My Conversation with ATP Doubles Newcomers Robert Cash and JJ Tracy; NCAA Qualifiers Determined at ITA All-American Championships, Semifinals Set for Saturday; Lutkemeyer Reaches Semis at W35 Berkeley

JJ Tracy and Robert Cash

During the US Open, I had an opportunity to talk with Ohio State's 2024 spring NCAA doubles champions Robert Cash and JJ Tracy for the first time since they claimed that title in Stillwater Oklahoma. Often it takes several years for top college doubles players to find a pro partner and get their bearings on the ATP Tour, but Cash and Tracy reached an ATP final less than two months after winning the NCAAs. In our conversation for this article at Tennis Recruiting Network, I asked them about their immediate success and why they think so many of the top ATP doubles players have a college background. I spoke to them before they reached the semifinals in New York, but after their three-tiebreaker win over No. 7 seeds Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli, they were obviously confident they could beat anyone in the draw, and now are both ranked in the Top 40 of the ATP rankings less 16 months removed from that NCAA title.

Friday is Qualification Day at the ITA All-American Championships, with the players who win their third round matches automatically qualifying for the NCAA individual championships in Lake Nona in November. But the quarterfinals also are played Friday, so it's not surprising that two of the eight men's quarterfinalists, DK Suresh of Wake Forest and Sebastian Gorzny of Texas, both still in doubles, and one of the eight women's quarterfinalist, Reese Brantmeier of North Carolina, also still in doubles, gave their opponents a walkover into Saturday's semifinals.

Suresh, the top seed, and Gorzny, a No. 9 seed, both had three-set matches in the third round. Suresh came back to beat qualifier Duncan Chan of TCU 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, while Gorzny saved four match points in his 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(9) win over No. 8 seed Sebastian Dominko of Notre Dame. Gorzny was down two breaks with Dominko serving at 4-1 in the third set, only to win four straight games. He went down 6-4 in the tiebreaker, but  Dominko couldn't take advantage of his opportunities there or at 7-6 and 8-7, and Gorzny punched his ticket to the NCAAs with a clever slice backhand short angle on his second match point at 10-9.

Gorzny gave a walkover in the quarterfinals to Ohio State's Aidan Kim, the No. 2 seed; Suresh's walkover put No. 7 seed Dylan Dietrich of Virginia in the semifinals.

Men's ITA All-American Championships third round singles results September 26, 2025, Tulsa OK:

DK Suresh[1] Wake Forest d. Duncan Chan[Q] TCU 4-6, 6-4, 6-2

Dylan Dietrich[7] Virginia d. Jack Anthrop[Q] Ohio State 6-4, 6-4

Devin Badenhorst[9] Baylor d. Vignesh Gogineni Yale 6-1, 7-5

Matthew Forbes[Q] Michigan State d. Kenta Miyoshi[4] Illinois 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-5

Jay Friend[3] Arizona d. Emon van Loben Sels UCLA 7-5, 6-2

Ozan Baris[5] Michigan State d. Aleksa Kirvokapic[9] 6-1, 6-1

Sebastian Gorzny[9] Texas d. Sebastian Dominko[8] Notre Dame 6-4, 1-6 7-6(9)

Aidan Kim[2] Ohio State d. Santiago Giamichelle[PQ] Georgia 6-4, 6-3

Quarterfinals:

Dylan Dietrich[7] Virginia d. DK Suresh[1] Wake Forest walkover

Jay Friend[3] Arizona d. Ozan Baris[5] Michigan State  6-3, 2-6, 6-2

Devin Badenhorst[9] Baylor d. Matthew Forbes[Q] Michigan State 7-6(6), 6-2

Aidan Kim[2] Ohio State d. Sebastian Gorzny[9] Texas walkover

No. 2 seed Brantmeier, who is still coming back from an injury suffered in the ITA Team Indoor Championships in February, breezed past Leyla Britez Risso of Tennessee 6-2, 6-0, but gave a walkover into the semifinals to No. 9 seed Carmen Herea of Texas.

Ohio State has both Luciana Perry[3] and Teah Chavez[7] in the semifinals, with the potential for an all-Buckeye final.

Women's ITA All-American Championships third round singles results September 26, 2025, Cary NC:

Tatum Evans North Carolina d. Savannah Dada-Mascoll Appalachian State 6-1, 7-5

Teah Chavez[7] Ohio State d. Julia Ruiz Garcia[7] Oklahoma 6-3, 6-4

Valerie Glozman[4] Stanford d. Mao Mushika[9] 3-6, 7-5, 6-3

Emma Charney USC d. Denis Dilek[PQ] Georgia 6-2, 1-6, 6-2

Irina Balus[9] Duke d. Rose Maria Nijkamp Oklahoma State 6-4, 7-5

Luciana Perry[3] Ohio State d. Berta Passola Folch[Q] 7-6(4), 6-0

Carmen Herea[9] Texas d. Piper Charney[6] Michigan 7-5, 3-6, 6-1

Reese Brantmeier[2] North Carolina d. Leyla Britez Risso Tennessee 6-2, 6-0

Quarterfinals:

Teah Chavez[7] Ohio State d. Tatum Evans North Carolina 6-3, 7-5

Valerie Glozman[4] Stanford d. Emma Charney USC 6-0, 6-2

Luciana Perry[3] d. Irina Balus[9] Duke 6-0, 6-2

Carmen Herea[9] Texas d. Reese Brantmeier[2] North Carolina walkover

The doubles semifinalists, all of whom qualify for direct entry into the NCAAs, were determined today, with Friday's pairings below.

Women's doubles semifinals:

Reese Brantmeier and Alanis Hamilton[1] North Carolina v Roisin Gilheany and Gloriana Nahum Oklahoma

Maria Sholokhova and Lucie Urbanova Wisconsin v Gabriella Broadfoot and Victoria Osuigwe[5] NC State

Men's doubles semifinals:

Benito Sanchez Martinez and Petar Jovanovic[1] Mississippi State v Tanapatt Nirundorn and Henry Jefferson Florida

Paul Inchauspe and Landon Ardila Princeton v DK Suresh and Andrew Delgado Wake Forest

There are two more automatic qualifiers for the NCAAs, with the consolation finalists in singles getting in. That's how both Georgia's Dasha Vidmanova, the eventual NCAA champion, and Texas A&M's Mary Stoiana got in last year.

Cracked Racquets will have semifinal coverage beginning at 11 a.m. Eastern time at the ITA YouTube Channel.

Top seed Kristina Penickova is through to the singles semifinals and doubles final at the ITF J500 Osaka Mayor's Cup in Japan after beating No. 5 seed Kanon Sawashiro of Japan 6-2, 6-1. Nancy Lee lost to No. 2 seed Ksenia Efremova of France, Penickova's doubles partner, 6-2, 6-0 in the quarterfinals. Penickova will face No. 11 seed Anna Pushkareva of Russia in Saturday's semifinals.

At the W35 in Berkeley, UCLA senior Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer advanced to the semifinals, beating No. 3 seed Akasha Urhobo 6-2, 6-2. The 21-year-old Californian will face unseeded Johanne Svendsen of Denmark, who beat wild card Aspen Schuman 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Lutkemeyer, who qualified for this tournament, reached two W15 finals this summer, but this is her first semifinal above that level. In the other semifinal, Auburn sophomore Merna Refaat of Egypt beat fellow qualifier Alexis Nguyen 6-2, 7-5 and will play the only seed remaining, No. 4  Zuzanna Pawlikowska of Poland. Pawlikowska edged No. 5 seed Malaika Rapolu(Texas) 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(4). 

At the M15 in Ann Arbor,  Alex Kotzen is the only American to reach the semifinals, with the former Columbia and Tennessee star beating fellow qualifier Matias Ponce De Leon Gomila(Alabama, LSU) of Spain 6-3, 6-2. He will play Oliver Okonkwo(Iowa, Illinois) of Great Britain, who beat top seed Keegan Smith(UCLA) 6-2, 6-4. 

Wild card Max Dahlin of Sweden, a sophomore at Michigan, reached the semifinals with a 7-6(0), 6-1 win over unseeded Evan Bynoe. Dahlin will play No. 2 seed Raphael Perot(Texas A&M) of France, who beat Jack Satterfield 6-3, 6-1.