Virginia and Kentucky Meet for NCAA Men's Division I Title Sunday Afternoon; Texas Women Aim for Second Straight Title after Ousting Top Seed North Carolina; Oklahoma Reaches First Final

 The men's NCAA Division I final Sunday in Champaign might be an  unexpected one, with No. 8 Kentucky facing No. 7 Virginia, but no one can say they didn't earn those spots, after both posted impressive victories indoors Saturday at the Atkins Tennis Center at the University of Illinois. 

For the second consecutive match, Kentucky dropped the doubles point, but the Wildcats roared back to beat No. 4 seed Ohio State 4-1, sweeping the top four lines in singles to earn the program's first berth in the NCAA Team Championships final.

Ohio State took the doubles point in 30 minutes or less, but the Buckeyes couldn't carry over any momentum that may have provided. Kentucky had won the top four spots in singles against top seed TCU in the quarterfinals after losing the doubles point, so the Wildcats knew they could rebound, and that was demonstrated early, when Gabriel Diallo defeated Ohio State's Matej Vocel at line 2 by a dominating 6-3, 6-2 score. 

The teams had split first sets, meaning Kentucky needed to win at least one three-set match; the problem for Ohio State was their inability to close out any of the three matches where they had taken the first set. Kentucky's Liam Draxl at 1, Joshua Lapadat at 5 and JJ Mercer at 6 all forced third sets, while their teammates Millen Hurrion and Francois Musitelli closed out their matches at lines 3 and 4 in straight sets. Hurrion's 6-1, 6-2 victory at line 3 over JJ Tracy, who hadn't lost a match all year, was a particularly disheartening result for the Buckeyes.

By the time Musitelli and Draxl closed out their wins over Van Emburgh at line 4 and Kingsley at line 1, Kentucky led in the other two singles matches still in progress, putting an exclamation point on their singles domination.

After losing 4-0 to Ohio State in Columbus, a contest in which they won just one set in nine matches, Kentucky had its revenge on the biggest stage any of the Wildcats had performed on.

For more on the match, see this article from the Univeristy of Kentucky website.

NCAA D-I Men's Team Semifinals:
May 21, 2022
Champaign IL

Kentucky[8] d. Ohio State[4] 4-1

DOUBLES:
1. Matej Vocel/Robert Cash(Ohio State) d. Millen Hurrion/Francois Musitelli(Kentucky) 6-3
2. Andrew Lutschaunig/Justin Boulais(Ohio State) v Gabriel Diallo/Joshua Lapadat(Kentucky) 4-4 unfinished
3. Cannon Kingsley/JJ Tracy(Ohio State) d. Liam Draxl/Alexandre LeBlanc(Kentucky) 6-1

Order of finish: 3,1

SINGLES:

1. Liam Draxl(Kentucky) d. Cannon Kingsley(Ohio State) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2

2. Gabriel Diallo(Kentucky) d. Matej Vocel(Ohio State) 6-3, 6-2

3. Millen Hurrion(Kentucky) d. JJ Tracy(Ohio State) 6-1, 6-2

4. Francois Musitelli(Kentucky) d. Jake Van Emburgh(Ohio State) 6-4, 7-6(4)

5. Joshua Lapadat(Kentucky) v Justin Boulais(Ohio State) 3-6, 6-1, 5-0, unfinished

6. JJ Mercer(Kentucky) v Andrew Lutschaunig(Ohio State) 2-6, 7-6(3), 3-1, unfinished

Order of finish: 2,3,4,1

In the day's second semifinal, also played indoors due to storms in the area, Virginia won the doubles point from No. 6 seed Tennessee with as much ease as Ohio State had against Kentucky. But unlike the Buckeyes, the Cavaliers didn't struggle in singles, getting early breaks in most of the first sets, and ultimately taking all six sets in singles. That took some time, as five of the six first sets were 7-5 or 7-6, but Virginia won all of them, leaving virtually no path to a comeback for Tennessee.

It was Bar Botzer at line 6 and Inaki Montes at line 2 who closed out the match for the Cavaliers, with the rare simultaneous clinch giving them a 5-0 victory and their first trip to a team final since 2017.

Kentucky and Virginia met in late March in Lexington, with Virginia taking a 4-2 decision, although the only matchup that will be the same Sunday will be at No. 4, with both teams adjusting their lineups since then.

Virginia[7] d. Tennessee[6] 5-0

DOUBLES:

1. Adam Walton/Pat Harper(Tennessee) v Bar Botzer/Chris Rodesch(Virginia) 4-4, unfinished

2. Ryan Goetz/Inaki Montes(Virginia) d. Johannes Monday/Mark Wallner(Tennessee) 6-2

3. Gianni Ross/Jeffrey Von Der Schulenburg(Virginia) d. Johannus Monday/Mark Wallner 6-3

Order of finish: 3,2

SINGLES:

1. Chris Rodesch(Virginia) v Adam Walton(Tennessee) 7-5, 2-6, 2-0, unfinished

2. Inaki Montes(Virginia) v Johannus Monday(Tennessee) 7-6(3), 6-3

3. Jeffrey Von Der Schulenburg(Virginia) d. Emile Hudd(Tennessee) 7-5, 7-6(2)

4. Ryan Goetz(Virginia) v Shunsuke Mitsui(Tennessee) 7-6(4), 5-2 unfinished

5. Gianni Ross(Virginia) d. Angel Diaz(Tennessee) 6-1, 6-4

6. Bar Botzer(Virginia) d. Martim Prata(Tennessee) 7-5, 6-2

Order of finish: 5,3,2 and 6*

*simultaneous finish

The first women's semifinal between top seed North Carolina and No. 4 seed Texas was the only match to see any outdoor play on Saturday, but it didn't last. The doubles point and some first sets were completed but more rain sent the teams indoors and there was no attempt to return outdoors for the second women's semifinal.

Texas, the defending champions, won the doubles point, and the Longhorns asserted themselves at the top of the lineup, in contrast to their performance against Virginia in Friday's quarterfinal. Taking first sets at lines 1,2,3, Texas was in the driver's seat, with North Carolina needing to force at least one third set, while winning the three matches in which they took first sets.

Fiona Crawley got a quick point for North Carolina at line 4, beating Charlotte Chavatipon 6-0 6-4, while Texas countered with Sabina Zeynalova's 6-3, 6-3 victory over Reilly Tran at line 3.

Elizabeth Scotty got North Carolina the split it needed at line 2, but Texas's Allura Zamarippa earned a split at line 5. Cameron Morra had set points in the second against Peyton Stearns at line 1, but Stearns fought them off and closed out the Longhorns third point 6-2, 7-6(9).

Anika Yarlagadda, who had clinched UNC's 4-3 win over Pepperdine in the quarterfinals, defeated Vivian Ovrootsky 7-6(4), 6-4 at line 6 to cut Texas's lead to 3-2. Deep in the third sets of the remaining two matches at 2 and 5, Texas took break leads, with Zamarripa winning the battle of freshman over Carson Tanguilig 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-5 to put the Longhorns in the final for the second straight year.

CAA D-I Women's Team Semifinals:

May 21, 2022

Champaign IL

Texas[4] d. North Carolina[1] 4-2

DOUBLES:

1. Peyton Stearns/Allura Zamarripa(Texas) d. Fiona Crawley/Elizabeth Scotty(UNC) 6-3

2. Charlotte Chavatipon/Kylie Collins(Texas) d. Alle Sanford/Carson Tanguilig(UNC) 6-1

3. Sabina Zeynalova/Bella Zamarripa(Texas) v Cameron Morra/Reilly Tran(UNC) 5-4, unfinished

Order of finish: 2,1

SINGLES:

1. Peyton Stearns(Texas) d. Cameron Morra(UNC) 6-2, 7-6(9)

2. Kylie Collins(Texas) v Elizabeth Scotty(UNC) 6-3, 5-7, 5-3, unfinished 

3. Sabina Zeynalova(Texas) d. Reilly Tran(UNC) 6-3, 6-3

4. Fiona Crawley(UNC) d. Charlotte Chavatipon(Texas) 6-0, 6-4

5. Allura Zamarripa(Texas) d. Carson Tanguilig(UNC) 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-5

6. Anika Yarlagadda(UNC) d. Vivian Ovrootsky(Texas 7-6(4), 6-4

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

In the nightcap, which finished at 11:30 pm local time in Champaign, Oklahoma again got a clutch performance from freshman Emma Staker, who, for the second straight night, closed out a 4-3 victory at line 6.

Oklahoma won a close doubles point, but the singles started strangely, with three 6-0 sets. Eventually those matches got more competitive as both teams settled in. As in the earlier match, the teams split first sets, leaving the onus on Duke for a third-set victory, but ultimately, only one match went the distance, the Emma Staker-Eliza Omirou contest at line 6.

Georgia Drummy had pulled Duke even with a  6-0, 7-5 win over Carmen Corley at line 2, but Oklahoma retook the lead with Layne Sleeth's 6-0, 6-4 victory over Chloe Beck at line 1. A few minutes later, Emma Jackson gave Duke its second point, beating Ivana Corley 7-5, 6-3 at line 3. Oklahoma took the lead for the third time with Alexandra Pisareva's 6-1, 6-4 win over Ellie Coleman at line 5, but for the third time, Duke pulled even, when Kelly Chen defeated Dana Guzman 6-3, 7-5 at line 4.

By that time, Omirou had forced a third set at line 6, but Staker was up 2-0 in the third. After winning her match against Texas A&M in the quarterfinals Friday 6-4 in the third to clinch, Staker didn't need to bring quite that level against Omirou, who, less comfortable in that position than Staker, made unforced errors that you simply can't afford against the freshman from Tulsa. Staker showed no mercy, winning the match by the bizarre score of 6-0, 5-7, 6-0 to send her team into the program's first NCAA team final.

Texas and Oklahoma have already played three times this season, with Oklahoma winning 4-1 in the quarterfinals of the ITA Team Indoor and 4-3 in Norman during Big 12 conference play, two significant matches in the validation of the Sooners as one of top teams in the nation. Texas won their most recent meeting, claiming a 4-2 victory in the B12 conference tournament final.

Oklahoma[2] d. Duke[3] 4-3

DOUBLES:

1. Ivana Corley/Carmen Corley(Oklahoma) d. Georgia Drummy/Karolina Berankova(Duke) 6-3

2. Alexandra Pisareva/Layne Sleeth(Oklahoma) d. Chloe Beck/Ellie Coleman(Duke) 7-5

3. Margaryta Bilokin/Eliza Omirou(Duke) d. Dana Guzman/Emma Staker 6-2

Order of finish: 1,3,2

SINGLES:

1. Layne Sleeth(Oklahoma) d. Chloe Beck(Duke) 6-0, 6-4

2. Georgia Drummy(Duke) d. Carmen Corley(Oklahoma) 6-0, 7-5

3. Emma Jackson(Duke) d. Ivana Corley(Oklahoma) 7-5, 6-3

4. Kelly Chen(Duke) d. Dana Guzman(Oklahoma) 6-3, 7-5

5. Alexandra Pisareva(Oklahoma) d. Ellie Coleman(Duke) 6-1, 6-4

6. Emma Staker(Oklahoma) d. Eliza Omirou(Duke) 6-0, 5-7, 6-0

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

The men's final is scheduled for 4 pm EDT Sunday, with the women's final scheduled for 8 pm. The weather forecast is for cool temperatures but no rain, so both finals should be played outdoors.

For the live scoring and streaming links, see the University of Illinois tournament page.

Hovde and Basavareddy Reach ITF Grade A Trofeo Bonfiglio Finals, Basavareddy and Kim Win Doubles Title; Mesarovic Claims Second Straight ITF J3 Title, While Turley Sweeps J5 Titles Again; Kalieva Advances to Pelham $60K Final

With the NCAA Division I semifinals again expected to continue well into the night in Champaign, I'm again going to do a separate post about college tennis later tonight.

But there's much to report on the ITF Junior Circuit today, and on the USTA Pro Circuit, so let's look at those results now.

For the first time that I can remember (and I can't find full draws before 2008), two Americans have advanced to the singles finals of the ITF Grade A Trofeo Bonfiglio in Milan Italy. Actually I do remember the 2010 girls final between Beatrice Capra and Lauren Davis, but this is a finalist in both the girls and boys singles championship matches.

No. 5 seed Liv Hovde defeated No. 4 seed Lucie Havlickova of the Czech Republic 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 to advance to her first Grade A final. She will face No. 7 seed Celine Naef of Switzerland, who defeated No. 3 seed Ksenia Zaytseva of Russia 7-5, 6-2. Nael hasn't lost a set this week, while Hovde has needed to come back from a set down in her last two matches. Tommy Hemp has more on Hovde's win today at TennisUnderWorld.

No. 10 seed Nishesh Basavareddy defeated No. 8 seed Martin Landaluce of Spain, also coming from a set down for the second straight day, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Basavareddy will play top seed Daniel Vallejo of Paraguay, the reigning Orange Bowl champion, who beat unseeded Learner Tien 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Basavareddy and Aidan Kim, who were unseeded this week, won the boys doubles title, defeating the unseeded team of Mika Brunold of Switzerland and Liam Gavrielides of Germany 6-2, 6-4 in today's final. They didn't drop a set in any of their five victories this week.

The girls doubles title went to No. 2 seeds Lucija Ciric Bagaric of Croatia and Sofia Costoulas of Belgium. They defeated the fifth-seeded Slovakian team of Irina Balus and Nikola Daubnerova 6-4, 7-5 in today's final.

In other ITF Junior Circuit action this week, Marko Mesarovic won his second consecutive Grade 3 title in the Dominican Republic, again as the top seed. The 17-year-old from Texas, who has verbally committed to Clemson, defeated No. 2 seed Hoyoung Roh of Korea 6-1, 6-3 in today's final. Mesarovic also defeated Roh in last week's final. 

Seventeen-year-old Olivia Lincer, who recently changed from representing the United States to representing Poland, matched Mesarovic's feat almost exactly. Seeded No. 1, Lincer defeated No. 2 seed Monika Stankiewicz of Poland 6-3, 6-4 in today's final, having also beaten Stankiewicz to win the previous week's tournament. Lincer has verbally committed to Central Florida.

Mesarovic also won the doubles title, with Russian Daniil Sarksian. The top seeds defeated the unseeded team of Rafael Botran Neutze of Guatemala and Mason Dace of Great Britain 6-1, 6-1 in the final.

Vessa Turley also went back-to-back in the past two weeks at Grade 5s in the US Virgin Islands. The 15-year-old from Arizona, seeded No. 2, defeated Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev 6-1, 6-2 in the all-American girls singles final. Turley also won the doubles title for the second straight week, with the same partner, Kayla Brianne Moore. The top seeds defeated the unseeded team of Cisse-Ignatiev and Olivia Bustos, also of the United States, 6-4, 7-5 in the final. 

Playing in his first ITF Junior Circuit tournament, Alexander Sterin won the boys singles title, with the 17-year-old from Pennsylvania claiming it when qualifier Penghan Zhang of China retired trailing 6-4, 3-3. 

Sixteen-year-old Luca Benaibbouche won his second straight boys doubles title in the Virgin Islands, this time with Nicholas Steden of Mexico. The No. 3 seeds received a walkover from Zhang and his partner, Antonio Jose Chavez of Honduras in the final.

At the Grade 4 in Nicaragua, No. 2 seed Maria Araoz-Gosn won her first ITF Junior Circuit singles titles, with the 16-year-old defeating top seed Deborah Dominguez Collado of Guatemala 6-3, 6-0 in the final. 

Dominguez Collado and her American partner Aida Oviedo won the doubles title, with the top seeds beating No. 3 seeds Ika Raju Kanumuri of India and Jemima Williams-Phillips of Australia 6-2,  6-1 in the final.  

And finally, Violeta Martinez won the girls doubles title at the Grade 3 in Portugal. Martinez, a University of Illinois recruit, and her partner Ariana Geerlings of Spain, seeded No. 8, defeated No. 5 seeds Manal Ennaciri of Morocco and Nela Jandova of the Czech Republic 1-6, 6-1, 10-5 in the final.

On the USTA Pro Circuit, 18-year-old Elvina Kalieva has reached her second final at the $60,000 level, with the No. 2 seed defeating unseeded Erica Oosterhout(Harvard) 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-2 today in the semifinals of the tournament in Pelham Alabama. She will face top seed Maria Carle(Georgia) of Argentina, who beat No. 8 seed Ashlyn Krueger 6-3, 6-1 in the other semifinal.

Auburn teammates Ariana Arsenault of Canada and Carolyn Ansari won the doubles titles, with the unseeded pair defeating No. 3 seeds Reese Brantmeier and Kalieva 7-5, 6-1 in today's final.

At the $25,000 tournament in Naples Florida, No. 3 seed Kayla Day and top seed Ana Sofia Sanchez of Mexico will play for the title Sunday. Day defeated last week's Sarasota $25K champion Ellie Halbauer, the No. 8 seed, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in today's semifinals. Sanchez beat 18-year-old Hina Inoue 6-2, 6-2. 

Top seeds Anna Rogers(NC State) and Christina Rosca(Vanderbilt) won the doubles title, defeating No. 2 seeds Sanchez and her partner Rasheeda McAdoo(Georgia Tech) 6-1, 6-4 in the final. The pair, who did not drop a set this week, have won three $25K titles already this year, to go with the three titles they collected in 2021.

All Tough Battles, but Top Four Seeds Advance to Saturday's Women's NCAA Division I Semifinals

The men delivered in Thursday's quarterfinals, with three underdogs claiming victories in tense battles, both outdoors and indoors. Not to be outdone, the women also played nothing but compelling matches Friday, and although the favorites won them all, the margins were razor thin.

Top seed North Carolina defeated No. 8 seed Pepperdine 4-3, with the Waves nearly overcoming some of the worse luck of the tournament. Taisiya Pachkalev suffered a serious knee injury in the doubles and had to retire, which gave the Tar Heels the point, and because she was unable to play at her line 4 singles spot, the three players below her moved up a spot. 

But Pepperdine came out strong in singles, taking four first sets to put the pressure squarely on North Carolina. A quick win at line 1 for Janice Tjen and another fast one by Lisa Zaar at line three gave Pepperdine the lead for the first time, but Elizabeth Scotty drew North Carolina even with a victory at line 2.

So both teams needed two of the bottom three spots, all of which were now early in the third sets, as North Carolina's Carson Tanguilig and Anika Yarlagadda had come back at lines 5 and 6, and Pepperdine's Savannah Broadus had forced a third at 4.

Tanguilig made it 3-2 with a win over Vicky Flores, Broadus handed Fiona Crawley a rare loss, so the match came down to  line 6: Yarlagadda and Nikki Redelijk. Redelijk, who had not played in the Waves three previous NCAA wins with Pachkaleva in the lineup, fell behind early in the third and couldn't find a path to a comeback, with Yarlagadda taking the match 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.

North Carolina had lost to Pepperdine 4-3 in last year's semifinals.

NCAA D-I Women's Team Quarterfinals
May 20, 2022
Champaign IL

North Carolina[1] d. Pepperdine[8] 4-3

DOUBLES:
1. Fiona Crawley/Elizabeth Scotty(UNC) d. Lisa Zaar/Victoria Flores 6-1
2. Alle Sanford/Carson Tanguilig(UNC) v Savannah Broadus/Janice Tjen(Pepperdine) 4-3, unfinished
3. Cameron Morra/Reilly Tran(UNC) d. Taisiya Pachkaleva/Shiori Fukuda(Pepperdine) 4-1 ret, injury

Order of Finish: 1,3

SINGLES:

1. Janice Tjen(Pepperdine) d. Cameron Morra(UNC) 6-1, 6-3

2. Elizabeth Scotty(UNC) d. Shiori Fukuda(Pepperdine) 6-3, 6-4

3. Lisa Zaar(Pepperdine) d. Reilly Tran(UNC) 6-1, 6-2

4. Savannah Broadus(Pepperdine) d. Fiona Crawley(UNC) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3

5. Carson Tanguilig(UNC) d. Victoria Flores(Pepperdine) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

6. Anika Yarlagadda(UNC) d. Nikki Redelijk(Pepperdine) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2

Order of Finish: 1,3,2,5,4,6

In the day's second quarterfinal, also played indoors, No. 4 Texas held off No. 5 Virginia 4-2, despite winning only three games at lines 1 and 2 in singles. The defending champion Longhorns did have the doubles point, so when Virginia's Emma Navarro and Natasha Subhash cruised to victories in the top two spots, Texas had a little cushion and claimed the three first sets that could, and ultimately did, suffice.

With the highly anticipated match between No. 1 Emma Navarro and No. 2 Peyton Stearns not competitive, the drama had to come from the bottom of the lineup. After Texas's Charlotte Chavatipon tied it at 2 with a win at line 4, the last three matches were battles, but only one, at line 6, split. Sabina Zeynalova gave Texas its third point with a late break at line 3 and Allura Zamarripa clinched it with a win over Hibah Shaikh at line 5.

Texas[4] d. Virginia[5] 4-2

DOUBLES:

1. Emma Navarro/Hibah Shaikh(Virginia) d. Peyton Stearns/Allura Zamarripa(Texas) 6-2

2. Charlotte Chavatipon/Kylie Collins(Texas) d. Elaine Chervinsky/Natasha Subhash(Virginia) 6-3

3. Sabina Zeynalova/Bella Zamarripa(Texas) d. Sofia Munera/Amber O'Dell(Virginia) 6-3

Order of Finish: 1,3,2

SINGLES:

1. Emma Navarro(Virginia) d. Peyton Stearns(Texas) 6-1, 6-0

2. Natasha Subhash(Virginia) d. Kylie Collins(Texas) 6-2, 6-0

3. Sabina Zeynalova(Texas) d. Elaine Chervinsky(Virginia) 6-4, 7-5

4. Charlotte Chavatipon(Texas) d. Sofia Munera(Virginia) 6-4, 6-1

5. Allura Zamarripa(Texas) d. Hibah Shaikh(Virginia) 7-5, 6-4

6. Sara Ziodato(Virginia) v. Vivian Ovrootsky(Texas) 6-2, 5-7, 3-2, unfinished

Order of Finish: 1,2,4,3,5

The match between No. 2 seed Oklahoma and No. 7 seed Texas A&M also was played indoors, with strong winds, rather than rain, the primary reason for the adjustment in the day's schedule.

Texas A&M lost the doubles for just the third time this season, but like Pepperdine, the Aggies came out strong in singles, taking five first sets. Needing four of those, they couldn't afford to lose more than one of those matches, and Oklahoma's push was certain to come at some point. 

Texas A&M took the lead by closing out wins from Mary Stoiana at line 3 and Jayci Goldsmith at line 4. Oklahoma responded with Layne Sleeth's win at line 1, then Texas A&M took the lead with a win from Gianna Pielet at line 5. Texas A&M had won the first sets in the two matches remaining at line 2 with Tatiana Makarova and line Jeanette Mireles at line 6, but Carmen Corley and Emma Staker fought back. Corley made it 3-3 with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Makarova, so all eyes turned to line 6, where Staker had taken a 3-1 lead in the third set. She couldn't hold it, losing a deciding point on her serve to make it 3-3, but the freshman from Tulsa immediately broke on a deciding point to take a 4-3 lead and held for 5-3. The level of play from both freshmen was outstanding throughout, under any circumstances, let along the pressure of deciding a spot in the Final Four, and they continued to play both great offense and great defense, with long points the norm. Mireles held for 5-4, forcing Staker to serve it out. Mireles saved the first match point with a sizzling forehand winner, but couldn't save the second, netting a backhand to end the four hour and nine minute contest.

Oklahoma[2] d. Texas A&M[7] 4-3

DOUBLES:

1. Ivana Corley/Carmen Corley(Oklahoma) d. Jayci Goldsmith/Tatiana Makarova(Texas A&M) 6-3

2. Carson Branstine/Mary Stoiana(Texas A&M) d. Alexandra Pisareva/Layne Sleeth(Oklahoma) 6-3

3. Dana Guzman/Emma Staker(Oklahoma) d. Renee McBryde/Gianna Pielet(Texas A&M) 7-5

Order of Finish: 1,2,3

SINGLES:

1. Layne Sleeth(Oklahoma) d. Carson Branstine(Texas A&M) 6-2, 6-3

2. Carmen Corley(Oklahoma) d. Tatiana Makarova(Texas A&M) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3

3. Mary Stoiana(Texas A&M) d. Ivana Corley(Oklahoma) 6-2, 6-1

4. Jayci Goldsmith(Texas A&M) d. Dana Guzman(Oklahoma) 6-4, 6-2

5. Gianna Pielet(Texas A&M) d. Alexandra Pisareva(Oklahoma) 6-2, 6-3

6. Emma Staker(Oklahoma) d. Jeanette Mireles(Texas A&M) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

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

While that match was coming to its dramatic conclusion, the final quarterfinal between No. 3 Duke and No. 6 North Carolina State began outdoors. The winds had subsided enough to allow outdoor play and given the nearly four-hour duration of Duke's 4-3 win, it was fortunate that was possible.

Duke, who beat NC State 4-3 in Raleigh early this spring, took the doubles point from the Wolfpack, which they did not do in that previous meeting. As with the other teams who dropped the doubles point today, NC State started strong in singles, taking four first sets, and Priska Nugroho put them on the board with a quick victory at line 3. But the top of Duke's lineup asserted itself, with Georgia Drummy winning at line 2 and Chloe Beck coming back from a set down to post a win at the top spot. At 3-1 Duke, there was no clear path for either team, and the 4, 5 and 6 spots all went to third sets. NC State's Rajecki closed the gap to 3-2 with a comeback win at line 5, but they still needed the last two matches on court. Duke's Kelly Chen went up early over Nell Miller in the third set at line 4, and Blue Devil Eliza Omirou, who had not played in the previous two NCAA matches, was up several times in the third set at line 6, including serving for the match at 5-4 and 6-5.  But Omirou couldn't close out Sophie Abrams, sending that match to a tiebreaker, while Chen saw four match points go begging serving for it at 5-1 in the third against Miller.

Chen managed to break Miller to secure the win, but not before Abrams had secured the Wolfpack's third point in a tiebreaker.

Duke will be seeking revenge over Oklahoma, who traveled to Durham for Kickoff Weekend and beat the Blue Devils 4-2, keeping them from competing in the National Team Indoor Championships.

Duke[3] d. NC State[6] 4-3

DOUBLES:

1. Georgia Drummy/Karolina Berankova(Duke) d. Jaeda Daniel/Nell Miller(NC State) 6-4

2. Amelia Rajecki/Abigail Rencheli(NC State) d. Chloe Beck/Ellie Coleman(Duke) 6-2

3. Margaryta Bilokin/Eliza Omirou(Duke) d. Sophie Abrams/Priska Nugroho(NC State) 6-3

Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3

SINGLES:

1. Chloe Beck(Duke) d. Jaeda Daniel(NC State) 1-6, 6-1, 6-4

2. Georgia Drummy(Duke) d. Abigail Rencheli(NC State) 7-5, 6-2

3. Priska Nugroho(NC State) d. Emma Jackson(Duke) 6-3, 6-2

4. Kelly Chen(Duke) v Nell Miller(NC State) 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-2

5. Amelia Rajecki(NC State) d. Ellie Coleman(Duke) 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-2

6. Sophie Abrams(NC State) d. Eliza Omirou(Duke) 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(3) 

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

The schedule for Saturday is for all four semifinals, beginning with the men.

Ohio State[4] will play Kentucky[8] at 11 am EDT, with rain in the forecast. Tennessee[6] and Virginia[7] are scheduled for 2 pm.

North Carolina[1] and Texas are the 5 pm match, with Duke and Oklahoma scheduled for 8 pm.

See the Illinois tournament website for links to live streaming and scoring.

No Ranking Points at Wimbledon This Year, Including for Juniors; Hovde, Basavareddy and Tien Reach Semifinals at ITF Grade A in Milan; Fratangelo and Baptiste Qualify for Roland Garros Main Draw; Scholarship to Honor Kevin Minor, Who Died Suddenly This Week

Because the NCAA women's quarterfinals are expected to go late, as the men's did last night, I'm doing two posts today, with this one on all the other news, significant as it is. 

The ATP, WTA and ITF announced today that they would be withholding ranking points from Wimbledon this year, due to the tournament's decision to ban players from Belarus and Russia from competing. In the case of the ITF, that means that the Junior Championships, scheduled to take place from July 2-July 10, will not award points for the singles and doubles competitions.

The entries for the Junior Championships don't close until June 7, so it remains to be seen if this will keep players from signing up, or ultimately participating; those in their final year of juniors who have not played it before may still want the experience, while those that competed last year may decide to compete in lower level tournaments closer to home that do offer ATP and WTA points. As of now, the tournament still appears on the ITF Junior Circuit calendar, but I'm not sure it will remain there.

Wimbledon's response to the announcement from these three entities can be found here.

In more positive junior news, three Americans have advanced to the semifinals of the ITF Grade A in Milan, with Liv Hovde and Nishesh Basavareddy both taking out the No. 2 seeds.

Hovde, the No. 5 seed, defeated Diana Shnaider of Russia 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Tommy Hemp has a detailed report on the match at TennisUnderworld. Hovde's opponent in the semifinals is No. 4 seed Lucie Havlickova of the Czech Republic. The top half semifinal will feature No. 7 seed Celine Naef of Switzerland and No. 3 seed Ksenia Zaytseva of Russia.

No. 10 seed Basavareddy had beaten No. 2 seed Gonzalo Bueno of Peru 6-0, 6-1 in the final of the Grade 1 in Brazil in February; today's match was not as straightforward, but Basavareddy earned the 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-1 victory to move into the semifinals against No. 8 seed Martin Landaluce of Spain.

Unseeded Learner Tien continued his impressive run this week on the Italian red clay, defeating No. 9 seed Lautaro Midon of Argentina 4-6, 6-3, 6-0. Tien will face top seed Daniel Vallejo of Paraguay in Saturday's semifinals.

Hemp also has an analysis of Tien's win, and as a bonus for  college tennis fans, a glowing report on Oklahoma recruit Anastasiya Lopata of Ukraine, who lost today to Zaytseva.

Hovde and Qavia Lopez, the top seeds, lost in the girls doubles semifinals today; Basavareddy and Aidan Kim advanced to Saturday's boys doubles final with a 7-5, 6-0 win over Nicholas Godsick and Ethan Quinn. Basavareddy and Kim, who are unseeded, will face Mika Brunold of Switzerland and Liam Gavrielides of Germany, also unseeded, for the title. 

Two of the 24 Americans who competed in the Roland Garros qualifying have advanced to the main draw: Bjorn Fratangelo and Hailey Baptiste. Fratangelo, who also qualified for the main draw in Paris last year, defeated Nino Serdarusic of Croatia 7-5, 6-4 in today's final round. He has been drawn against No. 11 seed Jannik Sinner of Italy in the first round.

Baptiste, the No. 17 seed in qualifying, defeated 2021 Wimbledon girls finalist Nastasja Schunk of Germany 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 in today's final round of qualifying. Baptiste, who also qualified last year, will play Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine in the first round.  Christina McHale lost to Valentini Grammatikopoulou of Greece 6-3, 6-3.

The Roland Garros men's and women's singles draws feature 16 US women and 15 US men, which prompted this press release from the USTA:

American Tennis Leads All Nations with 31 Players Competing in French Open Singles Main Draws

 

Seven U.S. Men Seeded is Most for Any Nation at a Major Since 2015

 

Thirty-one Americans are set to compete in the singles main draws at the French Open beginning next week -- 16 women and 15 men -- leading all nations in total players and seeded players competing on both the men's and women's sides.

 

The 15 American men in the singles main draw this year is the most since 19 in 1995. This is the third consecutive year 13 or more American men are playing in the French Open singles main draw, the first time for those numbers over a three-year span since 1994-96.

 

The 16 women marks the eighth year in a row 16 or more Americans have featured in the women's main draw at Roland Garros.

 

Seven American men and five American women are seeded, both numbers that lead all nations. 

 

The seven seeded men is the highest number of American seeds in the men's draw at Roland Garros since Grand Slams began seeding 32 players after the 2001 French Open. The previous high was four, set in 2003 and 2017. The last time the French Open actually had seven American men's seeds in singles was 1982, when Grand Slams had 16 seeds.

 

The seven American men seeded are also the most for any country at a Grand Slam event since seven Spaniards were seeded at 2015 Roland Garros.

 

This continues the consistent upward trend of American tennis, most recently on the men's side. As of the May 16 ATP rankings, the U.S. led all nations with 13 players ranked in the Top 100 and eight in the Top 50, ahead of Spain's seven. Eight of those Americans in the Top 100 are also age 25 or younger, ahead of Spain's five.

 

The U.S. continues to lead all nations in players ranked in the WTA Top 100, with 12. 

 

Said USTA Player and Coach Development GM Martin Blackman: 

 

"Over the last 13 years, the USTA's Player Development team has worked in a strong and coordinated three-way partnership with the private sector and the 17 USTA Sections. We realized at the beginning of this project back in 2008, that we could only be successful if we worked through this partnership to create a developmental pathway and a cultural unity in Team USA that recognized and respected the critical role that our great American private sector coaches play in junior development.

 

"In order to do that we relied on the knowledge, expertise and passion of Section staff for Player Development in all 17 Sections. Their leadership ensured that our pathway could be customized at the Sectional and Regional level, recognizing the fact that every city and state is different. It's been an amazing journey and the continuity over the last 13 years is bearing more and more fruit every year."

Kevin Minor, the father of Kristina, Jasmine and Brienne, unexpectedly passed away early this week, with the funeral set for Saturday in Hoffman Estates Illinois. The family has established a scholarship in his name for junior players in the Chicago area. If you would like to donate, please visit the Kevin Minor Legacy Scholarship page at gofundme.com.

For a look at the parental support that surrounded the Minor sisters, all of whom played Division I college tennis, see this recent article, focused on journalist Jasmine, at usta.com.

Top Seed TCU, No. 3 Seed Baylor Fall in NCAA D-1 Quarterfinals; Three Americans Reach Quarterfinals at ITF Grade A in Milan; Teens Move into Quarterfinals at USTA Pro Circuit Tournaments in Pelham and Naples

The NCAA Division I men's quarterfinals got off to a rousing start today in Champaign, with top seed TCU and No. 3 seed Baylor both dropping 4-3 decisions to SEC teams. After all eight of the top seeds advanced to the quarterfinals with Super Regional victories at home last weekend, upsets had become distant memories, but they returned in full force today at the Atkins Tennis Center at the University of Illinois.

Kentucky, the No. 8 seed, dropped the doubles point to TCU, but the Wildcats had experience in that scenario, after also losing the doubles point in the Super Regional to no. 8 seed Wake Forest. TCU got the three first sets they needed, but Kentucky forced a third set at line two and managed to secure the only other match that went to three sets at line 4. It came down to Gabriel Diallo of Kentucky and Juan Carlos Aguilar at that No. 2 spot, with Diallo closing out the Wildcats first trip to the Final Four with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory, having swept the top four spots in the lineup.

NCAA D-I Men's Team Quarterfinals

May 20, 2022

Champaign IL

Kentucky[8] d. TCU[1] 4-3 

DOUBLES
1. Millen Hurrion/Francois Musitelli(Kentucky) v. Luc Fomba/Jake Fearnley(TCU) 5-3, unfinished

2. Sander Jong/Lui Maxted(TCU) d. Gabriel Diallo/Joshua Lapadat(Kentucky) 6-3

3. Juan Carlos Aguilar/Pedro Vives(TCU) d. Liam Draxl/Alexandre LeBlanc(Kentucky) 6-3

Order of Finish: 2,3

SINGLES

1. Liam Draxl(Kentucky) d. Luc Fomba(TCU) 6-3, 6-4  

2. Gabriel Diallo(Kentucky) d. Juan Carlos Aguilar(TCU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 

3. Millen Hurrion(Kentucky) d. Sander Jong(TCU) 6-3, 6-4

4. Francois Musitelli(Kentucky) d. Jake Fearnley(TCU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4

5. Pedro Vives(TCU) d. Joshua Lapadat(Kentucky) 7-5, 6-3

6. Tomas Jirousek(TCU) d. JJ Mercer(Kentucky) 6-1, 6-1

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

Tennessee's win over Baylor was equally as close, with the Volunteers, trailing 3-2 winning the last two matches on, at lines 1 and 4, to earn the victory. 

Tennessee won the doubles point, making their path a little easier than Kentucky's but with three matches going deep into third sets, it was a tossup until the last point was played.

Baylor got the four first sets it needed to envision a comeback, but couldn't hold off Adam Walton at line 1 and Shunsuke Mitsui at line 4. Walton got a late break of Adrian Boitan, one of Baylor's most reliable points all season, to take a 6-5 lead in the third set and closed it out just as Mitsui was breaking Finn Bass at line 4 and preparing to serve for the semifinals. Mitsui won the 30-all point, with Bass missing a volley attempt, giving himself two chances to close it out. Bass connected on a volley on the first match point, and had a second serve to look at on the deuce point, but it was deep in the box and he was unable to get it back in play, giving Tennessee its second win over Baylor this year, and revenge for their semifinal loss to the Bears at last year's NCAAs.

Tennessee[6] d. Baylor[3] 4-3

DOUBLES

1. Sven Lah/Fin Bass(Baylor) d. Adam Walton/Pat Harper(Tennessee) 6-1

2. Emile Hudd/Shunsuke Mitsui(Tennessee) d. Matias Soto/Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi(Baylor) 6-1.

3. Mark Wallner/Johannus Monday(Tennessee) d. Adrian Boitan/Tadeas Paroulek(Baylor) 6-4

Order of Finish: 1,2,3

SINGLES

1. Adam Walton(Tennessee) d. Adrian Boitan(Baylor) 3-6, 6-1, 7-5

2. Matias Soto(Baylor) d. Johannus Monday(Tennessee) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3

3. Emile Hudd(Tennessee) d. Sven Lah(Baylor) 7-6(3), 6-3

4. Shunsuke Mitsui(Tennessee) d. Finn Bass(Baylor) 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4

5. Tadeas Paroulek(Baylor) d. Angel Diaz(Tennessee) 6-2, 6-4

6. Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi(Baylor) d. Pat Harper(Tennessee) 6-1, 6-2

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

The two late quarterfinals are just beginning right now, but I will update this post later tonight with a brief recap and the box scores.

A lightning delay that turned into a rain delay sent the Ohio State and Michigan quarterfinal indoors with Michigan having claimed the doubles point from the Buckeyes outdoors. Ohio State had gained some momentum in singles outdoors, going up in first sets in five of the six matches, so the rain did not come at a good time for them, but they picked up where they left off.

With no scoring available inside, it was difficult to follow what was happening, but in the end, Ohio State was able to earn four straight-sets victories to earn a 4-2 decision, avenging their most recent loss to Michigan in the Big Ten conference tournament final.

On Saturday, Ohio State will play Kentucky for a spot in the final.

Ohio State[4] d. Michigan[5] 4-2

DOUBLES

1. Matej Vocel/Robert Cash(Ohio State) v Nino Ehrenschneider/Andrew Fenty(Michigan) 5-5, unfinished

2. Patrick Maloney/Nick Beaty(Michigan) d. Andrew Lutschaunig/Justin Boulais(Ohio State) 6-2

3. Ondrej Styler/Jacob Bickersteth(Michigan) d. Cannon Kingsley/JJ Tracy(Ohio State) 6-4

Order of Finish: 2,3

SINGLES

1. Cannon Kingsley(Ohio State) d. Ondrej Styler(Michigan) 6-4, 6-4

2. Matej Vocel(Ohio State) v Patrick Maloney(Michigan) 6-1, 5-7, 3-2, unfinished

3. JJ Tracy(Ohio State) d. Andrew Fenty(Michigan) 6-2, 6-2

4. Andrew Bickersteth(Michigan) d. Jake Van Emburgh(Ohio State) 6-3, 6-3 

5. Justin Boulais(Ohio State) d. Nino Ehrenschneider(Michigan) 6-2, 6-3

6. Andrew Lutschaunig(Ohio State) d. Nick Beaty(Michigan) 7-6(), 6-4

Order of Finish: 3,5,1,4,6

In a match that finished after 1:25 am Eastern time, defending champion Florida became the day's third upset victim, falling to No. 7 seed Virginia 4-1. Florida lost the doubles point for the first time in 21 matches before the lightning and rain delay and with a 11:45 pm EDT resumption time, outdoors, there was plenty of time for the Gators to regroup. No. 7 seed Virginia was not deterred by the interruption however, as the Cavaliers took three first sets and kept the pressure on the No. 2 seeds. Florida pulled even with Andy Andrade's win at line 4, but Virginia began to pull away with straight-sets wins by Inaki Montes at line 2 and Gianni Ross at line 5. Florida got the split they needed from Josh Goodger at line 6, but Virginia got a split at line 3 and that was the match that ended Florida's NCAA winning streak, with Jeffrey Von Der Schulenburg defeating Duarte Vale 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-3.

Virginia will play No. 6 seed Tennessee in the semifinals Saturday.

Virginia[7] d. Florida[2] 4-1 

DOUBLES

1. Bar Botzer/Chris Rodesch(Virginia) d. Sam Riffice/Ben Shelton 6-4

2. Ryan Goetz/Inaki Montes(Virginia) d. Mattias Siimar/Andy Andrade 7-6(3)

3. Duarte Vale/Nate Bonetto(Florida) d. Gianni Ross/Jeffrey Von Der Schulenburg(Virgina) 6-1

Order of Finish: 3,1,2,4

SINGLES

1. Ben Shelton(Florida) v Chris Rodesch(Virginia) 7-6(10), 5-7, unfinished

2. Inaki Montes(Virginia) d, Sam Riffice(Florida) 7-5, 6-4

3. Jeffrey Von Der Schulenburg(Virginia) d. Duarte Vale(Florida) 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-3

4. Andy Andrade(Florida) d. Ryan Goetz(Virginia) 6-3, 6-4

5. Gianni Ross(Virginia) d. Mattias Siimar(Florida) 7-5, 7-5

6. Josh Goodger(Florida) v Bar Botzer(Virginia) 3-6, 6-3, 6-5, unfinished

Order of Finish: 4,2,5,3

It has been difficult following the matches today, with no sound and no scoring boxes on the TennisONE live stream, but both TennisONE and the NCAA have promised that they are working on getting those items working.

See the University of Illinois tournament site for the links to the live scoring, which is working properly most of the time.

Also, due to the forecast of high winds for Friday, the schedule for the women's matches has been altered dramatically, with UNC vs Pepperdine at 11 am (all times EDT), Texas vs Virginia at 2 pm, Texas A&M vs Oklahoma at 5 pm and Duke at NC State at 8 pm. This change allows all matches to be played indoors if necessary.

The ITF Junior Circuit website did not update today's third round singles and quarterfinal doubles action today at the Grade A in Milan, but I am told by Tommy Hemp that it wasn't weather related and he supplied me with the results from today's matches, which are below. As you can see, three Americans remain in contention for the singles title. UPDATE: I've been directed to Tennis Ticker (or this site: https://www.trofeobonfiglio.com/risultati/) for live scores.

Top seeds Liv Hovde and Qavia Lopez have advanced to the girls doubles semifinals and an American boys team is guaranteed to be in the final, with Nishesh Basavareddy and Aidan Kim taking on Ethan Quinn and Nicholas Godsick in the boys doubles semifinals Friday.

Hemp was unable to attend today's matches but will be there for the quarterfinals Friday, so look for his post tomorrow.

Third round scores ITF Grade A Trofeo Bonfiglio Milan:

Daniel Vallejo[1](PAR) d. Jonah Braswell(USA) 6-3, 6-3

Dino Prizmic[5](CRO) d. Ethan Quinn 6-4, 6-0

Learner Tien(USA) d. Vilius Gaubas(LTU) 7-5, 6-2

Lautaro Midon[9](ARG) d. Connor Henry Van Schalkwyk(NAM) 6-3, 6-3

Martin Landaluce[8](ESP) d. Michael Zheng 1-6, 6-3, 7-5

Edas Butvilas(LTU)[4] d. Peter Privara[14](SVK) 6-3, 6-4

Nishesh Basavareddy[10](USA) d. Bor Artnak[7](SLO) 6-0, 6-3

Gonzalo Bueno[2](PER) d. Gerard Campana Lee[16](KOR) 6-7(4), 6-0, 7-6(6)

Taylah Preston(AUS) d. Sofia Costoulas[1](BEL) 7-5, 7-5

Celine Naef[7](SUI) d. Irina Balus(SVK) 6-2, 6-4

Ksenia Zaytseva[3](RUS) d. Johanne Svendsen[14](DEN) 6-2, 7-5

Anastasiya Lopata(UKR) d. Aya El Aouni(MAR) 6-3, 6-3

Mira Andreeva[9](RUS) d. Raquel Gonzalez Vilar 6-3, 3-6, 6-0

Lucie Havlickova[4](CZE) d. Luca Udvardy[13](HUN) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4

Liv Hovde[5](USA) d. Hanne Vandewinkel[10](BEL) 6-0, 6-3

Diana Shnaider[2](RUS) d. Alina Korneeva(RUS) 6-2, 6-1

Teenagers continued to take advantage of their opportunities at the two USTA Women's Pro Circuit events this week, with three teens in the quarterfinals at the $25,000 tournament in Naples Florida and four in the quarterfinals at the $60,000 tournament in Pelham Alabama.

Wild card Sonya Macavei defeated No. 4 seed YeXin Ma of China 6-4, 6-4; Hina Inoue beat Christina Rosca(Vanderbilt) 7-5, 6-3, and wild card Alexis Blokhina defeated No. 7 seed Sina Herrmann of Germany 6-4, 6-3 in Naples.

In Pelham, No. 2 seed Elvina Kalieva beat qualifier Carolyn Ansari(Auburn) 6-4, 6-3; No. 7 seed Katrina Scott defeated qualifier Rhiannon Newborn 6-2, 6-1; No. 8 seed Ashlyn Krueger beat Michaela Bayerlova(Washington State) of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-3 and Jana Kolodynska of Belarus took out No. 5 seed Ellie Douglas(TCU) 6-4, 6-0.

Tien, Zheng and Braswell Defeat Seeds to Advance to Third Round at Milan Grade A; Three Americans Reach Final Round of Qualifying at Roland Garros; Five Teens Advance to Second Round at Pelham $60K; Men's D-I Team Quarterfinals on Tap Thursday in Champaign

The round of 16 is set for the ITF Grade A Trofeo Bonfiglio in Milan, with five boys from the United States through on the Italian red clay.

Sixteen-year-old Learner Tien, playing in Europe for the first time since Bolton/Les Petits As in 2019, pulled off the biggest upset of the day, defeating No. 3 seed and future Georgia Bulldog Ignacio Buse of Chile 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3. Tien will face unseeded Vilius Gaubas of Lithuania in Thursday's third round. Future Florida Gator Jonah Braswell defeated No. 13 seed Yaroslav Demin of Russia 6-4, 6-2 to advance in a Grade A for the first time, and will play top seed and Orange Bowl champion Daniel Vallejo of Paraguay on Thursday. Michael Zheng won a tough match over No. 12 seed Gilles Arnaud Bailly, younger brother of University of Texas star Pierre-Yves Bailly, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4. Zheng's opponent in the third round is No. 8 seed Martin Landaluce of Spain.

The only US boy seeded, No. 10 Nishesh Basavareddy, defeated Lennon Roark of Japan 6-1, 6-3 and will face No. 7 seed Bor Artnak of Slovenia in Thursday's third round.  Ethan Quinn, who won his second round match Tuesday, will play No. 5 seed Dino Prizmic of Croatia, who beat qualifier Alexander Razeghi 6-2, 6-1. 

No. 5 seed Liv Hovde is the only US girl remaining, after qualifier Iva Jovic lost to No. 10 seed Hanne Vandewinkel of Belgium 6-0, 6-4. 

Tommy Hemp watched the victory by No. 2 seed Diana Schnaider of Russia today and gives his thoughts on her game in this TennisUnderWorld post.

Hovde and Qavia Lopez, the No. 1 seeds, have advanced to the doubles quarterfinals, as have Quinn and Nicholas Godsick and Basavareddy and Aidan Kim. 

Three Americans have advanced to the final round of qualifying at Roland Garros, with Hailey Baptiste, Christina McHale and Bjorn Fratangelo winning their second round matches today. Baptiste, the No. 17 seed, defeated Julia Grabher of Austria 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 and will face 2021 Wimbledon girls finalist Nastasja Schunk of Germany for a spot in the main draw. McHale defeated Carolina Alves of Brazil 7-6(4), 6-2 today and will play Valentini Grammatikopoulou of Greece in the final round. Those matches are Friday.

Fratangelo, the 2011 boys champion at Roland Garros, defeated Juan Pablo Ficovich of Argentina 6-1, 6-2 and will play Nino Serdarusic in the final round of qualifying, also on Friday.

Former collegians into the final round of qualifying are Nuno Borges[20](Mississippi State) of Portugal, Borna Gojo(Wake Forest) of Croatia, Alexander Ritschard(Virginia) of Switzerland and Fernanda Contreras(Vanderbilt) of Mexico.

Two young French wild cards have made the final round of qualifying: 18-year-old Sean Cuenin, who was one of the four French semifinalists in the boys tournament last year, and 18-year-old Oceane Babel, who took out No. 8 seed Ekaterine Gorgodze of Georgia 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 today. She will face 19-year-old Oksana Selekhmeteva of Russia, who reached the semifinals of the girls singles at Roland Garros last year. 

Seventeen-year-old Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic, who won the girls Roland Garros title last year, is also through to the final round of qualifying.

Draws can be found here.

Five teenagers advanced to the second round of the $60,000 USTA Women's Pro Circuit tournament in Pelham Alabama today: No. 2 seed Elvina Kalieva defeated Jasmin Jebawy of Germany 6-2, 6-0; No. 8 seed Ashlyn Krueger defeated wild card Alexa Graham 6-1, 6-4; No. 7 seed Katrina Scott beat qualifier Ariana Arsenault(Auburn) of Canada 6-2, 6-1 and South Carolina recruit McKenna Schaefbauer beat fellow wild card Jenna Thompson(Clemson) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. 19-year-old Jana Kolodynska of Belarus is the only international teen of that group. The two-time Orange Bowl finalist defeated qualifier Joelle Kissell(NC State) 6-3, 6-2.

At the $25,000 USTA Women's Pro Circuit tournament in Naples Florida, 18-year-old Sonya Macavei defeated fellow wild card Kelly Marie Richter of Germany 6-2, 6-2; other teens advancing are Hina Inoue, Gabriella Price and Alexa Blokhina, who won her first round match yesterday.

The NCAA Division I men's quarterfinals get underway Thursday afternoon in Champaign Illinois, with No. 1 seed TCU versus No. 8 Kentucky and No. 4 seed Ohio State versus No. 5 seed Michigan scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. EDT. 

The late matches, scheduled for 8 p.m. EDT, feature No. 3 seed Baylor versus No. 6 seed Tennessee and No. 2 seed Florida versus No. 7 seed Virginia.

See the Illinois tournament website for links to the live scoring and live streaming, which will be delivered via the TennisONE app. Commentary by Mike Cation and Alex Gruskin will begin with Saturday's semifinals.