Penickova Sisters Sweep J100 in Ghana; Bektas Leads USTA AO Wild Card Challenge; ITA Cup Small College Champions Crowned; D-I Regionals Update

The 14-year-old Penickova twins won their fourth ITF Junior Circuit doubles title of the year last week at the J100 in Accra Ghana, while playing each other for the singles title.  

Top seed Kristina won, defeating No. 2 seed Annika 6-4, 6-4 for her second ITF singles title, with the previous one coming at a J60 in Tunisia this summer. 

The top seeds in doubles, Kristina and Annika overwhelmed the three teams they faced in the doubles draw, beating unseeded Elizabeth Evans of Great Britain and Theodora Kousiou of Greece 6-1, 6-0 in the final. 

The other American claiming an ITF Junior Circuit singles title last week was 15-year-old Ronit Karki. Karki, the No. 10 seed, defeated unseeded Matthew Zeitman 6-2, 6-1 in the final of the J60 in the Dominican Republic for his first ITF Junior Circuit title. Karki, who had lost to Zeitman in the third round at last week's J60 in the Dominican Republic, didn't lose more than five games in any of his six victories.

The ITF Junior Circuit returns to the United States this week at the J60 in Lexington South Carolina. Shrikeshav Murugesan, the boys top seed, won his first round match today, but girls top seed Julie Adele Bedard was beaten by Mary Cain Webster 7-6(4), 7-5.

After two weeks of play in the USTA's Australian Open Wild Card Challenge, Emina Bektas(Michigan) is at the top of the standings. Bektas reached her first WTA semifinal last week in Korea to earn 110 points, while first week leader McCartney Kessler(Florida) did not play. Current WTA No. 92 Claire Liu, who reached quarterfinals in Korea, is now tied with Kessler for second place. Bektas is up to 104 in the current WTA rankings, so she is getting close to the Australian Open main draw without a wild card, although she has points to defend this fall. From the USTA release:

ORLANDO, Fla., October 16, 2023 – Emina Bektas is now in the lead for an Australian Open wild card after reaching the semifinals at the Korea Open WTA 250 in Seoul.

The Top 5 in the women's standings after the second of five weeks are below (player's current ranking in parenthesis):

1. Emina Bektas (104) -- 110
T2. McCartney Kessler (244) -- 80
T2. Claire Liu (92) -- 80
4. Jennifer Brady (222) -- 65
5. Iva Jovic (668) -- 55
6. Fiona Crawley (559) -- 50

The Challenge will utilize indoor and outdoor hard-court and carpet professional tournaments to award an American man and woman a main draw wild card into the 2024 Australian Open. The men's Challenge will begin with events starting the week of October 23.

The ITA Cup, which serves as the National Fall Championships for Division II, Division III, NAIA and Junior Colleges, concluded yesterday in Rome Georgia. The complete list of winners and finalists can be found at this ITA recap. The Super Bowl, which is a playoff of the winners of the four divisions, has been reinstated for this year, with the Super Bowl champions in both singles and doubles earning a spot in the Division I National Fall Championships next month. The final matches were scheduled for today, but the results have not yet been posted on the draws.

The ITA Division I Regional Championships have been underway for a couple of weeks, but the majority of the Regionals are scheduled for this coming weekend, with the last two ending on October 24, eight days prior to the start of the National Fall Championships at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego. The singles champion and finalist of each regional secures a spot in the Fall Nationals; only the doubles champion is guaranteed a berth in San Diego (CORRECTION: both champions and finalists receive spots in the Fall National Championships).

Below are the results to date. Two women's regionals that were to finish today have finals between teammates, so they opted instead to play back on their home courts. I'll update the rest of the regional results next week.

Division I Regional Results as of October 16, 2023

WOMEN:

Southern 

Singles:

Petra Sedlackova[3], Alabama d. Kinaa Graham[4], LSU 6-0, 2-6, 6-1

Doubles:

Alexandra Mikhailuk and Athina Pitta, Mississippi State d. Kinaa Graham and Anita Sahdiieva[4], LSU 1-6, 7-5, 10-5

Midwest

Singles:

Kari Miller[3], Michigan v Julia Fliegner[5-8], Michigan

Doubles:

Jaedan Brown and Kari Miller[1], Michigan d. Luciana Perry and Irina Cantos Siemers[5-8], Ohio State 8-7(3)

Texas

Singles:

Malaika Rapolu[4], Texas d. Charlotte Chavatipon[3], Texas 6-4, 6-2

Doubles:

Metka Komac and Avelina Sayfetdinova[1], Texas Tech d. Tanya Sasnouskaya and Sabina Zeynalova[2], Texas 7-5, 6-2

Central

Singles:

Anastasiya Komar[1], Oklahoma State v Ange Oby Kajuru[3], Oklahoma State

Doubles:

Dana Guzman and Alina Shcherbinina[1], Oklahoma d. Anastasiya Komar and Ange Oby Kajuru[3], Oklahoma State 7-5, 3-6, 10-5

MEN:

Mountain

Singles:

Bodin Zarkovic[4], Utah State d. Daniel Sancho Arbizu[3], Denver, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3

Doubles:

Wally Thayne and Zach Fuchs[2], Brigham Young d. Geronimo Busleiman and Berk Bugariki[1], Utah 5-7, 6-3, 10-4

Ohio Valley

Singles:

Leo Raquin[7], Middle Tennessee State d. Pau Fanlo[17], Memphis 4-6, 6-4, 6-0

Doubles:

Nathan Cox and Jeremie Casabon[2], Vanderbilt d. Pablo Alemany and Charlie Barry[5], Memphis 6-2 6-4

Atlantic

Singles:

Ryan Fishback[3], Virginia Tech d. Mathis Bondaz, VCU 7-6(4), 6-3

Doubles:

Jakob Cadonau and Cosme Rolland De Ravel, Old Dominion d. Matisse Bobichon and Mathis Bondaz, VCU 6-4, 6-2

Southeast

Singles:

Miguel Perez Pena[9], Georgia d. Alvin Tudorica[12], South Florida 7-6(5), 6-1

Doubles:

Lleyton Cronje and Santiago Giamichelle, Central Florida d. Gabriele Brancatelli and Richard Biagiotti, Georgia Tech 6-2, 6-0