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Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Teens Take Advantage of Four USTA Pro Circuit Tournaments This Week; Stearns Makes History in Reaching Rome Semifinals; Roland Garros Wild Cards Announced

It's a busy week for the USTA Pro Circuit, with three tournaments in Florida and one in Delaware.

The W35 in Bethany Beach Delaware had a surprisingly depleted qualifying draw, with only 23 players, leading to nine byes. Only five final round qualifying matches were actually played, with a walkover and two defaults, which is strange. 

Americans qualifying--Arkansas State incoming freshman Meghna Arun Kumar, Sumvruta Iyengar(Texas-Dallas) and 40-year-old Eva Frissora(Harvard)--are joined in the main draw by lucky loser by Kallista Liu(Maryland).

Wild cards were awarded to Texas incoming freshman Elizabeth Ionescu, 17-year-old Calla McGill and Maddy Zampardo, a rising junior at NC State. McGill and Zampardo both lost their matches today, with half of the first round played Tuesday and the other half Wednesday.  Despina Papamichail of Greece is the No. 1 seed, with Anna Rogers(NC State) the No. 2 seed.

Former South Carolina All-American Ayana Akli, a finalist Sunday at the W35 in Boca Raton, is competing for a fifth straight week. Today she advanced to the second round with a 6-3, 3-0 retired decision over No. 7 seed Kayla Day. Seventeen-year-old Alexis Nguyen defeated No. 5 seed Madison Sieg(USC) 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.

At the M25 in Pensacola, six American men advanced to the main draw by winning their final qualifying matches today: Pablo Paternostro(Florida Gulf Coast); Dakotah Bobo(LSU, Southern Miss); Lazar Markovic; Columbia incoming freshman Abhishek Thorat; Liam Krall(SMU) and Tygen Goldammer(BYU).

Wild cards were given to Carson Baker, a sophomore at Boise State; Justin Lyons, a sophomore at Florida State who is from Pensacola; Kian Vakili(Penn) and Clemson rising junior Marko Mesarovic. Mesarovic lost to No. 4 seed Alex Rybakov(TCU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in first round play today. Vakili defeated No. 7 seed Quinn Vandecasteele(Oregon) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5. Baker and Lyons play their first round matches Wednesday.

Andres Andrade(Florida) of Ecuador is the top seed, with Garrett Johns(Duke) the No. 2 seed. 

The USTA National Campus in Lake Nona is hosting $15,000 tournaments for both genders this week, and both had full qualifying draws.

Americans qualifying for the men's main draw today: Matthew Segura; Ryan Dickerson(Duke, Baylor) and 14-year-old Teodor Davidov, who received a wild card into qualifying and beat UCF's No. 2 singles player Mehdi Benchakroun of Morocco 4-6, 6-0, 10-7 today.

Wild cards were given to Sunday's Plantation ITF J200 champion Gavin Goode; recent NC State graduate Braden Schick; 17-year-old Lachlan Gaskell and 16-year-old Agassi Rusher.  Goode and Gaskell both lost their first round matches today, Schick plays tomorrow, but Rusher earned his first ATP point with a 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(6) win over No. 2 seed Will Grant(Florida). Rusher retired leading 6-4, 4-5, in his semifinal match with Goode last week at the J200 in Plantation, but was able to withstand nearly three hours of competition today.

Rusher wasn't the only teen to take out a seed today, with Jagger Leach, using the ITF junior reserved program for entry, beating No. 3 seed Leo Vithoontien(Carleton) 7-5, 6-0. Ronit Karki received the other junior reserved entry; he faces qualifier Reece Falck of New Zealand in the first round. 

Top seed Dan Martin(Dartmouth, Miami) of Canada is one of only three seeds remaining after completion of just half of the first round.

Six of the eight qualifiers in the Orlando W15 are Americans: 15-year-old Anita Tu; 17-year-old Sydney Jara, who ended the winning streak of  ITF J100 Coral Gables and J200 Plantation champion Bella Payne; 14-year-old Caroline Shao; Duke incoming freshman Claire An; 19-year-old Shradha Grover and Samantha Alicea(Arizona State, Nebraska). 

UCLA incoming freshman Maya Crossley of Japan is the No. 1 seed, with the second seed Francesca Pace of Italy. 

Wild cards were given to four 14-year-olds; Scarlett Fagan, Emery Combs, Lani Chang and Olivia De Los Reyes. Chang plays Grover Wednesday, while the other three lost, although Combs came very close to an upset, falling to No. 7 seed Carolina Bohrer Martins of Brazil 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(5).

Selected for the ITF junior reserved spots were 17-year-old Maya Iyengar, who beat Fagan 6-3, 7-6(4) today; Capucine Jauffret, who plays W35 Boca Raton champion and No. 3 seed Monika Ekstrand Wednesday, and Ava Rodriguez, who won her first Pro Circuit match today over Meisha Kendall-Woseley(Toledo) 6-0, 6-2.

Three years ago, Peyton Stearns was beginning a fortnight that would see her lead the Texas Longhorns to the NCAA team title and then capture the NCAA singles title.

Today the 23-year-old from Ohio set a WTA record, winning her third consecutive match in a third-set tiebreaker, beating No. 16 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(4) to advance to the semifinals of the Masters 1000 in Rome. Stearns had beaten Madison Keys and Naomi Osaka of Japan in tiebreakers in the previous two matches.

Roland Garros' wild card announcement was released today, with Iva Jovic and Emilio Nava officially into the main draw later this month after winning the reciprocal wild card the USTA and FFT exchange annually. 

No teenagers received main draw wild cards, but four qualifying wild cards went to French junior girls: Ksenia Efremova (Age 16/WTA No. 629), Eleejah Inisan (Age 16/No. 976), Cindy Langlais(Age 15/no WTA ranking) and Daphnée Mpetshi Perricard (Age 16 /No.1158).  Two French teens were given men's qualifying wild cards, 16-year-old Orange Bowl finalist Moises Kouame and 19-year-old Mae Malige.

Monday, May 12, 2025

Payne Sweeps, Goode Takes Boys Singles Title at ITF J200 in Plantation; Traynor Doubles Up at J100 in Costa Rica; Jacoby Named to Lead Ole Miss Men; Radford, Eastern Illinois Drop Tennis Programs

2024 Easter Bowl 16s champions Gavin Goode and Bella Payne once again shared the spotlight at the same event, winning their biggest ITF Junior Circuit titles last week at the J200 in Plantation Florida.

The unseeded Payne, who won the J100 title two weeks ago in Coral Gables, extended her winning streak to 12 matches, all of them in straight sets, with a 6-2, 6-2 victory in the final over top seed Aspen Schuman. The 17-year-old from Florida, who won the Easter Bowl 18s singles title at the end of March, also claimed the doubles title, partnering with Sara Shumate. The No. 7 seeds defeated No. 3 seeds Isabelle DeLuccia and Sabrina Lin 6-0, 1-6, 10-4 in the final. Payne, 20-3 on the year and now at 178 in the ITF junior rankings, has yet to play a third set in 2025.

No. 3 seed Goode, a 17-year-old from North Carolina, won his third ITF Junior Circuit title, all since last October, beating No. 8 seed Sasha Colleu of France 6-0, 6-1 in the final. Colleu had won the title in the first of the three green clay junior events in Florida, the J100 in Delray Beach, last month. With the title, Goode moves to a career-high of 60 in the ITF junior rankings.

The boys doubles champion are the fourth-seeded Colombian pair of Juan Miguel Bolivar Idarraga and Pablo Robledo Hoyos, who defeated No. 3 seeds Simon Caldwell and Mason Taube 6-7(4), 6-2, 12-10 in the final.

At the J100 in Costa Rica, Olivia Traynor, like Bella Payne, swept the titles, and has also crafted a winning streak of straight-sets matches. Although the 17-year-old New Yorker had a bye last week and needed only five victories to take the title at the J100 in Costa Rica two weeks ago, she has a nine-match streak. As she had done two weeks ago, Traynor defeated Brooke Wallman in the final, this time by a 6-1, 6-1 score. 

In doubles, Traynor and Lucia Gallegos of Costa Rica partnered for the title. The No. 4 seeds defeated No. 3 seeds Kaya Baker and Mexico's Abril Cardenas Olivares 6-2, 6-4, in the final.

Sklar Phillips, who won the first J100 in Costa Rica two weeks ago, fell just short in the second, losing 6-2, 6-4 in the final to Benjamin Azar of Canada, whom he had beaten in the previous final.

It was another sweep for an American at the J60 in Cote D'Ivoire, with top seed Koronayashe Rugara winning her second ITF Junior Circuit singles title and sixth doubles title last week. Rugara, a 17-year-old from Florida, beat unseeded Lara Faraj of Morocco 6-1, 1-0 retired in the final. For the doubles championship, top seeds Rugara and Saina Jayesh Vaidya of Singapore defeated Faraj and Virginia Comi of Italy, the No. 2 seeds, 6-2, 3-6, 10-6.

At the J30 in the US Virgin Islands, 15-year-old Texan Sebastian Godoy won his first ITF Junior Circuit singles title. The No. 2 seeds defeated unseeded Legan Thomas in the all-US final 6-2, 6-2. Sixteen-year-old Fox Rogers won his first ITF Junior Circuit title in doubles, with Brazilian partner Nicolas Brandao. The No. 4 seeds defeated No. 2 seeds Jake Weiss and France's Come Le Roch 6-3, 6-2 in the final.

London Evans, who reached the singles final, won the girls doubles title, with Catherine Cardona-Carballosa. The top seeds defeated No. 2 seeds Alexandra Ishemgulova of Russia and Camille Michel of Canada 6-2, 6-1 in the final.

There were two other doubles championships for top-seeded Americans last week, with Kori Montoya and Great Britain's Ruby Cooling taking the J200 in Austria and Sarah Stoyanov and Turkey's Lila Bodur winning the J60 in Nicaragua

Montoya and Cooling defeated No. 2 seeds Mariia Drobysheva of Ukraine and Anna Kmiecik of Poland 6-4, 6-3 in the final; Stoyanov and Bodur beat No. 2 seeds Avery Alexander of Canada and Ana Camila Celis Avila of Mexico 6-1, 3-6, 10-6 for the title.

Three weeks ago, Ole Miss announced the departure of men's head coach Toby Hansson; today his replacement was introduced, with Jake Jacoby taking over the program. Jacoby, who competed for Iowa from 2014-2018, had served as Mississippi State's men associate head coach since 2019. 

In less positive college tennis news, two Division I schools announced the cutting of their tennis programs: Eastern Illinois and Radford. 

From the Eastern Illinois announcement:

Unfortunately, this [House] settlement is expected to drastically reduce NCAA distributions to member schools, including EIU. For that reason, the University has been reviewing operating costs across all sports and recognizes that maintaining the current portfolio of teams and spending levels is a critical financial concern that requires attention.

Given these realities, I, in consultation with Athletic Director Tom Michael, have made the difficult decision that the University will cease competition in men's and women's tennis, effective immediately.

From the Radford announcement:

"As college athletics evolves, the costs of scholarships, dedicated facilities, travel expenses and overall operating budgets continue to escalate," said Robert Lineburg, Director of Athletics. "In this environment, the allocation of resources requires greater strategic focus."

Sunday, May 11, 2025

Ekstrand Wins Second W35 Title; Penickovas Claim First Pro Doubles Title; Quarterfinals Set for NCAA Division III Team Championships; Washington State and Chattanooga Capture NIT Championships

Eighteen-year-old Monika Ekstrand captured her second USTA Pro Circuit W35 title in the past six weeks today in Boca Raton Florida, with the unseeded Stanford recruit defeating unseeded Ayana Akli(Maryland, South Carolina) 6-2, 6-1 in the final.

Ekstrand, who won her first Pro Circuit title at the beginning of April in Jackson Mississippi, had two tough matches in the quarterfinals and semifinals, but continued her domination of Akli, whom she had beaten 6-0, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of an M15 in Spain in February.  The 23-year-old Akli, who joined the USTA Pro Circuit green clay swing in mid-April has played four consecutive weeks, reaching one quarterfinal, one semifinal and two finals, so it was understandable if she was feeling the effects of that sustained success in today's final.

The singles title at the W50 in Indian Harbour Beach Florida went to 21-year-old Lia Karatancheva of Bulgaria, who won her first Pro Circuit title with a 6-1, 6-7(6), 6-3 win over top seed Arina Rodionova of Australia.

At the M15 in Tunisia, 15-year-olds Annika and Kristina Penickova won their first pro title, with the unseeded twin sisters beating No. 4 seed Arina Arifullina of Russia and Ines Murta of Portugal 6-4, 6-4 in the final. The Penickovas, who beat the top seeds in the  quarterfinals did not drop a set in their four victories.

Kristina also reached the singles final, her first on the pro circuit. Annika gave her a walkover in the second round, which is unusual for them; they have played four times in ITF junior tournaments, splitting those matches.  In today's final, Laia Petretic of France defeated Kristina 6-3, 5-7, 6-1.

The quarterfinals are set in the NCAA Division III Team Championships, with the matchups below. Click on the headings to view the draws with the results from the first three rounds.

MEN:
May 19, Claremont CA

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps v Babson
Case Western v Chicago
Denison v Johns Hopkins
Tufts v Emory

May 20, Claremont CA

Chicago v Washington St. Louis
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps v Johns Hopkins
Emory v Bowdoin
Wesleyan v Pomona-Pitzer

The third annual UTR NIT Championships concluded Friday, with the Washington State women and the Chattanooga men claiming the titles. Washington State defeated UNC-Charlotte 4-0, while Chattanooga beat St. Mary's 4-2. 

For box scores and draws, see this post from UTR.

Saturday, May 10, 2025

Mississippi State Men Beat Ohio State, Michigan and Oklahoma State Complete Women's Quarterfinals with 4-3 Victories; Ekstrand and Akli Reach USTA Pro Circuit Boca Raton W35 Final

The NCAA Division I men's and women's quarterfinals are set after seven Super Regional matches today, with one upset in the men's five matches and both women's matches decided by a 4-3 score.


A day after the fourth-seeded Ohio State women were eliminated, the fifth-seeded Ohio State men were dealt another rare loss in Columbus, with No. 12 Mississippi State defeating the Buckeyes 4-2. Mississippi State is heading to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2018, while it's only the fourth time in the past 21 years that Ohio State will not be among the Elite Eight, according to John Parsons @No-ad No-Problem. The Buckeyes also lost the Big Ten conference final match in Columbus last month.

Defending champion and No. 2 seed TCU avenged its Big 12 conference tournament semifinal loss to Central Florida with a convincing 4-0 victory, and No. 3 seed Texas blanked No. 14 Tennessee 4-0.  In addition to the Ohio State-Mississippi State match, two others were 4-2, with No. 7 Virginia winning the highly anticipated contest with No. 10 Arizona and No. 8 Columbia beating No. 9 North Carolina State by that score.

In last year's Super Regional, unbeaten and No. 1 seed Oklahoma State was dealt a shocking loss, with Tennessee earning a 4-2 upset over the Cowgirls, who were serving as hosts for the final three rounds of the NCAA tournament. 

This year Oklahoma State was unseeded, but upset No. 6 Oklahoma in Norman last weekend and beat Stanford 4-3 today to reach their first quarterfinal since 2017.


Michigan is a regular now in the quarterfinals, advancing for the third year in a row thanks to senior Julia Fliegner, who won a roller coaster of a battle over Texas's Sabina Zeynalova 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(1). Fliegner had three match points in the second set that she was unable to convert, and was on the brink herself in the final set serving at 5-5, 0-40, but Zeynalova, who was cramping and serving underhand, couldn't muster much opposition in the tiebreaker. 

Saturday's results:
WOMEN:
*Michigan[3] d. Texas[14] 4-3

*Oklahoma State d. Stanford 4-3

*host

*host

The quarterfinal matchups, with times, in Waco next week:

WOMEN: (Thursday May 15)
ALL TIMES EASTERN
Georgia[1] v Duke[8] 11am 
North Carolina[5] v LSU[13] 2pm
Michigan[3] v Oklahoma State 8pm
Tennessee[10] v Texas A&M[2] 5pm

MEN: (Friday May 16)
ALL TIMES EASTERN
Wake Forest[1] v Columbia[8] 11am
Mississippi State[12] v Stanford[4] 2pm
Texas[3] v UCLA 8pm
Virginia[7] v TCU[2] 5pm

Monika Ekstrand and Ayana Akli, both unseeded, will meet for the title of the women's USTA Pro Circuit W35 in Boca Raton Florida Sunday.

The 18-year-old Ekstrand defeated Jada Robinson 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 to reach her second W35 final since the beginning of April, while Akli beat No. 4 seed Gergana Topalova of Bulgaria 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-5 in a three-hour and 18-minute marathon.

Top seeds Fiona Crawley(UNC) and Alana Smith(NC State) won the doubles title, beating unseeded Kayla Day and Allura Zamarripa(Texas) 6-4, 6-2 in the final. 

At the W50 in Indian Harbour Beach Florida, 15-year-old Kristina Liutova of Russia lost to top seed Arina Rodionova of Australia 7-5, 6-4. Rodionova will play unseeded Lia Karatancheva of Bulgaria for the title Sunday. 

No. 4 seeds Haley Giavara(Cal) and Alexandra Osborne(Arizona State) of Australia won the doubles title, beating unseeded Tara Moore of Great Britain and Abigail Rencheli(NC State) 6-3, 3-6, 10-7.

Friday, May 9, 2025

Unseeded UCLA Men Reach NCAA D-I Quarterfinals, LSU Women Make History with Win over No. 4 Ohio State; Ekstrand, Akli and Liutova Advance to Semifinals at USTA Pro Circuits

Nine teams punched their tickets to the NCAA Division I final site in Waco Texas next weekend, claiming wins today at Super Regionals on host campuses.

While top seeds Wake Forest men and Georgia women cruised, posting 4-0 victories, two hosts were upset, with No. 13 seed LSU defeating No. 4 Ohio State 4-2 in Columbus and No. 10 Tennessee going into Charlottesville and beating No. 7 Virginia 4-0.

It's the LSU program's first appearance in the NCAA team quarterfinals.

The first unseeded men's team to reach the quarterfinals since 2010 is UCLA, who avenged their two losses to USC earlier this year by a 4-2 score. USC took the doubles point and first sets at lines 4, 5 and 6, but all six singles matches went to third sets, with UCLA getting wins from Emon van Loben Sels at 2 and Kaylan Bigun at 3. Alex Hoogmartens at line 4 and Spencer Johnson at line 5 came from behind to take their matches with Johnson clinching for UCLA.

Friday's results, with recaps/box scores:
*host school

WOMEN:
*Texas A&M[2] d. UCLA 4-2

*Georgia[1] d. Cal 4-0

LSU[13] d. *Ohio State[4] 4-2

Tennessee[10] d. *Virginia[7] 4-0

*North Carolina[5] d. NC State[12] 4-2

*Duke[8] d. Auburn[9] 4-2

*host school

The seven remaining Super Regionals will be played Saturday, with the schedule below. Cracked Racquets will have coverage with four separate streams at their YouTube Channel.

Men's draws are here; women's draws are here.

Saturday May 10
MEN:
*Ohio State[5] v Mississippi State[12] noon Eastern
*TCU[2] v Central Florida[15] 1pm Eastern
*Virginia[7] v Arizona[10] 1pm Eastern
*Columbia[8] v NC State[9] 1pm Eastern
*Texas[3] v Tennessee[14] 1pm Eastern

WOMEN:
*Michigan[3] v Texas[14] 1pm Eastern
*Oklahoma State v Stanford 2pm Eastern

*host school

Two teenagers have advanced to the semifinals at the two women's USTA Pro Circuit tournament in Florida, with 18-year-old Monika Ekstrand making the final four at the W35 in Boca Raton and 15-year-old Kristina Liutova of Russia reaching her first Pro Circuit semifinal at the W50 in Indian Harbour Beach. 

Stanford recruit Ekstrand, who won her first title last month at the W35 in Mississippi, defeated unseeded Allura Zamarippa(Texas) 7-6(4), 1-6, 6-1 in today's quarterfinal. She will play unseeded Jada Robinson, who beat Ekstrand last year in the first round at the W35 in Boca Raton. Robinson defeated No. 3 seed Kayla Day 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.


Ayana Akli(Maryland, South Carolina) avenged her loss last week in Boca Raton to No. 6 seed Luisina Giovannini of Argentina, when she won just one game. Today Akli defeated Giovannini 6-2, 7-5 to reach her third consecutive semifinal in the past three weeks. Akli will play No. 4 seed Gergana Topalova of Bulgaria, who defeated No. 8 seed Alana Smith(NC State) 6-3, 6-4.

Liutova, who trains in the United States, defeated No. 8 seed Ana Sofia Sanchez of Mexico 6-4, 6-3 to earn a contest with top seed Arina Rodionova of Australia, who at 35, is more than twice as old as Liutova. 

Thursday, May 8, 2025

NCAA D-I Super Regionals Begin Friday with Nine Matches; Update on Roster Limits in NCAA House Settlement; Liutova and Akli Oust Seeds in USTA Pro Circuit Events in Florida; Eight US Girls Reach Quarterfinals at Plantation ITF J200

The Division I Super Regionals of the NCAA Team Championships start Friday, with three men's teams and six women's matches that will determine who advances to the quarterfinals beginning next Thursday at Baylor University. The remaining five men's and two women's matches will be played Saturday. Below is the schedule for the weekend matches, with Cracked Racquets providing CrossCourt coverage on four separate streams at their YouTube Channel.  

Due to family commitments, I won't be able to follow the matches as closely as I was able to do last weekend, but collegetennisranks.com provides links to live scoring and live streaming for each match, and the final scores, under the Week Ahead tab.

NCAA Division I Round of 16 Matches:

FRIDAY MAY 9
Men:
*Stanford[4] v South Carolina[13] 3pm Eastern
*UCLA v Southern California 5pm Eastern
*Wake Forest[1] v Texas A&M[16] 5pm Eastern

Women:
*Texas A&M[2] v UCLA 3pm Eastern
*Georgia[1] v Cal 4pm Eastern
*Ohio State[4] v LSU[13] 4pm Eastern
*Virginia[7] v Tennessee[10] 4pm Eastern
*North Carolina[5] v NC State[12] 5pm Eastern
*Duke[8] v Auburn[9] 5pm Eastern

*host school

SATURDAY MAY 10

Men:
*Ohio State[5] v Mississippi State[12] noon Eastern
*TCU[2] v Central Florida[15] 1pm Eastern
*Virginia[7] v Arizona[10] 1pm Eastern
*Columbia[8] v NC State[9] 1pm Eastern
*Texas[3] v Tennessee[14] 1pm Eastern

Women:
*Michigan[3] v Texas[14] 1pm Eastern
*Oklahoma State v Stanford 2pm Eastern

*host school

The men's draw is here; the women's draw is here.

The latest news on the NCAA House settlement roster limits, which has been the part of the agreement that Judge Claudia Wilken has expressed reluctance to approve, is a compromise proposed by the Power 4 conferences. From this Yahoo Sports article:
"Wilken gave attorneys two weeks to amend the roster limits, recommending a phasing-in and/or grandfathering-in concept to protect spots for those athletes on existing rosters. During the course of several meetings this week, executives from the Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Big 12 agreed to a grandfathering-in model, but one that is optional for schools — a decision that comes with risk and one that is expected to elicit public pushback from a group of attorneys and athletes who have objected to the roster limits."

Roster limits had been set for all sports, including tennis, which the settlement had initially put at 10. There are obviously tennis teams with more than that number, primarily on the men's side, where 4.5 scholarships have been allocated by percentage. Women's teams are allowed up to eight scholarships, and they can't be divided, although that is expected to change if this settle is approved.

At the women's USTA Pro Circuit W35 in Boca Raton Florida, Ayana Akli(Maryland, South Carolina) defeated No. 2 seed Akasha Urhobo 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals of a USTA event for the fourth straight tournament. Akli, who reached the final at the Charlotte NC W35 two weeks ago, will play her third straight 18-year-old on Friday, taking on No. 6 seed Luisina Giovannini of Argentina. Giovannini won the title at Boca Raton last week, beating Akli 6-1, 6-0 in the semifinals.

Eighteen-year-old Monika Ekstrand advanced to the quarterfinals via a walkover and will play unseeded Allura Zamarripa(Texas) Friday. 

The other Americans advancing are Kayla Day[3], who will play unseeded Jada Robinson in an all-US quarterfinal and No. 8 seed Alana Smith, who faces No. 4 seed Gergana Topalova of Bulgaria.

At the W50 in Indian Harbour Beach Florida, 15-year-old qualifier Kristina Liutova of Russia defeated No. 4 seed Carol Zhao(Stanford) of Canada 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 to reach her third USTA Pro Circuit quarterfinal, but the first above the W15 level. She will play No. 8 seed Ana Sofia Sanchez of Mexico Friday.

There will only be one American in the quarterfinals, but which one is not yet known, with the night match between 17-year-old qualifier Elizabeth Ionescu and No. 2 seed Hanna Chang interrupted, with Ionescu leading 6-2, 1-4. They will resume that match Friday morning.

The quarterfinals are set for the ITF J200 in Plantation Florida, with all eight competitors in the girls draws from the United States. 

Top seed Aspen Schuman will face No. 7 seed Maggie Sohns; No. 2 seed Ava Rodriguez will play No. 8 seed Isabelle DeLuccia; Ciara Harding faces last week's J100 Coral Gables champion Bella Payne and No. 3 seed Zaire Clarke, the J100 Delray Beach champion, will play qualifier Paige Wygodzki.

Five of the boys quarterfinalists are from the United States, but top seed Maximus Dussault and No. 2 seed Lachlan Gaskell are not among them. Dussault lost to No. 16 seed Naoto Tomizawa of Japan 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, and Gaskell was beaten by No. 13 seed Agassi Rusher. Tomizawa will face No. 11 seed Vihaan Reddy, a wild card, and Rusher will play No 10 seed Zavier Augustin in the quarterfinals.

Easter Bowl 16s champion Marcel Latak is through to the quarterfinals after beating No. 4 seed Nischal Spurling 6-3, 6-0. He will play No. 8 Sasha Colleu of France, the J100 Delray Beach champion, while No. 3 seed Gavin Goode takes on No. 12 seed Oluwaseun Peter Ogunsakin of Nigeria.