Mateas, Smith Reach Pro Circuit Quarterfinals; Newport Beach ITF Grade 4 Semifinals Set; Emory and Tyler Junior College Top Men's and Women's ITA Rankings

Seventeen-year-old qualifier Maria Mateas has advanced to the quarterfinals of the $15,000 Women's Pro Circuit event in Tampa, after defeating Amy Zhu, also a qualifier, 6-3, 7-5. Mateas will play another qualifier, former Alabama star Alexa Guarachi Mathison of Chile, on Friday.  Nicole Melichar, another qualifier, is the only American other than Mateas to reach the final eight.

At the $25,000 Bakersfield Futures, 18-year-old Keegan Smith advanced to his first career quarterfinal, beating No. 8 seed Jared Hiltzik 6-3, 6-4.  Smith, who will be joining UCLA this fall, had just one ATP point in limited Futures play prior to today, but he now has 5, earning three points for his victory today. He will face wild card Bradley Klahn in the quarterfinals. No. 7 seed Christian Harrison has also advanced to the quarterfinals, with Wil Spencer and No. 5 seed Marcos Giron Americans who have yet to finish their second round matches.

At the $75,000 Drummondville ATP Challenger, 16-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada and 18-year-old Alex De Minaur of Australia will meet for the fourth time, but the first time outside of the ITF Junior Circuit, when they play in the quarterfinals.  De Minaur defeated Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 6-1 and wild card Auger-Aliassime took out No. 2 seed Peter Polansky 6-3, 6-4.  Auger-Aliassime leads the junior head-to-head 2-1, with wins in the semifinals of the College Park Grade 1 and the Eddie Herr final, both in 2015.  Last year De Minaur, who went on to reach the final, defeated Auger-Aliassime in the Wimbledon junior quarterfinals.

The semifinals are set at the ITF Grade 4 in Newport Beach California, with no seeds remaining in the boys draw. In the girls draw, top seed Salma Ewing has dominated in her last few matches and she will face No. 4 seed Katie Volynets next.  In the bottom half, No. 12 seed Lauren Stein will meet unseeded Jennifer Gadalov, who has had no trouble working her way through the draw. The 16-year-old from Los Angeles defeated No. 5 seed Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-0 today.

Two wild cards will face off in the top half of the boys draw, with 17-year-old Robert Baylon and 15-year-old Brandon Nakashima competing for a place in the final. Two sophomores will meet in the bottom half: Texan Kevin Zhu, who went 4-0 in singles at line 1 in last week's Spring Team Championships, and Californian Jacob Bullard.

Both the men's and women's teams at Emory won Indoor Titles in the past several weeks, and they have maintained their place at the top of the Division III rankings this week. Complete rankings can be found by clicking on the headers below.  The ITA release is here.

Women's D-III Team Rankings:
1. Emory (1)
2. Williams College (2)
3. Bowdoin College (4)
4. Pomona-Pitzer (6)
5. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (5)
6. Univ. of Chicago (10)
7. Middlebury College (3)
8. Wesleyan University (8)
9. Washington Univ.-St. Louis (11)
10. Carnegie Mellon University (12)

Men's D-III Team Rankings:
1. Emory Univ. (1)
2. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (6)
3. Bowdoin College(2)
4. Middlebury College (3)
5. Univ. of Chicago (4)
6. Washington Univ.-St. Louis (5)
7. Carnegie Mellon University (7)
8. Univ. of Redlands (18)
9. Pomona-Pitzer (9)
10. Wesleyan Univ. (11)

The Junior College team rankings were also released today, with Tyler Junior College's women's and men's teams both No. 1.  ASA Miami is No. 2 in both men's and women's rankings.  The ITA release is here.