Jodar and Damm to Meet in Lincoln Challenger Final; Rogers Beats Vidmanova to Reach W100 Macon Final; Wolff Escapes Liutova Upset Bid in Bakersfield W35; First Australian Open Junior Wild Cards Earned in South America

The finals are set at the ATP Challenger 75 in Lincoln Nebraska, with University of Virginia sophomore Rafael Jodar facing No. 8 seed Martin Damm after both posted straight-sets victories today.

Jodar, who beat top seed Brandon Holt(USC) in last night's quarterfinal 6-0, 7-5 took out No. 4 seed Patrick Kypson(Texas A&M) 6-3, 6-3 today to reach his second ATP Challenger final.

Damm, who saved two match points in his 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) win over Andre Ilagan(Hawaii) in the quarterfinals yesterday, beat No. 7 seed Johannes Monday(Tennessee) of Great Britain 6-4, 6-4 in today's semifinals to reach his third ATP Challenger final.

Damm is seeking his first Challenger title, while Jodar won his only other appearance, this summer at a Challenger 50 in Greece.

The doubles title went to former Tennessee teammates Monday and Australian Pat Harper, with the No. 2 seeds beating the Indian team of DK Suresh(Wake Forest) and Aryan Shah 6-4, 7-5 in today's final.

At the USTA Pro Circuit W100 in Macon Georgia, former NC State All-American Anna Rogers has advanced to her biggest final, with the unseeded 27-year-old from Connecticut beating No. 2 seed and 2024 fall NCAA champion Dasha Vidmanova(Georgia) 6-3, 6-4 in today's semifinals. 

Rogers, who had come from a set down in her wins over Louisa Chirico[3], Madison Brengle and Ayana Akli(Maryland, South Carolina), will face top seed Renata Zarazua of Mexico for the title. Zarazua beat No. 4 seed Emerson Jones of Australia 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals. 

Rogers, who until this week had not won a main draw match since July, going 0-8, is now at a career-high of 247 in the live rankings.

The doubles finals Sunday will feature one current and three former collegians, with Rasheeda McAdoo(Georgia Tech) and Auburn senior Agnella Okutoyi of Kenya facing Akli and former USC All-American Eryn Cayetano for the title.

At the USTA Pro Circuit W35 in Bakersfield California, the run of Kristina Liutova came to end this evening, with top seed Vivian Wolff(Georgia, UCLA) saving two set points in the second set to beat the Seattle-based 15-year-old 6-3, 7-6(2). Wolff will play unseeded Marie Weckerle of Luxembourg, who beat Pepperdine freshman Sonja Zhiyenbayeva of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-4. 

The first two wild cards for January's Australian Open Junior Championships have been determined in the playoff tournament held in Argentina for South American players. Sabrina Balderrama of Venezuela, a 16-year-old with current ITF junior ranking 169, won the girls playoff, while Leonardo Storck Franca of Brazil, also 16 years old and with a current ITF junior ranking 111, won the boys playoff.