Lutkemeyer, Kirchheimer Win UTR $25K Titles; UCLA Men Voted Top Recruiting Class for 2021; More Teams Earn ITA Team Indoor Berths
Anne Christine Lutkemeyer and Strong Kirchheimer earned titles Sunday at the UTR Pro Tennis Tour's $25,000 events in Newport Beach California and Naples Florida, respectively.
Lutkemeyer, a 16-year-old blue chip from Irvine California, defeated top seed Kayla Day in the semifinals 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 Sunday, with the Saturday schedule wiped out due to rain. So Lutkemeyer was required to play two matches on Sunday, while her opponent, former Dartmouth star Taylor Ng, had received a walkover from No. 2 seed Ana Sofia Sanchez in the semifinals. In the final, Lutkemeyer defeated Ng 7-6(5), 6-3, going undefeated in the round robin and knockout stages while earning $4000. Ng won $2200 for reaching the finals. Lukemeyer is entered in this week's $25,000 tournament in Newport Beach, as are Day and Ng.
Like Lutkemeyer, Kirchheimer defeated the top seed in the semifinals, earning a 7-5, 6-2 win over former Princeton star Matic Pecotic on Saturday. In the final, the former Northwestern standout defeated Cristian Rodriguez Sanchez, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4. Rodriguez Sanchez, who also reached the final at the previous week's $25K in Naples, had taken out No. 2 seed JC Aragone(Virginia) 7-6, 6-0 in the semifinals.
There is no men's UTR $25K this week in the United States, with the next three in February in Newport Beach. After this week, the women's UTR $25Ks take a break until March. The full schedule is here.
Tennis Recruiting Network published its January recruiting class rankings for men today, with UCLA at the top of the list, followed by Alabama, Michigan, Florida and Florida State. I have participated in these rankings for as long as they've existed, and while I don't have any illusions about these rankings translating to accurate projections of team strength two or three years later, it is useful to see this information collected in one place. It also provides sports information directors with another reason to write about their tennis teams, which can't hurt.
Rain continues to plague the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Southern California, with two finals--men at USC and women at Pepperdine--still incomplete, although in progress. Two participants in next month's ITA Division I Team Indoor Championships were decided this afternoon in North Carolina, with the Northwestern women and North Carolina men earning one of the eight spots. Northwestern was the revelation of the Kickoff Weekend, unranked in the preseason and seeded No. 4. The Wildcats defeated eighth-ranked host North Carolina State 4-3 in a thriller Sunday, then followed up with a shutout of No. 2 seed Wake Forest today to earn a place in the Team Indoor Championships, which they have won twice, back in 2010 and 2011. The only other No. 4 seed with a shot at the ITA Indoor Championships are the Baylor men, and they were No. 15 in the preseason rankings.
Below are the results as of 7 p.m. EST; I will update later tonight is the other two finals finish. Teams qualifying for the Team Indoor are in bold.
WOMEN:
North Carolina Regional:
Mississippi[2] d. Old Dominion[3] 4-2
North Carolina[1] d. Notre Dame[4] 4-0
Final: North Carolina[1] d. Mississippi[2] 4-1
Texas Regional:
Texas[1] d. Iowa[4] 4-0
Baylor[3] d. Arizona State[2] 4-2
Final: Texas[1] d. Baylor[3] 4-0
Ohio State Regional
Ohio State[1] d. Syracuse[4] 4-0
Virginia[2] d. Tennessee[3] 4-1
Final: Ohio State[1] d. Virginia[2] 4-2
Georgia Tech Regional
Georgia Tech[1] d. South Carolina[4] 4-3
Duke[2] d. Michigan[3] 4-1
Final: Georgia Tech[1] d. Duke[2] 4-3
UCLA Regional
UCLA[1] d. California[4] 4-0
Texas A&M[2] d Washington State[3] 4-1
Final(MONDAY): UCLA[1] d. Texas A&M[2] 4-0
Pepperdine Regional
Pepperdine[1] d. Wisconsin[4] 4-0
USC[3] d. Denver[2] 4-1
Final(MONDAY): Pepperdine[1] d. USC[3] 4-2
NC State Regional
Northwestern[4] d. NC State[1] 4-3
Wake Forest[2] d. Central Florida[3] 4-3
Final(MONDAY): Northwestern[4] d. Wake Forest[2] 4-0
MEN:
Ohio State Regional
Ohio State[1] d. Middle Tennessee State[4] 4-0
Virginia[3] d. Iowa[2] 4-0
Final: Virginia[3] d. Ohio State[1] 4-2
NC State Regional
NC State[1] d. Alabama[4] 4-2
Tennessee[2] d. Mississippi[3] 4-2
Final: Tennessee[2] d. NC State[1] 4-1
Texas Regional
Florida[2] d. Arizona[3] 4-2
Texas[1] d. Liberty[4] 4-1
Final: Texas[1] d. Florida[2] 4-3
USC Regional
USC[1] d. UNLV[4] 4-0
UCLA[2] d. California[3] 4-0
Final(MONDAY): USC[1] d. UCLA[2] 4-1
Michigan Regional
Baylor[4] d. Michigan[1] 4-0
Texas A&M[2] d. Pepperdine[3] 4-0
Final: TBD
TCU Regional
TCU[1] d. Denver[4] 5-0
Oklahoma[3] d. Wake Forest[2] 4-0
Final: TCU[1] d. Oklahoma[2] 4-0
North Carolina Regional
North Carolina[1] d. Northwestern[4] 4-0
South Carolina[3] d. Duke[2] 4-1
Final(MONDAY): North Carolina[1] d. South Carolina[3] 4-1
9 comments:
I am trying to figure out Georgia Tech vs. Duke Women's Tennis Match
Is Georgia Tech really that well coached OR is Duke really that poorly coached?
There is no way Duke, on paper, should ever come close to losing that match. They had a full lineup, no injuries, no contract tracing. They had a big lead. They were favored in EVERY match.
Thank you for any help figuring this one out.
Power. Hrastar is a huge hitter. Did you see her serve. Gia Cohen, likewise big hitter. Too bad this match isn't shown on GT youtube video. You can rewatch those. Victoria Flores has improved immensely, also hits very aggressively now. Kenya Jones, likewise power hitter, her beating Kelly is no upset.
Remember that in 2018? GT upset Pepperdine and UCLA in the NCAA. Coach Harmon really seems to be the Real Deal.
vs OSU at NTI last year;
1-No. 60 Kenya Jones (GT) def. No. 8 Shiori Fukuda (OSU) 6-1, 6-4
2-No. 49 Victoria Flores (GT) def. No. 99 Danielle Wolf (OSU) 6-3, 7-6 (6)
Don't be fooled by Wolf's low ranking, she was red hot that season, hitting with huge power. But Flores was likewise red hot last season.
In that tournament Duke lost to OSU(Score from Duke)
#12 Ohio State 4, #5 Duke 2
Singles
1. #11 Shiori Fukuda (OSU) def. #10 Kelly Chen (DU) 6-3, 6-4
2. Danielle Wolf (OSU) def. Yasmine Mansouri (DU) 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5)
3. #67 Margaryta Bilokin (DU) def. Isabelle Boulais (OSU) 6-4, 6-2
4. #77 Meible Chi (DU) def. #125 Kolie Allen (OSU) 5-7, 6-1, 6-2
5. #58 Irina Cantos Siemers (OSU) vs. #25 Chloe Beck (DU) 6-3, 6-7 (1-7), 4-3, unfinished
6. Kathleen Jones (OSU) def. Hannah Zhao (DU) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles
1. Chloe Beck/Kelly Chen (DU) def. Isabelle Boulais/Kolie Allen (OSU) 6-2
2. Shiori Fukuda/Irina Cantos Siemers (OSU) def. Yasmine Mansouri/Margaryta Bilokin (DU) 6-2
3. Kathleen Jones/Danielle Wolf (OSU) def. Meible Chi/Hannah Zhao (DU) 6-3
Match Notes:
Duke 4-1; National ranking #5
Ohio State 3-0; National ranking #12
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,1,3,4,2)
GT Regional was super competitive anyway, any team could've advanced.
GT beat OSU in that tournament, by the way(NTI semifinalist?).
It's even more impressive considering that GT is not a recruiting powerhouse like Stanford, UF, UCLA, Duke, UGA and UNC.
Big shout out to WF as well, this is a quite a young team, since of the key members, Meredith transferred, and Caro Campana, Eliza Omirou didn't even play.
Fan
Thank you for all your input. Georgia Tech as been achieving more than one would think with their roster. They have had big wins over the past 3-4 years. What is crazy is that Coach Harmon was not even at the Duke match on Sunday.
One correction I would add is that UF is not a recruiting powerhouse anymore. They should be but steep downhill in past several years. All the other schools you mentioned are. They do not attract any Top Americans anymore and their best recent recruits came from, ironically Georgia Tech and Ohio State (signed NLI).
Disappointing all the losses Duke has had with their roster, underachieving would be an understatement but seems people only go there now for the education and not for tennis program which is understandable.
yes WF is off to a good start and a solid young team.
This season is already off to a crazy start and hope more matches do not get cancelled.
lol you noticed that too, I couldn't find coach Harmon either! Credit to other coaches and all. Good overall system I guess?
You're right about UF, they had a crazy dominant period of recruiting, Collins Keegan Danilina Austin Porter Kuhlman Neel, but after the NCAA win, having a bit of a doldrum nowadays. Have no idea if it's related to power hitters Austin and Collins not doing well there, but traditionally they were a recruiting powerhouse, for sure.
I don't think Duke is that bad, just that other teams are doing so well, like Ohio State and GT. Challenging but surely a good thing imo, the overall league becoming more competitive. One thing hasn't changed, Stanford dominating the team NCAA...!
correction] GT actually lost to Stanford in the Quarterfinals at NTI.
Finding Answers, what do you mean by UF getting a transfer from OSU. First thought Rioux was going there lol but you said Ohio State. You mean Fukuda? Now playing for Pepperdine. Thx!
Fan
Layne Sleeth signed her NLI to Ohio State. In August, only weeks before going to Columbus to start college, she mysteriously commits to Florida. Not exactly sure what happened as its tough to have a change of heart that close to attending another school without something going on.
I did not know that! Thank you. To think of it Jessica Failla was going to transfer to OSU but suddenly went to Pepperdine instead. Also another freshman recruit..was it Lara Schneider? was supposed to go there but instead went to FSU. Is OSU campus not so attractive..or Columbus itself lol. Maybe it's too cold?! OSU is still doing well though.
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