Leach Changes College Commitment to Stanford; Atawo Named Purdue Women's Head Coach; Three USTA Pro Circuit Tournaments This Week; Spizzirri Advances in Roland Garros Qualifying; Defending Champion Chicago Falls in D-III Women's Quarterfinals

Rumors were flying at the NCAAs this year suggesting that Jagger Leach, currently No. 5 in the ITF junior rankings, had de-committed from TCU. Those rumored were confirmed today when Parsa Nemati announced that the nation's No. 1 recruit had signed with Stanford for this fall.

Leach is currently competing in the ITF J500 in Milan, where he is the second seed, advancing to the second round with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 win over Italian wild card Edoardo Cecchetti. Leach is scheduled to the J300 in Belgium and the Roland Garros Junior Championships the next two weeks. 

In other college tennis news, Raquel Atawo, who has spent the last four seasons as head coach at Washington State, was announced as the new women's head coach at Purdue Monday. Atawo, who was a five-time All-American at Cal as Raquel Kops-Jones, went on to a stellar career on the WTA Tour, reaching the Top 10 in doubles, while advancing to the semifinals in women's doubles twice at Wimbledon and once at the Australian Open.  Atawo, 42, replaces Laura Glitz, who was the Boilermakers head coach for 18 seasons.

Three USTA Pro Circuit tournaments are on this week's schedule, with men's and women's $25,000 tournaments in Orlando and a women's W50 in Pelham Alabama.

The qualifying is still going on in Orlando, but it's complete in Pelham, where four Americans have advanced to the main draw: veteran Madison Brengle, Illinois rising senior McKenna Schaefbauer, Kallista Liu(Maryland) and Salma Ewing(USC, Texas A&M). 

Elvina Kalieva is the top seed, with Anna Rogers(NC State) the No. 2 seed. Wild cards were given to Tori Kinard, 15-year-old Maggie Sohns and Auburn rising senior DJ Bennett. Both Sohns and Bennett played their first round matches today, with Bennett lsoing 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 to Haley Giavara(Cal) and Sohns falling to No. 6 seed Victori Hu(Princeton) 6-3, 6-2. 

At the W35 in Orlando, Jenny Durest of Switzerland is the top seed, with Katrina Scott, a wild card, the No. 2 seed. The other three wild cards were given to juniors: Bella Payne, Olivia Traynor and Capucine Jauffret. Payne and Traynor were draw to play each other. 

The top seed at the M25 in Orlando is Santiago Rodriguez Taverna of Argentina, with 1999 NCAA singles champion Paul Jubb(South Carolina) the No. 2 seed. Wild cards were given to Florida State rising senir Corey Craig, Michigan State rising sophomore and 2024 Kalamazoo 18s champion Matthew Forbes, Evan Bynoe and 17-year-old Gavin Goode. 

At Roland Garros, four more Americans advanced to Wednesday's second round of qualifying, with former Texas All-American Eliot Spizzirri among them. Below are today's results and Wednesday's matchups for the nine Americans through to the second round.

Tuesday's first round qualifying matches:

Michael Mmoh d. Calvin Hemery(FRA) 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-3

Jurji Rodionov(AUT) d. Christopher Eubanks[9] 7-6(4), 6-3

Sumit Nagal(IND) d. Mitchell Krueger 6-1, 6-1

Eliot Spizzirri[15] d. Hugo Grenier(FRA) 7-6(8), 4-6, 7-6(6)

Astra Sharma(AUS) d. Emina Bektas 6-0, 6-0 

Taylor Townsend[5] d. Sara Saito(JPN) 7-6(1), 7-6(6)

Hanna Chang d. Leonie Kung(SUI) 6-4, 6-0

Tuesday's second round qualifying matches featuring Americans:

Vavara Lepchenko[16] v Jana Fett(CRO)

Taylor Townsend[6] v Hanna Chang

Tristan Boyer[16] v Vilius Gabuas(LTU)

Zachary Svajda v Matteo Gigante(ITA)

Eliot Spizzirri[15] v Giulio Zeppieri(ITA)

Ethan Quinn[11] v Bernard Tomic(AUS)

Nicolas Moreno de Alboran v Lukas Klein(SVK)

Michael Mmoh v Federico Arnaboldi(ITA)

There were two big upsets today in the women's NCAA Division III quarterfinals, with defending champion University of Chicago suffering their first D-III lost of the season, with Washington University-St. Louis ending top-ranked Chicago's season short of its fourth straight final with a 4-3 victory. Host and second-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps also was on the wrong end of a 4-3 score, with Johns Hopkins moving into the semifinals against Wash U.  The other women's semifinal Wednesday will feature third-ranked Pomona-Pitzer, a 4-0 winner over Wesleyan, and fourth-ranked Emory, who beat Bowdoin 4-1. 

The men's semifinals are tonight, with second-ranked Denison taking on third-ranked Tufts and top-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps facing fourth-ranked Case Western. The men have Wednesday off, with their final Thursday. The women have Thursday off, with their final Friday.

Cracked Racquets is providing coverage of the Division III tournament at ncaa.com.

Antonius Wins ITF J200; J100 Titles for Caldwell and Schuman; First Round Continues Tuesday at J500 in Milan; Five Americans Advance in Roland Garros Qualifying; NCAA Division III Team Championships Quarterfinals Underway

On Saturday I recapped the two titles for Jack Kennedy at the ITF J300 in Santa Croce Italy, but Kennedy was far from alone, as six other Americans won singles titles at every level on the ITF Junior Circuit last week.

Fifteen-year-old Michael Antonius won his fourth ITF singles title and the biggest at the J200 in Hanover Germany. The No. 5 seed defeated No. 3 seed Linus Lagerbohm of Finland 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in the final. Antonius, the only American in the boys draw, has moved up to 71 in the ITF junior rankings with the title; he is the only boy born in 2010 in the ITF Top 100.

Top-seeded Americans swept the singles titles at the J100 in the Dominican Republic, with Aspen Schuman taking the girls title with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Sarah Ye in the all-US final. Seventeen-year-old Simon Caldwell won the boys title in another all-US final, beating 14-year-old Izyan Ahmad 7-5, 7-5. 

Unseeded Nicolas Pedraza and Erik Schinnerer won the doubles title, beating Ahmad and Shaan Majeed 4-6, 6-2, 10-6 in the final. Sixteen-year-old Adelie Osher partnered with Canadian Eve Thibault for the girls doubles title, with the unseeded pair beating No. 2 seeds Ye and Ukraine's Sofiia Bielinska 6-4, 4-6, 11-9 in the final.

Top seed Sarah Stoyanov won her first ITF Junior Circuit title above the J30 level at the J60 in Nicaragua, with the 16-year-old from New York beating No. 3 seed Kaya Baker 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 in an all-US final.  Sofia Mills and Canadian partner Ashvini Gopalan won the doubles title, with the No. 2 seeds beating top seeds Lisa Anzai of Japan and Baker 6-4, 5-7, 10-1.

Americans swept all four titles at the J30 in the US Virgin Islands, with 14-year-old Anna Scott Laney, seeded No. 4, claiming her first ITF Junior Circuit title with a 6-0, 7-5 win over 13-year-old top seed London Evans in the all-US girls final.

Seventeen-year-old Graeme Angus defending his 2024 title in Saint Croix, with the No. 2 seed beating No. 3 seed Pedro Vargas 6-0, 6-1 in the all-US boys final.

Angus also won the doubles title, with Yared Alfred of the Virgin Islands. The top seeds defeated No. 2 seeds David Bvunzawabaya and Sebastian Godoy of the US 6-2, 7-6(4) in the final.

Evans won the doubles title with Canadian Camille Michel, with the top seeds beating the unseeded Italian team of Asia and Sofia Sundas 6-3, 6-4 in the final. 

The Trofeo Bonfiglio, the ITF J500 in Milan Italy began today, with 22 Americans in the main draw. 

Four US boys are seeded: Jagger Leach[2], who did get from Orlando to Italy despite a late quarterfinal match at the M15 on Friday; Benjamin Willerth[3], Jack Kennedy[7] and Keaton Hance[15]. Willwerth and Kennedy won their opening round matches today, but Hance lost. Leach plays Tuesday. The other American boys in the draw are Noah Johnston, Maxwell Exsted, Jack Satterfield, Dominick Mosejczuk, Ryan Cozad, Maximus Dussault, Jack Secord, Ronit Karki and qualifier Jacob Olar. Mosejczuk and Dussault lost their opening round matches today.

The US girls are much fewer in number, with just eight in the main draw and two seeded: No. 8 Thea Frodin and No. 11 Julieta Pareja. The unseeded Americans include three qualifiers: Welles Newman, Adla Lopez and Ireland O'Brien. Rounding out the US contingent are Leena Friedman, Kaitlyn Rolls and Ishika Ashar. Rolls and Ashar lost their first round matches today.

The big surprise on day one was the loss of No. 2 seed Jana Kovackova of the Czech Republic, who was beaten by Italian wild card Carla Giambelli 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(5).

Live scoring is available at the tournament website.

Qualifying began today for Roland Garros, with a total of 20 Americans vying for spots in the main draw. The first round of qualifying continues on Tuesday with eight matches featuring Americans. Tennis Channel is no longer covering the event, which has moved to TNT and TBS, with Max streaming providing coverage of all qualifying matches.

First round results of Americans Monday:

Andrea Collarini(ARG) d. Nishesh Basavareddy[3] 7-5, 5-7, 6-4

James Trotter(JPN) d. Brandon Holt[5] 6-1, 6-4

Nicolas Moreno de Alboran d. Fabio Fognini[7](ITA) 6-3, 6-2

Stefano Napolitano(ITA) d. Colton Smith 6-4, 4-6, 6-2

Zachary Svajda d. Beibit Zhukayev(KAZ) 7-5, 6-3

Ethan Quinn[11] d. Mark Lajal(EST) 7-5, 7-5

August Holmgren(DEN) d. Murphy Cassone 6-2, 6-3

Tristan Boyer[16] d. Daniel Rincon 7-6(5), 6-4

Carson Branstine(CAN) d. Whitney Osuigwe 6-4, 6-2

Tamara Korpatsch(GER) d. Louisa Chirico 6-4, 4-6, 6-3

Marina Stakusic[24](CAN) d. Lauren Davis 6-4, 6-4

Antonia Ruzic[14](CRO) d. Hina Inoue 6-1, 6-1

Varvara Lepchenko[16] d. Taylah Preston(AUS) 6-4, 7-5

Tuesday first round qualifying matches featuring Americans:

Michael Mmoh v Calvin Hemery(FRA)

Christopher Eubanks[9] v Jurji Rodionov(AUT)

Mitchell Krueger v Sumit Nagal(IND)

Eliot Spizzirri[15] v Hugo Grenier(FRA)

Emina Bektas v Astra Sharma(AUS)
Taylor Townsend[5] v Sara Saito(JPN)
Hanna Chang v Leonie Kung(SUI)

The NCAA Division III Team Championships final site matches in Claremont California began today with the men's quarterfinals. Because of the time difference, I'm not going to be able to follow the late matches there, which begin at 8 p.m. Eastern, but the first two semifinalists have been decided, with Denison facing Tufts tomorrow. Tufts beat Emory 4-0, but Denison had to win a third-set tiebreaker to beat Johns Hopkins, with freshman Nick Meyers saving three dual match points late in the third in his 6-7, 6-1, 7-6(5) win over Zahari Stoimenov that secured Denison's 4-3 victory.

The women's quarterfinals and men's semifinals are Tuesday. Cracked Racquets is providing coverage at ncaa.com.

Vidmanova Leads Georgia to NCAA Title, Dethroning Texas A&M 4-0; Wake Forest Denies TCU Repeat, Claims Second NCAA Title 4-2; Akli, Andrade, Crossley and Xu Win USTA Pro Circuit Titles

Dasha Vidmanova's stellar collegiate career ended with a historic accomplishment, when the University of Georgia defeated defending champion Texas A&M 4-0 Sunday evening in the NCAA Division I Team Championships at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco Texas.

After a 40-minute delay for lightning, the senior from the Czech Republic set the tone for the Bulldogs, beating rival and nemesis Mary Stoiana of Texas A&M 6-4, 6-4 to give her team its first singles point en route to Georgia's third NCAA title. 

Stoiana, who had beaten Vidmanova in the Aggies 4-1 win over Georgia in 2024 and had two wins over Vidmanova in their most recent meetings, had taken an early 3-0 lead in today's match, but could not find a way past her today. Vidmanova is just the third player in NCAA women's history to win all three NCAA titles--singles, doubles and team--in her collegiate career. The spring 2024 doubles champion and fall 2024 singles champion now joins Stanford's Linda Gates and Nicole Gibbs on that very short list.

Vidmanova, who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, did not get a decision in doubles in the final, with Georgia taking lines 2 and 3 to forge a 1-0 lead. 

Georgia's Guillermina Grant and Anastasiia Lopata were first off the court, beating Lexington Reed and Daria Smetannikov 6-2. The other two lines were much closer, but it was Georgia's Aysegul Mert and Hayden Mulberry who got the late break to defeat Nicole Khirin and Lucciana Perez 7-5 at line 3.

Texas A&M had beaten Georgia after losing the doubles point in the final match of the SEC regular season, so there was still optimism on their side, but their early advantage, with 3-0 leads on three courts in singles, didn't last. Texas A&M took three first sets in singles, but Georgia's Mert kept the Aggies from an obvious path when she saved four set points serving at 5-6 and went on to save another before taking the first tiebreaker 9-7. That gave Georgia its third first set in singles, and before that first set had ended, Reasco had forced a split with Mia Kupres at line 3.

Texas A&M was unable to close out any of their three matches  in which they had won the first set, with Georgia also getting splits from Lopata at line 2 in her match with Khirin and at line 6, with Sofia Rojas versus Reed at line 6.

The Aggies eventually got a split of their own at line 5, with Smetannikov taking the second set from Grant, but by that time Vidmanova had made it 2-0 for Georgia. With so many third sets, there was still a chance for a Texas A&M comeback, but once Lopata posted Georgia's third point with a 0-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over Khirin, who had clinched the Aggies NCAA title last year, prospects dimmed considerably. 

It was Rojas, in her first year as a Bulldog after transfering from Oklahoma State, who delivered Georgia's first title since 2000, beating freshman Reed 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.

"I'm really proud of this team," Georgia head coach Drake Bernstein told ESPN's Jill Craybas after the match. "I couldn't ask for a better group, and I couldn't be happier for these four seniors to go out like that."

Bernstein has had an astounding start to his coaching career after taking over for Jeff Wallace at the start of the 2023-24 season. Last May in Stillwater, Georgia made the team final, Lopata reached the singles final and Vidmanova and Mert took the doubles title. Last November, Vidmanova won the NCAA singles title, and this year, Georgia has claimed both the ITA Team Indoor Championship and the NCAA Team Championship. 

Vidmanova, Reasco, Grant and Mai Nirundorn, who was injured and out for the season, are the seniors Bernstein was referring to, and, unlike last year, the Bulldogs will have spots to fill, but this season can certainly vault to the top of the list of best in Georgia history.

Georgia[1] d. Texas A&M[2] 4-0

Doubles:

1. Dasha Vidmanova and Mell Reasco(UGA) v Mary Stoiana and Mia Kupres(TAMU) 6-5, unf.

2. Guillermina Grant and Anastasiia Lopata(UGA) d. Lexington Reed and Daria Smetannikov(TAMU) 6-2

3. Aysegul Mert and Hayden Mulberry(UGA) d. Nicole Khirin and Lucciana Perez(TAMU) 7-5

Order of finish: 2,3

Singles:

1. Dasha Vidmanova(UGA) d. Mary Stoiana(TAMU) 6-4, 6-4

2. Anastasiia Lopata(UGA) d. Nicole Khirin(TAMU) 0-6, 6-4, 6-2

3. Mia Kupres(TAMU) v Mell Reasco(UGA) 6-3, 1-6, 5-4, unf.

4. Aysegul Mert(UGA) v Lucciana Perez(TAMU) 7-6(9), 5-5 unf.

5. Guillermina Grant(UGA) v Daria Smetannikov(TAMU) 6-1, 6-7(5), 2-1 unf.

6. Sofia Rojas(UGA) d. Lexington Reed(TAMU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-2

Order of finish: 1,2,6 

photo courtesy YourGameFace.com ©2025

This was the first year since 1996 that both the men's and women's NCAA finals were a rematch of the ITA National Indoor finals. That year, the Florida women swept the titles, but the Stanford men got their revenge on Team Indoor champions UCLA.

Wake Forest didn't follow that example this year, instead they had their own history to replicate, winning their second NCAA Division I Team championship the same year they won the Team Indoor title with a hard-fought 4-2 win over defending champion TCU late Sunday night in Waco.

Wake Forest, who won the Indoor and NCAA titles in 2018, their first of each, took the scenic route at the Hurd Tennis Center, as they had done all year, but when it counted, the Demon Deacons got pulled through to record their 40th victory of the year, against only one loss.

Wake Forest took the doubles point with surprising ease, with Luca Pow and Luciano Tacchi needing a mere 26 minutes to race past Duncan Chan and Albert Pedrico at line 3. Five minutes later, Stefan Dostanic and Charlie Robertson beat Jack Pinnington Jones and Cooper Woestendick 6-3 at line 2, leaving the Horned Frogs wondering what had hit them. 

Wake took four first sets in singles,with all six first sets finishing within five minutes of one another. TCU was faced with needing two three-set victories to defend their title, but they appeared undaunted by the prospect and Wake Forest couldn't get a foothold in any second set, with one exception.

That was at line 1, where Dostanic, who had clinched the Team Indoor title this year with a 6-4 in the third victory over Pinnington Jones in the last match on, was on another level. The graduate student, who spent his undergraduate career at USC, posted the second point for Wake Forest with a 6-3, 6-1 master class. 

But by that time, TCU had earned splits at lines 5 and 6, with Pedrico forcing a third over Tacchi at 5 and Chan taking Pow to a third set at 6.

A third split was in Wake's favor, with Robertson pulling even with Woestendick; the fourth split gave TCU another path, with Vives forcing a third with DK Suresh at line 2.

While Maxted and Wake's Ioannis Xilas battled into a second set tiebreaker at line 3, Pedrico put TCU on the board with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 win over Tacchi at line 5. A minute later however, Pow made it 3-1 Wake Forest with a  6-3, 1-6, 6-2 win over Chan at 6. 

Maxted finally managed to put away Xilas 6-1, 7-6(3) in just under two hours, leaving the match to be decided in third sets at lines 2 and 4.  Although Wake was in a similar spot in the semifinals Saturday, the two remaining third sets were all even, with Wake unable to jump out to third-set leads as they had done against Stanford. Both matches were 3-3 in the third when Maxted won, with Suresh and Robertson holding to go up 4-3, Suresh staying ahead by winning a deciding point. Vives saved two break points serving at 3-4 but lost the deciding point, while Robertson broke Woestendick at 30-40, giving the Demon Deacons two chances to serve for the title.

Suresh got there first, crushing an ace at 40-0 to seal the second NCAA team title for Wake Forest.

"I think for me this is so much more about our program," Wake Forest head coach Tony Bresky told ESPN's Luke Jensen after the match. "All the players, the fans, the sports staff, my family, all our families; we have some of the most loyal fans and families and players that I've ever seen. They all deserve it...it's been a beautiful journey for me. Our guys bring it every day, they have the right attitudes, they want to be professional tennis players and they work that way, and are great people."

Like Georgia, Wake Forest will need to replace key parts, including Dostanic, the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, but with their success this year, they have a firm foundation on which to build.

Wake Forest[1] d. TCU[2] 4-2

Doubles:

1. DK Suresh and Ioannis Xilas(WAKE) v Pedro Vives and Lui Maxted(TCU) 5-4, unf.

2. Stefan Dostanic and Charlie Robertson(WAKE) v Jack Pinnington Jones and Cooper Woestendick(TCU) 6-3

3. Luca Pow and Luciano Tacchi(WAKE) d. Duncan Chan and Albert Pedrico(TCU) 6-2

Order of finish: 3, 2

Singles:

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

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

3. Lui Maxted(TCU) d. Ioannis Xilas(WAKE) 6-1, 7-6(3)

4. Charlie Robertson(WAKE) v Cooper Woestendick(TCU) 3-6, 6-2, 5-3, unf.

5. Albert Pedrico(TCU) d. Luciano Tacchi(WAKE) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2

6. Luca Pow(WAKE) d. Duncan Chan(TCU) 6-3, 1-6, 6-2

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

All Tournament Teams

WOMEN:

Doubles:

1. Dasha Vidmanova and Meel Reasco, Georgia

2. Anastasiia Lopata and Guillermina Grant, Georgia

3. Ayesegul Mert and Hayden Mulberrym Georgia

Singles

1. Dasha Vidmanova, Georgia

2. Anastasiia Lopata, Georgia

3. Mia Kupres, Texas A&M

4. Ayesegul Mert, Georgia

5. Guillermina Grant, Georgia

6. Sofia Rojas, Georgia

Most Outstanding Player: Dasha Vidmanova, Georgia

MEN:

Doubles:

1. Lui Maxted and Pedro Vives, TCU

2. Stefan Dostanic and Charlie Robertson, Wake Forest

3. Luca Pow and Luciano Tacchi, Wake Forest

Singles:

1. Stefan Dostanic, Wake Forest

2. DK Suresh, Wake Forest

3. Lui Maxted, TCU

4. Henry von der Schulenburg, Stanford

5. Sebastian Eriksson, Texas

6. Luca Pow, Wake Forest

Most Outstanding Player: Stefan Dostanic, Wake Forest

========================================

The four USTA Pro Circuit tournaments concluded today, with 23-year-old Ayana Akli earning her first Pro Circuit singles title at the W35 in Bethany Beach Delaware, ending a five-week odyssey that saw her post 18 wins and only four losses.

The former South Carolina All-American, who was unseeded, defeated top seed Despina Papamichail in the quarterfinals and after a tough win over NCAA contempory Fiona Crawley(North Carolina) in the semifinals, beat No. 3 seed Ana Sofia Sanchez of Mexico 6-2, 7-5 in today's final. 

Top seed Andres Andrade(Florida) of Ecuador won the M25 in Pensacola Florida today, defeating No. 4 seed Alex Rybakov(TCU) 6-4, 6-4 to defend his title. The 26-year-old, who played No. 3 for the Gators on the 2021 NCAA Championship team, had competed exclusively in Challengers this year until this week.

The singles titles at the W15 and M15 in Orlando were firsts for the champions, who came into the events with contrasting status.  No. 1 seed and UCLA recruit Mayu Crossley won her first Pro Circuit title, with the 18-year-old from Japan defeating No. 2 seed Francesca Pace of Italy 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 in today's final. Crossley was playing her fourth week in a row and her sixth week in the past seven, with her best results during that time two W35 quarterfinals.

Chris (Kuang Qing) Xu, a rising sophomore at North Carolina, had to qualify in Orlando, with the 18-year-old from Canada winning seven matches to earn his first Pro Circuit title. Xu defeated top seed Dan Martin(Dartmouth, Miami) 6-2, 6-0 in the quarterfinals after two three-set victories, and today took out No. 8 seed Victor Lilov 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-2 in the final. 

No. 4 seeds Martin and Nicolas Arseneault of Canada won the doubles title, beating No. 2 seeds Ryan Dickerson(Duke, Baylor) and Andrew Fenty(Michigan) 6-3, 7-6(3) in the final.

The women's doubles title went to No. 3 seeds Samantha Alicea(Arizona State, Nebraska) and Jamilah Snells(Louisville), who beat the unseeded junior team of Ava Rodriguez and Capucine Jauffret 6-3, 7-5.

Georgia and Texas A&M Meet Again for NCAA Women's Title; Wake Forest Reaches Men's Final; Kennedy Claims ITF J300 Singles and Doubles Championships in Italy; Penickovas Win Second Straight W15 Title; Akli Advances to Another USTA Pro Circuit Final

For the first time since Stanford and Florida met in 2010 and 2011, the same two women's teams have advanced to the NCAA Division I Championships in back-to-back years, with No. 2 seed Texas A&M set to defend the title they won last year over this year's top seed Georgia.

Georgia took the first step in their quest to do what Florida did in 2011 in denying Stanford back-to-back titles, when they breezed past No. 5 seed North Carolina 4-0 in the morning semifinal. The Bulldogs had lost to the Tar Heels back in February, at home, but a North Carolina team without its No. 1 Reese Brantmeier, who had clinched the 4-3 win in Athens, was a decided underdog.  With Brantmeier out due to an injury she suffered in the first set of UNC's win over LSU in the quarterfinals, every Tar Heel was playing out of position, and a healthy and remarkably stable Georgia singles lineup took full advantage.

Georgia took the doubles point, with wins at lines 1 and 2, with North Carolina's top team broken up due to Brantmeier's absence. Alanis Hamilton, Brantmeier's partner, moved down to line 3, to play with Lindsay Zink, who had competed in doubles in the first round of the NCAA tournament but not since. They did have a lead at the clinch, but Georgia's top two teams were too solid.

Georgia won five first sets in singles, and UNC's Carson Tanguilig had her storied career as a Tar Heel end before she could grab the second set to earn a point. Georgia got wins from Mell Reasco at line 3, Guillermina Grant at line 5 and Dasha Vidmanova at line 1 to close out the match in just over two hours after it began.

Georgia[1] d. North Carolina[5] 4-0

Doubles:

1. Dasha Vidmanova and Mell Reasco(UGA) d. Susanna Maltby and Carson Tanguilig(UND) 6-3

2. Guillermina Grant and Anastasiia Lopata(UGA) d. Theadora Rabman and Tatum Evans(UNC) 6-2

3. Alanis Hamilton and Lindsay Zink(UNC) v Aysegul Mert and Haydeb Mulberry(UGA) 5-3, unf.

Order of finish: 1,2

Singles:

1. Dasha Vidmanova(UGA) d Theadora Rabman(UNC) 6-0, 6-4

2. Anastasiia Lopata(UGA) v Tatum Evans(UNC) v 6-3, 5-1, unf.

3. Mell Reasco(UGA) d. Alanis Hamilton(UNC) 6-2, 6-3

4. Carson Tanguilig(UNC) v Aysegul Mert(UGA) 6-4, 4-4, unf.

5. Guillermina Grant(UGA) d. Claire Hill(UNC) 6-4, 6-1

6. Sofia Rojas(UGA) v Alana Boyce(UNC) 6-4, 3-5 unf.

Order of finish: 3,5,1

Texas A&M's 4-1 victory over No. 3 Michigan was not quite as dominant, with the Wolverines taking four first sets in singles. The Aggies had secured the doubles point after Michigan had been up 4-2 at lines 1 and line 3; Texas A&M did lose at 1, but took No. 2 and came back to take five of the last six games to clinch at line 3.

The Aggies slow start in singles gave Michigan a path, but protecting all four of those first sets seemed unlikely, especially with Texas A&M's Mary Stoiana and Nicole Khirin, the No. 1 and No. 13 players in the country, two of the players trailing by a set. Both forced third sets, as did Daria Smetannikov at line 5, while Emily Sartz-Lunde of Michigan got their only point at line 4. 

It took over three-and-a-half hours, but Texas A&M will get another shot at Georgia this year, after losing to them in the Team Indoor final in February, and splitting their two meetings at the end of the season.

As college tennis fans, we can only hope that Sunday's final, at 5 pm Eastern, is as exciting as that Florida win over Stanford at Stanford in 2011. Gator legend Lauren Embree came from 4-0 down in the final set against Mallory Burdette to clinch Florida's 4-3 victory, one of the most memorable finals I've witnessed in my years of covering college tennis.

Texas A&M[2] d. Michigan[3] 4-1

Doubles:

1. Lily Jones and Jessica Bernales(MICH) d. Mary Stoiana and Mia Kupres(TAMU) 6-4

2. Lexington Reed and Daria Smetannikov(TAMU) d. Reese Miller and Julia Fliegner 6-4

3. Nicole Khirin and Lucciana Perez(TAMU) d, Piper Charney and Emily Sartz-Lunde(MICH) 7-5

Order of finish: 1,2,3

Singles:

1. Mary Stoiana(TAMU) v Julia Fliegner(MICH) 4-6, 6-3, 5-1 unf.

2. Nicole Khirin(TAMU) d. Piper Charney(MICH) 5-7, 6-3, 6-1

3. Mia Kupres(TAMU) d. Lily Jones(MICH) 6-4, 7-6(3)

4. Emily Sartz-Lunde(MICH) d. Lucciana Perez(TAMU) 6-2, 6-4

5. Daria Smetannikov(TAMU) v Reese Miller(MICH) 3-6, 7-6(5), 2-1 unf.

6. Lexington Reed(TAMU) d. Jessica Bernales(MICH) 7-5, 6-0

Order of finish: 6,4,3,2

The women's final is scheduled for 5 p.m. Eastern time Sunday and will be available for streaming at ESPN+.

Shortly after the completion of the women's semifinals, lightning storms delayed the start of the first men's semifinal between top seed Wake Forest and No. 4 seed Stanford.  After it was clear the delays would push consecutive matches too late, the Wake-Stanford match was sent indoors, with the TCU-Texas match starting outdoors 80 minutes later, if the weather passed out of the area.

Wake Forest took the doubles point with their No. 3 team of Luca Pow and Luciano Tacchi and No. 2 team of Charlie Robertson and Stefan Dostanic getting wins, while Stanford's Hudson Rivera and Nicholas Godsick took the match at line 1.

Wake Forest took three first sets in singles and posted the first two singles points, with Tacchi beating Godsick at line 5 and Pow defeating Alexander Razeghi at line 6. But up 3-0, where the fourth point would come from wasn't clear, particularly when Stanford's Kyle Kang forced a third set against Suresh at line 2 after Henry von der Schulenburg had put the Cardinal on the board. Stanford's Max Basing, the hero of the 4-3 win over Mississippi State on Friday, made it 3-2, only to watch as Dostanic gave Wake Forest a backup plan when he forced a third set at line 1 against Samir Banerjee. Kang and Banerjee both needed to win for the Cardinal to advance, but Dostanic and Suresh built big leads in the third sets and began a race to the clinch. Kang and Banerjee hung tough, saving five match points between them, but Suresh finally finished the task to send Wake Forest to its third NCAA team final, after back-to-back appearances in 2018 and 2019. 

Wake Forest won the title in 2018, the same year they won the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, which they also did this year. The Demon Deacons lost in the 2019 final to Texas.

Wake Forest[1] d. Stanford[4] 4-2

Doubles:

1. Nicholas Godsick and Hudson Rivera(STAN) v DK Suresh and Ioannis Xilas(WAKE) 6-3

2. Stefan Dostanic and Charlie Robertson(WAKE) d. Kyle Kang and Henry von der Schulenburg(STAN) 6-3

3. Luca Pow and Luciano Tacchi(WAKE) d. Samir Banerjee and Alexander Razeghi(STAN) 6-4

Order of finish: 2,1,3

Singles:

1. Stefan Dostanic(WAKE) v Samir Banerjee(STAN) 4-6, 7-6(3), 5-4, unf.

2. DK Suresh(WAKE) d. Kyle Kang(STAN) 6-1, 5-7, 6-3

3. Max Basing(STAN) d. Ioannis Silas(WAKE) 7-6(2), 6-0

4. Henry von der Schulenburg(STAN) d. Charlie Robertson(WAKE) 6-2, 6-3

5. Luciano Tacchi(WAKE) d. Nicholas Godsick(STAN) 6-2, 6-4 

6. Luca Pow(WAKE) d. Alexander Razeghi(STAN) 6-1, 6-4

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

TCU will defend their title Sunday, with the No. 2 seeds winning the rubber match of their in-state rivalry this year with Texas 4-2. 

TCU took the doubles point, and when the teams split first sets in singles, the prospect of another long night loomed. 

Lui Maxted, who has been the most reliable point for the Horned Frogs in the past several months, made it 2-0 with a shockingly easy 6-3, 6-0 win over Pierre-Yves Bailly of Texas, who had been the Longhorns most reliable point all season. Sebastian Eriksson got Texas on the board with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Cooper Woestendick at line 4, but three of the remaining four matches were headed for third sets. TCU's Jack Pinnington Jones, the Most Outstanding Player of last year's NCAA championships, gave his team a huge boost by forcing a third set with the country's No. 1 player Timo Legout at line 1. 

Lucas Brown had buoyed the Longhorns' hopes by forcing a third set at line 6, taking eight straight games from Roger Pascual after dropping the first set for a 2-0 lead in the third.

At line 5, Albert Pedrico, who had saved four set points in the first set, put away Texas's Jonah Braswell 7-5, 6-2 to make it 3-1, meaning Texas needed to win the remaining three matches to advance to another final. Former Horned Frog Sebastian Gorzny closed the gap with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 win over Pedro Vives at line 2, but Pascual had suddenly come alive at line 6. Down 3-1 in the third, Pascual got back to even, while Pinnington Jones took a 4-1 lead over Legout at line 1. Jones, serving at 4-1, had his momentum stalled, with Legout breaking and holding, but Pascual never looked back, taking the final five games of the match with error-free tennis to clinch the match and another final for TCU.

TCU[2] d. Texas[3] 4-2

Doubles:

1. Pedro Vives and Lui Maxted(TCU) d. Timo Legout and Lucas Brown(TEX) 6-3

2. Sebastian Gorzny and Jonah Braswell(TEX) v Jack Pinnington Jones and Cooper Woestendick(TCU) 5-4, unf.

3. Duncan Chan and Albert Pedrico(TCU) d. Pierre-Yves Bailly and Sebastian Eriksson(TEX) 6-3

Order of finish: 3,1

Singles:

1. Jack Pinnington Jones(TCU) v Timo Legout(TEX) 4-6, 6-3, 4-3, unf.

2. Sebastian Gorzny(TEX) d. Pedro Vives(TCU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-0

3. Lui Maxted(TCU) d. Pierre-Yves Bailly(TEX) 6-3, 6-0

4. Sebastian Eriksson(TEX) d. Cooper Woestendick(TCU) 6-4, 6-0

5. Albert Pedrico(TCU) d. Jonah Braswell(TEX) 7-5, 6-2

6. Roger Pascual(TCU) d. Lucas Brown(TEX) 6-4, 0-6, 6-3

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

As with Georgia and Texas A&M, Wake Forest and TCU met in the final of the ITA Team Indoor Championships in February, and that was an absolute barn burner, with Wake Forest taking it 4-3, when Dostanic beat Pinnington Jones in a third set at No. 1. 

The men's final is scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, streaming on ESPN+, with Sam Gore and Luke Jensen providing the commentary.

========================================

At the ITF J300 in Santa Croce Italy, Jack Kennedy swept the titles. Kennedy and Hance had won the doubles title on Friday, with the No. 2 seeds beating top seeds Oskari Paldanius of Finland and Alan Wazny of Poland 6-0, 7-6(4). Also the No. 2 seed in singles, Kennedy defeated unseeded Nikita Bilozertsev of Ukraine 6-2, 6-2 to capture his third J300 singles title.

The girls singles title went to unseeded Anastasija Cvetkovic of Serbia, who ended the run of 15-year-old Russian qualifier Mariia Makarova 6-4, 6-4 in the final.

Fifteen-year-old twins Annika and Kristina Penickova are not playing junior tournaments prior to Roland Garros, but are in Tunisia competing in W15 events. They earned their second straight doubles title today in Monastir, after winning last week's tournament, also unseeded. After beating the top seeds in the second round, the Penickovas defeated the No. 4 seeds in the semifinals and No. 3 seeds Lamis Alhussein Abdel Aziz of Egypt and Kateryna Lazarenko of Ukraine 7-5, 6-2 in the final. They have now won eight doubles matches in a row, all in straight sets.

At the USTA Pro Circuit W35 in Bethany Beach Delaware, former South Carolina All-American Ayana Akli is through to another final, her third in the last five weeks. Akli, playing in her fifth consecutive week, reached the quarterfinals in the first of those five, a W50, then has gone, in W35s, final, semifinal, final and now final again. The 23-year-old from Maryland, who has been unseeded throughout this run, defeated unseeded Fiona Crawley, the former North Carolina All-American, 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 in today's semifinals and will face No. 3 seed Ana Sofia Sanchez of Mexico in the final, still looking for her first title in the midst of all this success. Sanchez defeated unseeded Jada Robinson 6-3, 6-3 to reach the final.

The doubles title was won by No. 3 seeds Ivana Corley (Oklahoma) and Jaeda Daniel(Auburn, NC State), who beat No. 4 seeds Haruna Arakawa of Japan and Haley Giavara(Cal) 6-4, 7-5 in today's final.

At the USTA Pro Circuit M25 in Pensacola Florida, top seed Andres Andrade(Florida) of Ecuador will play No. 4 seed Alex Rybakov(TCU) in Sunday's final after Andrade defeated No. 3 seed Tyler Zink(Georgia, Oklahoma State) 6-4, 6-2 and Rybakov beat No. 2 seed Garrett Johns(Duke) 6-3, 6-2. 

Top seeds Charles Barry(Tulane, Memphis) of Ireland and Joshua Charlton(Oregon) of Australia won the doubles title, beating No. 2 seeds Johns and William Woodall(Virginia) 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 10-8 in today's final.

Coco Gauff lost in the final of the Italian Open today in Rome, with Italy's Jasmine Paolini taking the WTA Masters 1000 title by a score of 6-4, 6-2.

Thrillers Extend D-I Men's Quarterfinals Deep into Night; Kennedy Wins All-USA Semifinal at ITF J300 in Italy; Chang Makes Semifinals at Orlando W15

The drama was unrelenting in the NCAA Division I men's quarterfinal matches Friday, with No. 1 seed Wake Forest and No. 4 seed Stanford both somehow managing to make their way to a semifinal meeting Saturday after nearly eight hours of tennis. Wake Forest was forced to six third sets before posting a misleading 4-1 victory over No. 8 Columbia, while Stanford's Max Basing saved seven match points in the last match on to give the Cardinal a 4-3 win over No. 12 seed Mississippi State.

Wake Forest and Columbia kicked off the festivities in steamy Waco with a tight doubles point, the norm throughout the men's quarterfinals. After splitting the first two matches at lines 1 and 2, the Demon Deacons' Luca Pow and Luciano Tacch defeated Hugo Hashimoto and Jayden Templeman 7-6(5) to take the early lead.

Wake Forest looked as if a comfortable victory might be available to them when they took four first sets in singles, another theme of the men's quarterfinals. But Columbia fought back, with the score still 1-0 three hours after the match had begun. Very few prognosticators would have envisioned the match at line 1 being the first to finish, but it was Stefan Dostanic of Wake Forest avenging his loss to Michael Zheng earlier this season to give Wake a 2-0 lead. Luca Pow made it 3-0 shortly thereafter, taking a three-set win over Thanaphat Boosarawangse at line 6, but a minute later Columbia got on the board with Nicolas Kotzen beating DK Suresh at line 2 6-7(0), 6-2, 6-3. Columbia's Max Westphal was up 4-1 in his third set with Ioannis Xilas at line 3 and the No. 4 and No. 5 lines were at 1-1 and 3-3 respectively.  It was finally Wake freshman Charlie Robertson who gave his team some breathing room, taking a 3-1 lead in his third set over Hugo Hashimoto at line 4, and extending it to 4-1, while Westphal could not convert his match point at line 3. Robertson took the last five games of the match to close it out, sending Wake Forest into the semifinals for the second straight year. 

Wake Forest[1] d. Columbia[8] 4-1
Doubles:
1. DK Suresh and Ioannis Xilas(WAKE) d. Michael Zheng and Nicolas Kotzen(COL) 6-3
2. Max Westphal and Sachin Palta(COL) d. Stefan Dostanic and Charlie Robertson(WAKE) 6-3
3. Luca Pow and Luciano Tacchi(WAKE) d. Hugo Hashimoto and Jayden Templeman(COL) 7-6(5)

Order of finish: 1,2,3

Singles:
1. Stefan Dostanic(WAKE) d. Michael Zheng(COL) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
2. Nicolas Kotzen(COL) d. DK Suresh(WAKE) 6-7(0), 6-2, 6-3
3. Max Westphal(COL) v Ioannis Xilas(WAKE) 3-6, 6-4, 5-2 unf.
4. Charlie Robertson(WAKE) d. Hugo Hashimoto(COL) 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-1
5. Luciano Tacchi(WAKE) v Sachin Palta(COL) 3-6, 6-3, 5-4, unf.
6. Luca Pow(WAKE) d. Thanaphat Boosarawangse(COL) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1

Order of finish: 1,6,2,4

When Stanford and Mississippi State took the court an hour later than their scheduled time, no one was expecting as much drama as the first quarterfinal. It wasn't as much; it was way more, although it unfolded in similar fashion.

Stanford took the doubles point, in a tiebreaker at line 2, after the teams had split lines 1 and 3, with Henry von der Schulenburg and Kyle Kang saving two match points at 5-4. 

Like Wake Forest, Stanford won four first sets in singles and looked poised for a relatively straightforward win, but Mississippi State's top two, Benito Sanchez Martinez and Petar Jovanovic, who had lost their first sets, began the Bulldogs' comeback. They forced third sets, leaving Stanford a point short after the Cardinal got straight-sets wins from Nicholas Godsick at line 5 and von der Schulenburg at line 4. 

Down 3-0, Mississippi State needed the remaining four matches, but had reason for optimism, with break leads in the third sets on all four. Stanford freshman Alexander Razeghi got his break back at line 6, and with no-ad, breaks are not that hard to come by, but Mississippi State kept theirs, frequently on deciding points. Jovanovic beat Kyle Kang 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 at line 2 to get the Bulldogs on the board, and Mario Martinez Serrano got a late break of Razeghi to make it 3-2.

Shortly after Martinez Serrano won, Mississippi State was up match points on the remaining two courts, with Stanford's Basing serving at 4-5, 0-40 against Niccolo Baroni, who had already had a match point with Basing serving at 2-5. While that was going on, Sanchez Martinez had match points on Samir Banerjee at 1 and he converted, making it 3-3. Basing saved all four match points for 5-all, failed to convert three break points with Baroni serving at 5-5, 15-40, then saved two more at 5-6, with two aggressive shots that forced errors from Baroni. 

The tiebreaker that would decide the semifinalist was 3-3, but Basing finally found a bit of space with a forehand volley forcing an error for 6-4. He sent a forehand a bit wide on his first match point, but converted the second to send the Cardinal to the semifinals for the first time since 2003.

Stanford[4] d. Mississippi State[12] 4-3

Doubles:

1. Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez(MSU) d. Nicholas Godsick and Hudson Rivera(STAN) 6-3

2. Kyle Kang and Henry von der Schulenburg(STAN) d. Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano(MSU) 7-6(3)

3. Samir Banerjee and Alexander Razeghi(STAN) d. Dusan Milanovic and Michal Novansky(MSU) 6-4

Order of finish: 1,3,2

Singles:

1. Benito Sanchez Martinez(MSU) d. Samir Banerjee(STAN) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4

2. Petar Jovanovic(MSU) d. Kyle Kang(STAN) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 

3. Max Basing(STAN) d, Niccolo Baroni(MSU) 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(5)

4. Henry von der Schulenburg(STAN) d. Dusan Milanovic(MSU) 6-4, 7-5

5. Nicholas Godsick(STAN) d. Bryan Hernandez Cortes(MSU) 6-3, 6-4

6. Mario Martinez Serrano(MSU) d. Alexander Razeghi(STAN) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4

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

In the third quarterfinal, which finished after 10:00 p.m. Eastern, defending champion TCU kept the suspense going, with the No. 2 seeds defeating No. 7 seeds Virginia 4-3.

Like the first two men's quarterfinals, the doubles point was decided in a third set tiebreaker, with TCU's Cooper Woestendick and Jack Pinnington Jones taking No. 2 doubles after Virginia took line 3 and TCU line 1.

Unlike the first two quarterfinals, the singles sets were evenly split and four were decided in straight sets. At 3-2 TCU, Virginia was up a break in the third on the two remaining courts, and James Hopper tied the score with a quick 6-1 third set over TCU freshman Cooper Woestendick at line 4. 

But just as the Cavaliers pulled even, TCU's Duncan Chan, down 4-2 to Jangjun Kim at line 6, got the break back and that was the spark he needed. Elevating his game, Chan hit winner after winner, taking the last four games of the match for a 7-6(1), 1-6, 6-4 win that put TCU in the semifinals against the winner of the last quarterfinal of the night between No. 3 Texas and unseeded UCLA. 

TCU[2] d. Virginia[7] 4-3

Doubles:

1. Lui Maxted and Pedro Vives(TCU) d. Keegan Rice and James Happer(UVA) 6-4

2. Cooper Woestendick and Jack Pinnington Jones(TCU) d. Mans Dahlberg and Dylan Dietrich(UVA) 7-6(4)

3, Rafael Jodar and Roy Horovitz(UVA) d. Duncan Chan and Albert Pedrico(TCU) 6-4

Order of finish: 3,1,2

Singles:

1. Rafael Jodar(UVA) d. Jack Pinnington Jones(TCU) 6-4, 6-3

2. Dylan Dietrich(UVA) d. Pedro Vives(TCU) 6-3, 6-3

3. Lui Maxted(TCU) d. Keegan Rice(UVA) 6-4, 7-5

4. James Hopper(UVA) d. Cooper Woestendick(TCU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1

5. Albert Pedrico(TCU) d. Mans Dahlberg(UVA) 6-3, 6-4

6. Duncan Chan(TCU) d. Jangjun Kim(UVA) 7-6(1), 1-6, 6-4

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

After all the excitement of the first three men's quarterfinals, the last one, which finished after midnight Central time, was decidedly less compelling, with No. 3 seed Texas sweeping past unseeded UCLA 4-1.

UCLA, who was playing without their No. 4 singles player Alexander Hoogmartens, although he did play in doubles, pushed the Longhorns in doubles, which went to Texas in, what else but a third-set tiebreaker, this time on court 1. 

Texas won five first sets in singles and UCLA was not able to force any third sets until the very last minute on line 6, so the drama of the first three quaterfinals didn't come to fruition a fourth time.

Texas, into its fifth semifinal in the past six years, will now play TCU in a rematch of last year's 4-3 final, won, of course, by TCU. Sebastian Gorzny, who clinched for the Horned Frogs at line 5, is now playing No. 2 for Texas. TCU and Texas have played twice this year, splitting those two matches.

Texas[3] d. UCLA 4-1

Doubles:

1. Timo Legout and Lucas Brown(TEX) d. Alexander Hoogmartens and Giacomo Revelli(UCLA) 7-6(3)

2. Sebastian Gorzny and Jonah Braswell(TEX) d. Spencer Johnson and Aadarsh Tripathi(UCLA) 6-4

3. Gianluca Ballotta and Emon Van Loben Sels(UCLA) d. Pierre-Yves Bailly and Sebatian Eriksson(TEX) 7-5

Order of finish: 2,3,1

Singles:

1. Timo Legout(TEX) d. Rudy Quan(UCLA) 7-5, 6-2

2. Emon Van Loben Sels(UCLA) d. Sebastian Gorzny(TEX) 6-3, 7-6(2)

3. Pierre-Yves Bailly(TEX) d. Kaylan Bigun(UCLA) 6-4, 6-4

4. Sebastian Eriksson(TEX) d. Spencer Johnson(UCLA) 6-4, 6-4 

5. Jonah Braswell(TEX) v Aadarsh Tripathi(UCLA) 7-6(7), 2-1 unf.

6. Lucas Brown(TEX) v Giacomo Revelli(UCLA) 6-2, 5-7 unf.

Order of finish: 2,1,4,3

All four semifinals are Saturday, beginning with the women. Georgia[1] will face North Carolina[5] at 11 a.m. Eastern, followed by Michigan[3] and Texas A&M[2] at 2 p.m.

The men's semifinal between Wake Forest and Stanford is scheduled for 5 p.m. and the TCU-Texas match will follow at 8 p.m. Eastern.

Coverage will continue at ESPN+, with a different announcing crew.

========================================

At the ITF J300 in Santa Croce Italy, No. 2 seed Jack Kennedy is through to Saturday's final after defeating fellow American Jack Satterfield 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in today's semifinal. Kennedy will face unseeded Nikita Bilozertsev of Ukraine, who upset top seed Oskari Paldanius of Finland 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-1.

Kennedy and Keaton Hance won the doubles title today, with the No. 2 seeds beating top seeds Paldanius and Alan Wazny of Poland 6-0, 7-6(4) in the final.

At the USTA Pro Circuit W15 and M15 in Orlando, rain delayed the completion of the quarterfinals until late tonight, but 14-year-old wild card Lani Chang wasn't fazed by it, coming back to beat UCF rising sophomore Olivia Bergler of Poland 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Chang, who is making her USTA Pro Circuit debut this week, will play 18-year-old UCLA recruit Mayu Crossley of Japan, the top seed. No. 3 seed Monika Ekstrand continued her winning streak, with last week's W35 Boca Raton champion beating 14-year-old qualifier Carol Shao 6-3, 6-1 to advance to the semifinals against No. 2 seed Francesca Pace of Italy.

Jagger Leach had a long wait to complete his quarterfinal match with UCF No. 1 Yassine Dlimi of Morocco and it was Dlimi who advanced with a 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-6(2). He will play North Carolina rising sophomore Chris Xu of Canada, a qualifier, after Xu defeated top seed Dan Martin(Dartmouth, Miami) 6-2, 6-0.

Women's D-I Semifinals Feature Top Two Seeds; Men's Quarterfinals Friday; 14-Year-Olds Chang and Shao Reach Quarterfinals at W15, Leach Advances at M15 in Orlando; Gauff Reaches Rome Final, Paul Through to Semis

Due to the late nights that are inevitable this weekend with NCAA Division I Team Championships matches scheduled at 8 p.m. Eastern all four days in Waco, I'm going to post the results from the earlier matches and then add the final match, when that info becomes available, at least until Sunday. I apologize if the post headline won't convey the results, as that is difficult to correct, while I can just add the final results when they become available.

As of 8:30 pm Thursday, two of the women's semifinalists have been determined, with top seed Georgia beating No. 8 Duke 4-1 and No. 5 seed North Carolina defeating No. 13 LSU 4-2.

Georgia lost the doubles point for just the fourth time this season, but took six first sets in singles and closed out Duke without any drama, with the Blue Devils managing to win just one set in singles. Georgia, a finalist last year, has now reached the semifinals for the third straight year.

North Carolina took the doubles point and four first sets in singles giving them a straightforward path to four. The Tar Heels earned a 4-2 victory, with the 6-3, 6-1 win by LSU's Anita Sahdiieva over Alanis Hamilton the sole bump in the road, with one huge caveat.

North Carolina's No. 1 Reese Brantmeier, who had lost just one match, at the beginning of the season, after returning from a serious meniscus injury, went down with a injury against Cadence Brace at 3-2 in the first set, giving LSU its first point. Brantmeier is not likely to play in Saturday's semifinal against Georgia, which certainly puts a damper on the anticipated rematch between them. North Carolina went to Athens and beat Georgia back on February 1, handing the Bulldogs what turned out to be their only home loss of the year 4-3, with Brantmeier clinching it with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 win over 2024 NCAA fall singles champion Dasha Vidmanova. That match is scheduled for 11 a.m. Eastern Saturday.

NCAA D-I Women's Quarterfinals

May 15, 2025

Waco Texas

Georgia[1] d. Duke[8] 4-1

Doubles:

1, Dasha Vidmanova and Mell Reasco(UGA) d. Irina Balus and Ellie Coleman(DUKE) 6-2 

2. Shavit Kimchi and Eleana Yu(DUKE) d. Guillermina Grant and Anastasiia Lopata(UGA) 6-4

3. Emma Jackson and Liv Hovde(DUKE) d. Aysegul Mert and Hayden Mulberry(UGA) 6-4

Order of finish: 1,3,2

Singles:

1. Dasha Vidmanova(UGA) d. Liv Hovde(DUKE) 6-4, 6-2

2. Anastasiia Lopata(UGA) d. Irina Balus(DUKE) 6-1, 6-1

3. Mell Reasco(UGA) v Emma Jackson(DUKE) 6-4 2-6, unf.

4. Aysegyk Mert(UGA) d.  Eleana Yu(DUKE) 6-3, 6-1

5. Guillermina Grand(UGA) d. Shavit Kimchi(DUKE) 6-1, 6-3

6. Sofia Rojas(UGA) v Ellie Coleman(DUKE) 6-4, 4-3, unf.

Order of finish: 5,2,1,4

North Carolina[5] d. Louisana State[13] 4-2

Doubles:

1. Reese Brantmeier and Alanis Hamilton(UNC) d. Cadence Brace and Kayla Cross(LSU) 7-6(4)

2. Susanna Maltby and Carson Tanguilig(UNC) d. Kinaa Graham and Anita Sahdiieva(LSU) 6-3

3. Tilwith Di Girolami and Gaby Rivera(LSU) v Theadora Rabman and Tatum Evans(UNC) 7-5

Order of finish: 2,3,1

Singles:

1. Cadence Brace(LSU) d. Reese Brantmeier(UNC) 3-2, 0-30, ret. inj.

2. Theadora Rabman(UNC) v Kayla Cross(LSU) 6-3, 5-4, unfinished

3. Tatum Evans(UNC) d. Tilwith Di GIrolami(LSU) 6-1, 6-2

4. Anita Sahdiieva(LSU) d. Alanis Hamilton(UNC) 6-3, 6-1

5. Carson Tanguilig(UNC) d. Kinaa Graham(LSU) 6-1, 6-1

6. Claire Hill(UNC) v Gaby Rivera(LSU) 6-4, 6-3

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

Defending champion Texas A&M, seeded No. 2, needed more than four hours, which included a lightning delay deep in third sets to get past a determined tenth-seeded Tennessee team 4-2.  The Volunteers took the doubles point and three first sets, but four matches went to three sets after the Aggies had taken a 2-1 lead with wins by Mary Stoiana and Nicole Khirin at the No. 1 and No. 2 lines. It was freshman Lexington Reed at line 6 who put Texas A&M on the verge, and junior Mia Kupres at line 3 who sealed the win, just as Vanesa Suarez of Tennessee had gotten a singles point for the Volunteers at line 4.

Texas A&M[2] d. Tennessee[10] 4-2

Doubles:

1. Mary Stoiana and Mia Kupres(TAMU) d. Catherine Aulia(TENN) 6-0

2. Elza Tomase and Saray Yli-Piipari(TENN) d. Lexington Reed and Daria Smetannikova(TAMU) 6-4

3. Maeve Thorton and Vanesa Suarez(TENN) d. Nicole Khirin and Lucciana Perez(TAMU) 6-1

Order of finish: 1,3,2

Singles:

1. Mary Stoiana(TAMU) d. Elza Tomase(TENN) 7-5, 6-2

2. Nicole Khirin(TAMU) d. Catherine Aulia(TENN) 6-2, 6-2

3. Mia Kupres(TAMU) d. Leyla Britez Risso(TENN) 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4

4. Vanesa Suarez(TENN) d. Lucciana Perez(TAMU) 6-3, 5-7, 7-5

5. Francesca Mattioli(TENN) v Daria Smetannikov(TAMU) 7-6(6), 2-6, 2-3 unf.

6. Lexington Reed(TAMU) d. Saray Yli-Piipari(TENN) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4

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

No. 3 Michigan ended the unexpected run of unseeded Oklahoma State in the night match, which was delayed over an hour by the previous quarterfinal match between Texas A&M and Tennessee. The Wolverines, who were stopped at the quarterfinal stage the last two years, advanced to the first semifinal in program history by winning the doubles point and earning straight-sets wins at lines 1 and 6. The other four matches all went to third sets, with each player who won the first set losing the second. It was Lily Jones who came from behind to clinch the victory for Michigan at line 3.

Michigan[3] d. Oklahoma State 4-0

Doubles:

1. Anastasiya Komar and Rose Marie Nijkamp(OSU) d. Lily Jones and Jessica Bernales(MICH) 6-2

2. Reese Miller and Julia Fliegner(MICH) d. Kylie Collins and Marcela Lopez(OSU) 6-3

3. Piper Charney and Emily Sartz-Lunde(MICH) d. Gracie Epps and Alian Zach(OSU) 6-4

Order of finish: 1,2,3

Singles:

1. Julia Fliegner(MICH) d. Melisa Ercan(OSU) 7-5, 6-1

2. Anastasiya Komar(OSU) v Piper Charney(MICH) 6-1, 3-6, 4-3, unf.

3. Lily Jones(MICH) d. Rose Marie Nijkamp(OSU) 4-6, 6-0, 6-1

4. Kylie Collins(OSU) v Emily Sartz-Lunde(MICH) 0-6, 6-3, 3-1, unf.

5. Gracie Epps(OSU) v Reese Miller(MICH) 4-6, 6-2, 4-3, unf.

6. Jessica Bernales(MICH) d. Marcela Lopez(OSU) 6-4, 6-2

Order of finish: 6,3,1

Michigan will face Texas A&M at 2 pm Eastern on Saturday.

The men's quarterfinal schedule for Friday, with all matches available at ESPN+:

Wake Forest[1] v Columbia[8] 11am
Mississippi State[12] v Stanford[4] 2pm
Texas[3] v UCLA 8pm
Virginia[7] v TCU[2] 5pm

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At the W15 in Orlando, two 14-year-olds earned their first Pro Circuit victories yesterday and followed those up with impressive wins today to reach the quarterfinals. Wild card Lani Chang, the daughter of Michael Chang and the former Amber Liu, a two-time NCAA singles champion at Stanford, defeated No. 4 seed Dasha Ivanova 7-6(8), 6-3. Qualifier Carol Shao defeated last year's Tennessee No. 1 Sofia Cabezas of Venezuela, the No. 6 seed, 6-4, 6-4. 

Chang plays UCF rising sophomore Olivia Bergler of Poland next, while Shao takes on No. 3 seed and last week's W35 Boca Raton champion Monika Ekstrand. Top seed Mayu Crossley of Japan has also advanced to the quarterfinals.

At the M15 in Orlando, 17-year-old Jagger Leach is through to the quarterfinals after defeating qualifier Reece Falck of New Zealand 6-1, 6-1. Leach, who will face Central Florida's No. 1 Yassine Dlimi of Morocco Friday, is still listed as competing in the ITF J500 in Milan, which begins on Monday. 

At the WTA 1000 in Rome, No. 4 seed Coco Gauff[4] beat No. 8 Qinwen Zheng of China 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(4) to reach the final. She will face Jasmine Paolini[6] of Italy, who beat Peyton Stearns(Texas) 7-5, 6-1.

Tommy Paul[11] has advanced to the semifinals at the ATP 1000 in Rome for the second consecutive year. He will face top seed Jannik Sinner of Italy in the semfinals Friday.