hour match that featured one huge deciding point after another in the third set, and with both players trying to finish points quickly, all the volleys, overheads and passing shots made for an entertaining battle, which was ultimately decided in a wild final point, with an Electronic Line Call challenge by Berrut overturning Ripoll's call on match point. The Duke recap of the match is here. The San Diego recap of the match is here.

San Diego[5] 4, Duke[4] 3 

Doubles:

1. Stian Klaassen and Oliver Tarvet(USD) d. Pedro Rodenas and Theo Winegar(DUKE) 6-1

2. Cooper Williams and Andreja Petrovic(DUKE) d. Savriyan Danilov and Iiro Vasa(USD) 6-3

3. Nikhil Niranjan and Adrien Berrut(USD) d. Connor Krug and Teddy Truwit(DUKE) 6-3

Order of finish: 2, 1, 3

Singles:

1. Oliver Tarvet(USD) d. Cooper Williams(DUKE) 6-2, 6-4

2. Pedro Rodenas(DUKE) d. Savriyan Danilov(USD) 6-2, 6-2

3. Iiro Vasa(USD) d. Andreja Petrovic(DUKE) 6-2, 6-3

4. Connor Krug(DUKE) d. Stian Klaassen(USD) 3-6, 6-3, 7-5

5. Adrien Berrut(USD) d. Gerard Planelles Ripoll(DUKE) 7-5, 6-7(5), 7-5

6. Remi Dugardin(DUKE) d. Neo Niedner(USD) 6-2, 6-0

Order of finish: 3, 6, 2, 1, 4, 5

TCU[1] 4, Baylor[8] 1

Doubles:

1. Lui Maxted and Pedro Vives(TCU) d. Marko Miladinovic and Oskar Brostrom Poulsen(BAY) 6-3

2. Luc Koenig and Deven Badenhorst(BAY) d. Jack Pinnington Jones and Cooper Woestendick(TCU) 6-3

3. Duncan Chan and Albert Pedrico(TCU) d. Ioan Chirita and Zsombor Velcz(BAY) 6-4

Singles:

1. Jack Pinnington Jones(TCU) v Devin Badenhorst(BAY) 7-6(3), 3-6, 5-1, unf.

2. Pedro Vives(TCU) d; Oskar Brostrom Poulsen(BAY) 7-6(6), 7-5

3. Lui Maxted(TCU) d. Zsombor Velcz(BAY) 6-2, 7-5

4. Duncan Chan(TCU) d. Luc Koenig(BAY) 6-4, 4-6, 6-1

5. Albert Pedrico(TCU) v Ioan Chirita(BAY) 6-3, 6-7(4), 4-3, unf.

6. Marko Miladinovic(BAY) d. Filip Apltauer(TCU) 6-1, 6-0

Order of finish: 6, 3, 4, 2

Central Florida will play Stanford at noon Central Saturday, with San Diego taking on TCU at 3:30 pm.

The action at the SMU venue was more predictable, with No. 2 seed Virginia starting the day off with a 4-2 win over No. 7 seed Michigan. The Cavaliers dropped the doubles point, and the Wolverines had their No. 1, Gavin Young, back in the lineup, but it wasn't enough, with Virginia getting points from singles lines 1, 2, 5 and 6, with Mans Dahlberg clinching at line 5 after dropping the opening set.

"I'm really happy with Mans Dahlberg fighting back," said Virginia head coach Andres Pedroso, who acknowledged that he wasn't suprised by Michigan's strength in doubles. "I don't think he played that great in the first set, and he just fought back and found ways, as he's done the last two and a half years...I'm happy and grateful for the fight of my guys."

Virginia[2] 4, Michigan[7] 2

Doubles:

1. Benjamin Kittay and Will Cooksey(MICH) d. Keegan Rice and James Hopper(UVA) 6-2

2. Alex Cairo and Gavin Young(MICH) d. Mans Dahlberg and Dylan Dietrich(UVA) 7-6(4)

3. Bjorn Swenson and Mert Oral(MICH) d. Jangjun Kim and Rafael Jodar(UVA) 7-5

Order of finish: 1, 2, 3

Singles

1. Rafael Jodar(UVA) d.  Gavin Young(MICH) 6-3, 6-2

2. Dylan Dietrich(UVA) d. Benjamin Kittay(MICH) 6-1, 6-3

3. James Hopper(UVA) v Will Cooksey(MICH) 7-6(8), 5-2 unf.

4. Bjorn Swenson(MICH) d. Keegan Rice(UVA) 6-2, 6-3

5. Mans Dahlberg(UVA) d. Patorn Hanchaikul(MICH) 2-6 6-1, 6-3

6. Jangjun Kim(UVA) d. Nicholas Steiglehner(MICH) 6-2, 7-6(2)

Order of finish: 2, 4, 1, 6

Next up was the battle between two Texas schools, with the Aggies and Longhorns drawing an excellent afternoon crowd to the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex on the SMU campus. A close doubles point went to Texas, and the Longhorns got points from lines 1 and 3 before Lucas Brown clinched at line 6. The contest at the top spot between two French freshmen, Texas's Timo Legout and A&M's Theo Papamalamis, produced some mind-boggling points, with the most notable one at 4-4 in the first set. The speed, defense, volleys, lobs, and angles had the crowd breaking into premature applause on three of four occasions before Legout finally managed to end the lengthy rally with a winner. Papamalamis was a bit discouraged after that, and wasn't able to maintain that level in the second set, as Legout gave no indication his own level would drop.

The Texas win sets up a rematch of one of the most memorable early season matches of the year, when Texas went to Charlottesville, went up 3-1 and then could not hold on, with Virginia saving three team match points and taking an improbable 4-3 victory.

"No matter who we play in this tournament, the guys are going to be motivated," said Texas head coach Bruce Berque. "But our guys are competitors and last time, Virginia did a great job of stepping up when they had their backs against the wall. I'm sure Virginia's going to come into the match with confidence, our guys will come into the match with hunger. I'm sure these guys will love to have the opportunity to close it out this time."

That match is scheduled for noon Central time.

Texas[3] 4, Texas A&M[6] 1

Doubles:

1. Togan Tokas and Theo Papamalamis(TAMU) d. Lucas Brown and Timo Legout(TEX) 6-3

2. Pierre-Yves Bailly and Sebastian Gorzny(TEX) d. Luke Casper and JC Roddick(TAMU) 6-4

3. Jonah Braswell and Oliver Ojakaar(TEX) d. Ritesh Patil and Tiago Pires(TAMU) 6-4

Order of finish: 1, 2, 3 

Singles

1. Timo Legout(TEX) d. Theo Papmalamis(TAMU) 6-4, 6-1

2. JC Roddick(TAMU) Sebastian Gorzny(TEX) 6-4, 7-5

3. Pierre-Yves Bailly(TEX) d. Luke Casper(TAMU) 6-0, 6-1

4. Tiago Pires(TAMU) v Jonah Braswell(TEX) v 6-3, 5-6, unf.

5. Sebastian Eriksson(TEX) v Togan Tokac(TAMU) 7-5, 5-5, unf.

6. Lucas Brown(TEX) d. Ritesh Patil(TAMU) 7-6(4), 6-3

Order of finish: 3, 1, 2, 6

The 3:30 p.m. match at SMU Saturday will feature to ACC rivals with North Carolina State, playing in its first Team Indoor quarterfinal against top seed Wake Forest.

Wake Forest took out host SMU 4-0,  but the Mustangs had chances to put some pressure on the undefeated Demon Deacons, with the matches at lines 1 and 3 both at 6-6, 6-5 in the tiebreakers before Wake's Stefan Dostanic and Charlie Robertson took those points to give their team five first sets.

"I think we've done a great job playing a really tough schedule," said Wake Forest head coach Tony Bresky. "Baylor on the road, Columbia at Columbia, they had an incredible crowd, Ohio State at home, Georgia at home, Tennessee at home. We've had some tough matches against some really good teams so far. So maybe in those breakers, at the end of those sets, that showed a little bit; our guys were more comfortable in those moments, you figure out what your plays are in those moments and I think that really helped us there."

Wake Forest[1] 4, SMU[8] 0

Doubles:

1. Stefan Dostanic and DK Suresh(WAKE) d. Maks Silagy and Georgi Georgiev(SMU) 6-3

2. Trevor Svajda and Louis Cloud(SMU v Luca Pow and Luciano Tacchi(WAKE) 6-6, unf.

3. Franco Capalbo and Ioannis Xilas(WAKE) d. Vikas Deo and Xavier Calvelo(SMU) 6-3

Order of finish: 1, 2

Singles:

1. Stefan Dostanic(WAKE) v. Trevor Svajda(SMU) 7-6(5), 3-1, unf.

2. DK Suresh(WAKE) d. Jerry Barton(SMU) 6-4, 6-4 

3. Charlie Robertson(WAKE) v Ofek Shimanov(SMU) 7-6(5), 4-1, unf.

4. Georgi Georgiev(SMU) v Ioannis Xilas(WAKE) 6-4, 2-3, unf.

5. Luciano Tacchi(WAKE) d. Maks Silagy(SMU) 7-5, 6-0

6. Luca Pow(WAKE) d. Noah McDonald(SMU) 6-2, 6-1

Order of finish: 6, 2, 5 

No. 5 seed North Carolina State pulled off the only minor upset of the day at SMU, beating No. 4 Kentucky 4-1. The Wolfpack took the doubles point and got three quick first sets at lines 2, 4, and 6, and although those were the positions that ended up delivering the three singles points necessary, it wasn't straightforward, as Fons Van Sambeek needed a third set to get the clincher at line 4.

"With three seniors and a junior on the team, it's really great to see the culmination of their hard work," said head coach Kyle Spencer. "Not only did we have to go on the road to get here, we were facing a really good Kentucky team, but we did a lot of positive things out there to force the action of the match, and in the end I think it was a little too much for them."

Spencer said there's very little they don't know about Wake Forest.

"We know them well, down the street, so to speak," Spencer said. "It'll be an absolute battle and we're excited to play them. We play them at money tournaments, play them at Futures, in the Regionals, there's no real surprises and vice versa."

NC State[5] 4, Kentucky[4] 1

Doubles:

1. Braden Shick and Fons Van Sambeek(NC State) d. Jaden Weekes and Martin Breysach(KEN) 7-5

2. Jules Leroux and Luca Stadheli(NC State) d. Eli Stephenson and Jack Loutit(KEN) 6-4

3. Nikolay Nedelchev and William Manning(NC State) v Antoine Ghibaudo and Charlelie Cosnet 5-5, unf.

Order of finish: 2, 1

Singles:

1. Antoine Ghibaudo(KEN) d. Braden Shick(NC State) 7-6(4), 6-3

2. Martin Borisiouk(NC State) d. Jaden Weekes(KEN) 6-3, 7-6(4)

3. Luca Staeheli(NC State) v Jack Loutit(KEN) 7-6(5), 3-3, unf.

4. Fons Van Sambeek(NC State) d. Charlelie Cosnet(KEN) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1

5. Eli Stephenson(KEN) v Nikolay Nedelchev(NC State) 6-3, 6-7(1), 2-0 unf.

6. Jules Leroux(NC State) d. Matthew Rankin(KEN) 6-4, 6-2

Order of finish: 6, 1, 2, 4

The main draw matches at both sites will be streamed by Cracked Racquets.

ITA Division I Men's Team Indoor Championships Begin Friday at SMU and Baylor; Women Team Indoor All-Tournament Team Announced; Hance and Johnston Reach ITF J300 Paraguay Semifinals; Upsets Galore at J500 in Cairo

The above photo is from the elevator door of the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex on the campus of SMU, one of the many details that the Mustangs head coach Grant Chen has introduced to increase the visibility of the ITA Men's Team Indoor, one of Division I's two major team championships. SMU is one of two sites for this year's tournament, with first round and quarterfinal matches also being played at Baylor, before those two teams move to SMU for the semifinals and finals.

Today was media day, and due to the winter storm in the midwest, I decided to move up my arrival date, which allowed me to spend most of the day at the beautiful Ruth & Ken Altshuler indoor courts. The six Turpin Stadium outdoor courts were rarely in use; with temperatures in the low 40s all day, even the abundant sunshine made a hit outside uncomfortable.

All eight teams practiced indoors for two hours, then were escorted to the third level, which features a lounge and suites, where the ITA staff took head shots, produced video introductions to use in the Cracked Racquets streaming and asked the "dating game" style questions to pairs of teammates for use on CR and social media. The coaches also did their interviews, the officials began to filter in, and the Electronic Line Calling company Play Replay also has staff onsite to assist in that addition to the competition. 

Friday's schedule for SMU, with Mark Bey providing commentary on the Cracked Racquets YouTube channel. All times Central:

Virginia[2] v Michigan[7] 9 am

Texas[3] v Texas A&M[6] noon

Wake Forest[1] v SMU[8] 3:30 pm

Kentucky[4] v NC State[5] 6:30 pm

Friday's schedule for Baylor, with Alex Gruskin providing commentary on the Cracked Racquets YouTube channel.

Ohio State[2] v Central Florida[7] 9 am
Columbia[3] v Stanford[6] noon
Duke[4] v San Diego[5] 3:30 pm
TCU[1] v Baylor[8] 6:30 pm

Links to live streams and live scoring for all eight matches can be found at the ITA's tournament page.

The women's ITA Team Indoor Championships All-Tournament Team was announced today, with champion Georgia getting the nod in four singles of the six singles spot and two doubles of the three doubles spots. Click on the link above to see their results in the tournament.

Women's D-I Team Indoor All Tournament Team:

Singles:

1. Dasha Vidmanova, Georgia

2. Nicole Khirin, Texas A&M

3. Angella Okutoyi, Auburn

4. Aysegul Mert, Georgia

5. Guillermina Grant, Georgia

6. Sofia Rojas, Georgia

Doubles:

1. Dasha Vidmanova and Mell Reasco, Georgia

2. Susanna Maltby and Carson Tanguilig, North Carolina

3. Aysegul Mert and Hayden Mulberry, Georgia

I'll be completely occupied with men's Team Indoor coverage tomorrow, so here's the latest from two important ITF junior circuit events, which are into their semifinal stages.

At the ITF J300 Asuncion Bowl in Paraguay, Keaton Hance and Noah Johnston are through to the semifinals. Johnston, the No. 5 seed, advanced when Ivan Ivanov of Bulgaria retired down 1-0 in the first set. He will play No. 4 seed Yannick Theodor Alexandrescu of Romania, who beat No. 8 seed Yannik Alvarez of Puerto Rico 6-1, 6-4.

No. 6 Hance, who is now 12-1 in the last three J300 he's played in South America, defeated doubles partner Valentin Garay of Argentina, the No. 3 seed, 6-0, 6-2 to set up a meeting with wild card Romeo Arcuschin of Argentina. Arcuschin beat No. 2 seed and last week's Inka Bowl J300 champion Alejandro Arcila of Colombia 7-5, 6-2.

Hance is also through to the doubles finals, with Garay. The top seeds will face unseeded Thomas Miranda and Leonardo Storck Franca of Brazil for the title.

Thea Frodin, the No. 2 seed, lost in the quarterfinals today to unseeded Maia Ilinca Burcescu of Romania 6-2, 7-6(4), but is through to the doubles final, with partner Yoana Konstantinova of Bulgaria. The top seeds will face No. 4 seeds Anna Maria Fedotova of the Dominican Republic and Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi of Argentina in the final.

The highest seed still remaining at the J500 in Cairo is No. 3 seed Jacopo Vasami of Italy, with No. 7 seed Ludvig Hede of Sweden taking out top seed and J300 Cairo champion Alan Wazny of Poland 7-6(2), 0-6, 7-6(7) in today's quarterfinals to advance to a meeting with Vasami. In the bottom half, No. 9 seed Pierre Luigi Basile of Italy will play unseeded Savva Rybkin of Russia.

The four girls seeds in the semifinals are Nos. 9, 10, 11 and 12.
No. 9 seed Petra Konjikusic of Serbia defeated No. 1 seed Jana Kovackova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-4 to advance against No. 10 seed Nellie Taraba Wallberg of Sweden. No. 11 seed Rada Zolotareva of Russia will face No. 12 seed Charo Esquiva Banuls of Spain in the bottom half semifinal.