Brantmeier Sweeps Titles, Razeghi Wins Second Straight at New Jersey Grade 5; Rahman Claims Grade 4 in Kenya; Semifinals Set at UTR $25Ks; First Results from ITA Kickoff Weekend

Sixteen-year-old Reese Brantmeier swept the titles today at the ITF Grade 5 in Medford New Jersey, while 14-year-old Alexander Razeghi got a double of his own, adding a second title to the one he claimed last week at the Grade 5 in Connecticut.

Brantmeier, the top seed, defeated No. 6 seed Elisabeth Jones 6-1, 6-3 to claim her first ITF Junior Circuit singles title. Brantmeier, currently No. 82 in the ITF Junior World rankings, won her first ITF Junior Circuit title last month, and it was a big one, partnering with Kimmi Hance for the Grade A Orange Bowl doubles title. 

Brantmeier's second title of day was less straightforward than her singles victory, with she and Brooklyn Olson, the top seeds, defeating No. 2 seeds Gracie Epps and Aubrey Nisbet 7-6(2), 2-6, 10-8.

Razeghi, who captured his first ITF Junior Circuit title last week with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Louis Cloud, earned his second with another victory over Cloud, the No. 6 seed, this time by a 6-4, 6-2 score. Razeghi, who received a wild card for both tournaments, is now on a ten match winning streak. 

The boys doubles championships was claimed by unseeded Preston Stearns and Nicholas Godsick, who won the 16s Orange Bowl doubles title last month. Stearns and Godsick defeated top seeds Cloud and his partner John Kim 6-1, 6-4 in the final. 

Yannik Rahman also has an ITF Junior Circuit 10-match winning streak going after taking the boys singles title at the Grade 4 in Nairobi Kenya. The second-seeded Rahman, who won the last ITF junior event he played last month in Costa Rica, defeated unseeded Yua Taka of Japan 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) in today's final. 

The semifinals of this week's $25,000 UTR Pro Tennis Tour events will begin on Saturday, after the completion of the round robin stage of the tournament today.

In the top half men's semifinal in Naples Florida, top seed Matija Pecotic, the former Princeton All-American, will face former Northwestern star Strong Kirchheimer, while No. 2 seed JC Aragone(Virginia) will take on Cristian Rodriguez Sanchez in the bottom half. Rodriguez Sanchez reached the final of the $25K in Naples last month; all four semifinalists went undefeated in their groups. 

The top two seeds advanced to the women's semifinals in Newport Beach California, with No. 1 Kayla Day set to face 16-year-old Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer and No. 2 seed Ana Sofia Sanchez taking on former Dartmouth star Taylor Ng. Day lost one match in the round robin stage, while the other three went undefeated. 

The first day of the ITF Kickoff Weekend saw eight matches played, although overnight rain at the men's regional in Texas pushed back the start there and top seed Texas is still playing its match against No. 4 seed Liberty.  The winners play Saturday for a place in the ITA Team Indoor Championships. Friday's results are below.

Women:

North Carolina Regional:

Mississippi[2] d. Old Dominion[3] 4-2

North Carolina[1] d. Notre Dame[4] 4-0

Men:

Ohio State Regional

Ohio State[1] d. Middle Tennessee State[4] 4-0

Virginia[3] d. Iowa[2] 4-0

NC State Regional

NC State[1] d. Alabama[4] 4-2

Tennessee[2] d. Mississippi[3] 4-2

Texas Regional

Florida[2] d. Arizona[3] 4-2

Texas[1] d. Liberty[4] 4-1

Bobby Knight has posted links for live streaming and live scoring throughout the weekend (and into next week) at College Tennis Today.

Cracked Racquets is providing Red Zone coverage from several venues on its YouTube Channel.