My Article on Johnny Mac Tennis Project Director Ryann Cutillo; Kessler Claims WTA 125 Title in Mexico; Satterfield and Rodriguez Double Up on J60 Titles; Barry Wins D-II Women's Indoor; D-I Team Indoor All-Tournament Teams Released

Ryann Cutillo with John McEnroe

I always enjoy talking with players I covered in juniors as they move into their careers after college, and when I heard that former blue chip Ryann Cutillo was now executive director of the Johnny Mac Tennis Project, I wanted to learn more about that non-profit and her role in leading it. That led to this article for the Tennis Recruiting Network, which describes how she got back into tennis after a decade in sales and is now guiding a major expansion of the program, which introduces tennis to the underserved communities in New York.

There's also a piece of news in the article, with blue chip Christasha McNeil the recipient of a women's qualifying wild card at next month's BNP Paribas Open.

Late last night in Mexico, McCartney Kessler won her biggest title as a professional at the WTA 125 in Puerto Vallarta. The former Florida All-American was a lucky loser, having lost to Liv Hovde in qualifying, just a couple of weeks after having beaten Hovde in the final of the W75 in Rome Georgia. Kessler didn't drop a set in reaching the final, with four straight-sets wins, but dropped the first set against teenage wild card Taylah Preston of Australia before coming back for a 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 win. Kessler is now up to 120 in the WTA rankings, after starting her first full year on tour in 2023 at 945.

I covered several tournaments on the ITF Junior Circuit Friday and Saturday, but I don't want to neglect the other titles captured by Americans last week, including two in singles at J60s in Guatemala. Sixteen-year-old Jack Satterfield and 15-year-old Ava Rodriguez, who had swept the titles the previous week at the J60s in Guatemala, earned three of the four titles this week, including both singles championships.

The unseeded Satterfield didn't drop a set all week, defeating No. 2 seed Jon Gamble 6-4, 6-3 in the all-US final. No. 8 seed Rodriguez also took the title without dropping a set, beating qualifier Sara Shumate 6-1, 6-0 in the all-US final.

Rodriguez won the doubles title for the second week in a row, partnering with Aleksandra Kyselova of Ukraine. The No. 3 seeds defeated unseeded Zaire Clarke and Lucia Donnelly 7-6(3), 6-0 in the final. Rodriguez now has five ITF junior doubles titles with five different partners.  

Satterfield and his partner Lucca Acioly of Brazil lost in the boys doubles final to the unseeded American team of Nathan Mansfield and Omar Rhazali 6-0, 7-6(12). It's the first ITF junior doubles title for the 17-year-old Mansfield and the 16-year-old Rhazali. 

The seventh and eighth singles titles of last week for American juniors came at the J30 in Mexico, with 17-year-old UC-San Diego recruit Robert Freedman and 14-year-old Chukwumelije Clarke taking home the winners' trophies. Freedman, the No. 12 seed, defeated No. 3 seed Oliver Moises Aguilar Gasperin of Mexico 7-5, 6-2 in the final, with all five of his victories in his first ITF junior circuit title coming in straight sets. Top seed Clarke won her third ITF junior circuit singles title with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win over No. 12 seed Alexia Estrada of Mexico.

Clarke and Ireland O'Brien won the doubles title, with the top seeds defeating No. 2 seeds Camille Allegre and Olivia Allegre 6-0, 6-7(6), 11-9 in the all-US final.

At last week's J200 in Lithuania, 15-year-old Carel Ngounoue reached the boys singles final, with the No. 4 seed falling to No. 2 seed Felix Balshaw of France 6-2, 6-1 in the final.

Mark Krupkin won the doubles title at the J100 in the Netherlands and William Dean won the doubles title at the J60 in Luxembourg.

The ITA Division II Women's Team Indoor Championships concluded late last night in Kearney Nebraska, with top seeds and two-time defending champion Barry claiming a fourth title for the program with a 4-2 victory over No. 2 seed Nova Southeastern. Barry has won four of the five Women's Team Indoor Championships, which began in 2020; they did not compete in the 2021 tournament.

For reasons I can't explain, the release of the All-Tournament Teams for the ITA Division I Team Indoor Championships were delayed, but both the men's and women's teams were announced today. Results of those selected can be found by clicking on the titles below.

Division I ITA Women's Team Indoor All-Tournament Team

Most Outstanding Player: Kristina Novak, Oklahoma State

Singles:
1. Amelia Rajecki, NC State

2. Connie Ma, Stanford

3. Alexandra Yepifanova, Stanford

4. Safiya Carrington, Oklahoma State

5. Lily Jones, Michigan

6. Kristina Nova, Oklahoma State

Doubles:

1. Anastasiya Komar and Ange Oby Kajuru, Oklahoma State

2. Connie Ma and Alexandra Yepifanova, Stanford

3. Charlotte Chavatipon and Vivian Ovrootsky, Texas

Division I ITA Men's Team Indoor All-Tournament Team

Most Oustanding Player: Robert Cash, Ohio State

Singles:

1. Jake Fearnley, TCU

2. Jack  Pinnington Jones, TCU

3. JJ Tracy, Ohio State

4. Jack Anthrop, Ohio State

5. Robert Cash, Ohio State

6. Alexander Bernard, Ohio State

Doubles:

1. Johannus Monday and Angel Diaz, Tennessee

2. Filippo Moroni and Matthew Thomson, Wake Forest

3. Henry von der Schulenburg and David Lins, Harvard