Wild Card Ekstrand Claims W35 Title in Jackson Mississippi; Brooksby Earns First ATP Title in Houston; Pegula Wins WTA 500 in Charleston; Auburn and Oklahoma Women Post Victories in SEC Top 10 Battles

The only three pro tournaments in the United States this week were all won by Americans, with both 17-year-old Monika Ekstrand and 24-year-old Jenson Brooksby reaching career milestones.

Ekstrand had a breakthrough tournament at the USTA Pro Circuit W35 in Jackson Mississippi. As a wild card entry, Ekstrand defeated the top two seeds at either end of the tournament, taking out No. 1 seed Cadence Brace(LSU) of Canada in the first round and No. 2 seed Ana Sofia Sanchez of Mexico 6-3, 6-4 in the final today. Ekstrand, whose best finish in a pro circuit tournament prior to this week came in February, when she reached the semifinals of a W15 in Mallorca, should receive a special exempt entry into the main draw of the Boca Raton Florida W35 this coming week; Ekstrand lives nearby in Delray Beach.

In most years, Ekstrand would be leading after the first week of the USTA's Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge after picking up 35 points this week, but Julieta Pareja's 98 for making the semifinals of the WTA 250 in Colombia will put her in the lead. 

While Pareja is in a good position after the first of four (correction: FIVE) weeks of tournaments that count for the race (Sachia Vickery won the RG wild card last year with 130 points), Jenson Brooksby has pretty much locked up the wild card with his title today at the ATP 250 in Houston.

Brooksby, who saved match point in three of his wins this week, one in qualifying, two in the main draw, won the battle of Kalamazoo 18s champions today, with the 2018 Kalamazoo champion beating 2015 champion Frances Tiafoe, the No. 2 seed, 6-4, 6-2 in the final. 

Out most of two years with injury and a suspension for failing to report his whereabouts for drug testing, Brooksby had lost in his three previous appearances in ATP finals, but he was much more consistent than Tiafoe, who fell short in the Houston title for the third straight year. 

Brooksby's 250 points are substantially more than the usual winner of the USTA's Australian Open, Roland Garros and US Open wild card challenges, who often has a point total in the 100-150 range. Now up to 172 in the ATP live rankings, Brooksby has also assured himself of a spot in Wimbledon qualifying, even if he doesn't continue to win as consistently as he did in Houston. 

Due to the inclement weather Saturday, the doubles final was played today, with former Tennessee All-American JP Smith of Australia and Fernando Romboli of Brazil taking the title. The unseeded 36-year-olds didn't drop a set in their run to the title, beating unseeded Federico Agustin Gomez(Louisville) of Argentina and Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico 6-1, 6-4 in the final. 

Another collegiate standout, two-time NCAA champion Erin Routliffe(Alabama), won a title today, with Routliffe partnering with Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia for the doubles title at the WTA 500 in Charleston South Carolina. The top-seeded Routliffe, who represents New Zealand, and Ostapenko defeated No. 3 seeds Desirae Krawczyk and Caroline Dolehide 6-4, 6-2 in the final. 

Top seed Jessica Pegula claimed the singles title, and with it, moved to No. 3 in the WTA rankings, surpassing Coco Gauff as the top-ranked American. Pegula came from 5-1 down in the second set to beat unseeded Sofia Kenin 6-3, 7-5.

Because the matches were played so late at night, I wasn't able to report on the run of University of Virginia freshman and 2024 US Open boys champion Rafael Jodar of Spain at the ATP Challenger 75 in Mexico. Jodar, who received main draw entry via the ATP Accelerator Program, reached the semifinals, falling to eventual champion Marc-Andrea Heusler of Switzerland, the No. 4 seed, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. The 18-year-old, who is 14-1 at the top of Virginia's lineup since joining the Cavaliers in January, is now up to 688 in the ATP live rankings.

It was Senior Day for many programs across the country, with the final regular season home matches this weekend giving teams the chance to honor their seniors with only a week or two remaining in the regular season.

There were two Top 10 showdowns in the SEC today for the women, with the visitors getting both victories. No. 8 Oklahoma beat No. 10 LSU 4-1 in Baton Rouge and No. 9 Auburn defeated No. 6 Tennessee 4-2 in Knoxville.

LSU won the doubles point, but Kayla Cross, who has been named to the Canadian Billie Jean King Cup team for their trip to Japan this coming week, did not play singles after getting a victory in doubles. Oklahoma got singles wins at 2, 3, 4 and 5, all in straight sets, to secure the win.

Auburn took the doubles point from Tennessee, but lost at No. 1 singles, with Elza Tomase beating fall NCAA singles finalist DJ Bennett 6-0, 6-1. Yet Auburn found the three singles points they needed, getting wins and 2, 3 and 6 to earn the win.