Texas Claims Program's First Title at ITA Men's Division I Team Indoor Championships with 4-2 Victory Over No. 1 Ohio State

©Colette Lewis 2026--

Dallas TX--

University of Texas head coach Bruce Berque didn't dream that his team would contend for a title at this year's ITA Men's National Team Indoor Championships, and when freshman Kalin Ivanovski delivered a 4-2 victory over top seed Ohio State Tuesday night at SMU's Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex, securing the Longhorns first Team Indoor title, Berque still couldn't quite grasp what his team had accomplished.

"It's amazing," said Berque, who led Texas to its first NCAA team championship in 2019. "Truthfully, I'm surprised, particularly because I didn't think we would hold up physically. But the guys were super, super tough and I couldn't be more proud of them."

Texas showed that toughness in the doubles point, with all three matches decided in a tiebreaker. Ohio State's Alex Okonkwo and Alex Bernard had four match points in two separate games against Ivanovski and Abel Forger at line 1; at line 2 Buckeyes Nikita Filin and Brandon Carpico had a match point against Sebastian Gorzny and Lucas Marionneau at 4-5, and at line 3, Ohio State's Bryce Nakashima and Aidan Kim also had a match point at 4-5, against Oliver Ojakaar and Sebastian Eriksson.

But Texas saved all six, and went on to win the tiebreakers 7-6(5) at 2 and 7-6(3) at 3 to take the lead.

Texas, who had lost the doubles point when they dropped a 4-1 decision to Ohio State late last month in Columbus, knew the Buckeyes would immediately bounce back from the frustration of those missed opportunities in doubles.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from Ohio State," said Berque, who watched as his team dropped four first sets in singles. "And I also think that when your back is against the wall, you come out swinging."

The Buckeyes certainly did that, getting first sets from, in order, Nikita Filin at line 6, Bryce Nakashima at line 5, Jack Anthrop at line 3 and Alexander Okonkwo at line 4.

Okonkwo was making his debut in singles this tournament, but Ohio State head coach Ty Tucker liked his matchups at line 5 and line 6 with Okonkwo, who had been pulled from the No. 4 spot in the three previous matches, in tonight's lineup.

Whether Tucker expected a point from Okonkwo is anyone's guess, but the junior, a transfer from Tulsa, delivered one, beating Sebastian Eriksson 7-6(1), 6-2. That point tied the score at 2, with Jack Anthrop having beaten Forger 6-3, 6-2 at line 3 to put Ohio State on the board and Sebastian Gorzny giving Texas its second point with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Aidan Kim at line 1.

Meanwhile, Texas, which needed at least one split to have a path to four points, had earned two, with Marionneau taking the second set from Filin at line 6 and Ojakaar taking the second set from Nakashima at line 5. The third match remaining, on court 2, was still at 3-3 in the second set, with Kalinovski taking the first set from Preston Stearns in a tiebreaker. 

At line 6, Filin, who had not lost a dual match all season, fell behind 0-40 serving at 3-4, and although he forced a deciding point, Marionneau took it, and went up 40-0 serving for match at 5-3. Again Filin forced a deuce point, and again Marionneau won it, coming up with a good first serve and hitting his backhand approach behind Filin for a winner to put Texas up 3-2.

Ojakaar was up 3-2 in the third set at line 5, while Stearns was saving two break points at 3-4 in the second set to keep Ivanovski from serving for the match. But Ivanovski's huge first serve made his next hold a simple one, and serving at 4-5, Stearns found himself down 15-30. After netting a forehand to give Ivanovski three match points, Stearns saved the first, when Ivanovski sent his forehand pass long, but Ivanovski's second serve return forced another netted forehand from Stearns, and the Longhorns had their title.

Ivanovski, who joined the team this spring after nearly two years of battling hip and back injuries, celebrated his clinching victory by shedding his shirt and leading his teammates in a run around the courts, a scenario he couldn't imagine three months ago.

"The injuries are one of the reasons I chose college, and I'm very glad that I did, because this is one hell of an experience," said the 21-year-old from Macedonia, who has a career-high ATP ranking of 305. "I really love it, it's something very new to me."

Ohio State head coach Ty Tucker was impressed by Ivanovski's ability to get the ace or service winner when he most needed it.

"Ivanovski came up huge; it felt like eight or nine aces or service winners on eight or nine break points," Tucker said. "That was a high quality match, and the guy came up with it."

Ivanovski, who admits his fitness is not yet where it needs to be, said having the encouragement of his teammates helped when he needed a boost of energy.

"On the important points, when I felt tired, I just had a lot of positive talk," Ivanovski said. "The guys bring it out of me, because you're not just playing for yourself, you're playing for the whole team. I can't even explain the feeling, it's just incredible. It's nothing like playing on the pro tour. It's amazing and I'm very proud of the guys."

Berque, who had faith that improving health would allow his team to produce these kind of results, can raise his expectations now as they head into the SEC season this weekend.

"My goal was to win two matches at this tournament and not get hurt any worse than we were," Berque said. "We won four and they seem to be feeling ok, so we've got extra credit, I guess. It was a great competitive match."

After his team suffered its first defeat of the season after three close wins to reach the final, Tucker was philosophical in assessing the loss.

"It's the bee's nose here and the bee's nose there," Tucker said of the small margins in this era of college tennis. "We came out on the right side against SMU and Stanford, Virginia, and that's part of it. But we'll go back, get healthy and get ready to play some more tennis."

As the Longhorns posed for photos with NBA Hall of Famer and former Dallas Maverick Dirk Nowitski and Dallas resident John Isner, the first national indoor title in program history now has all the Burnt Orange fans in attendance and throughout the state and country dreaming of another national title in Athens in May.

ITA Men's Division I Team Indoor Championships

Finals, Tuesday February 17, 2026

Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex, SMU

Texas[3] d. Ohio State[1] 4-2

Doubles:

1. Alex Okonkwo and Alexander Bernard(OSU) v Abel Forger and Kalin Ivanovski(TEX) 7-6(6-5), unf

2. Sebastian Gorzny and Lucas Marionneau(TEX) d. Brandon Carpico and Nikita Filin(OSU) 7-6(5)

3. Sebastian Eriksson and Oliver Ojakaar(TEX) d. Aidan Kim and Bryce Nakashima(OSU) 7-6(3) 

Order of finish: 2, 3,

Singles:

1. Sebastian Gorzny(TEX) d. Aidan Kim(OSU) 6-4, 6-4

2. Kalin Ivanovski(TEX) d. Preston Stearns(OSU) 7-5, 6-4

3. Jack Anthrop(OSU) d. Abel Forger(TEX) 6-3, 6-2

4. Alex Okonkwo(OSU) d. Sebastian Eriksson(TEX) 7-6(1), 6-2

5. Bryce Nakashima(OSU) v. Oliver Ojakaar(TEX) 6-3, 3-6, 2-2, unf.

6. Lucas Marionneau(TEX) d. Nikita Filin(OSU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3

Order of finish: 3, 1, 4, 6, 2

Ohio State Defeats Virginia, Texas Beats Baylor to Advance to Tuesday's Final of the ITA Men's Division I Team Indoor Championships

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Dallas TX--

Three-time ITA Men's Team Indoor champion Ohio State will face a Texas team seeking its first title Tuesday night at the Styslinger-Altec Tennis Complex at SMU after earning hard-fought wins over Virginia and Baylor in Monday's semifinals.

Top seed Ohio State avoided a third consecutive 4-3 decision, beating No. 2 seed Virginia 4-2 in the 3:30 pm match, with a crisply played doubles point going the way of the Buckeyes. Aidan Kim and Bryce Nakashima earned the point with a 6-3 win at line 3, beating Andres Santamarta and Keegan Rice, after the Cavaliers had won at line 1 and the Ohio State had taken line 2.

Four first sets in singles went to the Buckeyes, but a Virginia surge felt inevitable, despite senior Jack Anthrop's routine 6-2, 6-3 win over former ITF World No. 1 Andres Santamarta Roig, who is just weeks into his college career.

Three matches went to third sets, and in the two of those that were completed, the player who lost a first set, secured a point for his team.

After Jangjun Kim beat Nakashima 7-6(3), 6-4 at line to put Virginia on the board, with Ohio State taking a brief 3-1 lead when Nikita Filin claimed a 7-5, 7-5 victory over Mans Dahlberg at line 6. But a minute later, Stiles Brockett of Virginia completed his comeback, beating Loren Byers 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 to close the gap to 3-2.

That left two matches, both in third sets, with Kim trailing Dylan Dietrich 3-0 at line 1 and Preston Stearns and Keegan Rice, on serve early in their third set at line 2.

Kim, who had clinched Ohio State's 4-3 quarterfinal win over Stanford, said he couldn't allow himself get discouraged or passive despite the early deficit in the third set.

"I struggled to start that third set, and negative thoughts were going through my head," said the junior from Michigan. "I just had to shut them all off, and not really think too much, because those moments, knowing it's coming down to me or Stearns, I knew I had to just step it up, just believe and commit to my shots."

Kim did just that, breaking Dietrich on a deciding point to get the early break back, and holding for 3-all. Dietrich held at love to go up 4-3, but that was the last game he would win. Kim held for 4-all and then forced a deciding point with Dietrich serving, and when the senior from Switzerland double faulted with his second serve at least two feet long, Kim was suddenly serving for a trip to the finals.

Kim had served out the doubles point, making all five of his first serves in that game, and he continued that trend serving at 5-4, making his first three and swinging freely to go up 40-0. He sailed a backhand long on his first match point, but another first serve, a forehand approach and a backhand volley proved too much for Dietrich, whose defensive lob floated long, setting off another celebration that looked remarkably similar to Saturday's ending against Stanford.

"I try not to think too hard that I need this first serve," Kim said. "Again, I try to shut off my brain a little bit in those tighter moments, and I was happy I was able to commit and execute, trusting myself. I was down basically the whole match and I was being tentative, but talking to the coaches, switching up the game plan here and there and just believing."

Head coach Ty Tucker expressed his appreciation for Kim's ability to come up with first serves when closing out matches.

"You're looking for guys who hold serve the first time they serve for a set, when they serve for the match, that's what you need," Tucker said. "It's men's tennis, it's being played indoors and you've got to be able to hold serve."

Ohio State, who won Indoor titles in 2014, 2019 and 2024, will have three players on the 2024 team competing for a title again: Anthrop, Alex Bernard and Stearns, with Stearns not playing in the final.

Tucker doesn't think that provides much of an advantage for the Buckeyes.

"Anthrop, Bernard and Stearns were there," Tucker said. But when asked if that might be helpful, he replied, "I think it helps to hold serve. I think it helps to get the doubles point. But sure, obviously. But everybody's going to be nervous, everybody's going to be a little bit tight."

No. 3 seed Texas last played in an Team Indoor final in 2023, falling to TCU, but after beating No. 5 seed Baylor 4-0, the Longhorns are poised for another shot at their first Indoor title.

Although the 4-0 score looks routine, the Longhorns never really established any dominance over the Bears even after collecting the doubles point and four first sets in singles. Although Texas had more paths, they had no luck building on that 1-0 lead, while Baylor also could not close out either of the matches in which they took first sets.

Texas finally got their second point, with Sebastian Eriksson taking down Alexandru Chirita 6-4, 7-5 at line 4. Texas made it 3-0, with Kalin Ivanovski rebounding for a  3-6, 6-2, 6-3 win ove Zsombor Velcz at line 2, but Baylor's Devin Badenhorst had forced a third set by taking a tiebreaker over Sebastian Gorzny at line 1 and Texas's Lucas Marionneau had saved a set point serving at 4-5 against Louis Bowden at line 6. Had Marionneau lost that point, there was at least another 30 minutes of tennis to be played, but Marionneau broke Bowden on a second serve return winner on the deciding point to take a 6-5 lead.

Serving for the match Marionneau went down 30-40, but again he held his nerve, with the freshman from France taking his third straight game on a deciding point, with Bowden netting a backhand, to clinch the win.

"When I served for the match, I said I have to go for it," said Marionneau, who clinched the Longhorns' 4-2 win over Texas A&M in the round of 16, but did not play in the 4-3 quarterfinal win over TCU. "At 30-40, I hit a backhand line, super great shot, and then on the deuce point, I was a bit tight, to be honest, missed my first serve and then I was just grinding, and I'm really happy to bring this point for the team."

Texas head coach Bruce Berque said he hoped to leave with a couple of wins and a healthy team, not expecting a run to the program's second final.

"Truthfully, my goal coming into this tournament was to win two matches, and not get hurt any worse than we were," Berque said. "That was my goal. We don't seem too hurt, we didn't get any worse, and we've won three matches already, so I'm thrilled, and I know my guys aren't going to be content with that...I'm thrilled with the result, and thrilled that the guys seem to be holding up physically."

Oliver Ojakaar, who was injured last season and did not play after March, had a setback this fall, so Texas is being extremely cautious as he tries to return to competition for a second time. After clinching the 4-3 win over TCU in the quarterfinals, Ojakaar played doubles today, and is a match time decision for the finals.

"We thought at most he could get two singles matches in this week, at most," Berque said. "Tonight didn't seem like the right night for it, but tomorrow, we'll see, depending on how he feels. But he's holding up really well, and after his long match(against TCU), he recovered well and we'll see if he's feeling good enough to do it."

 

Texas and Ohio State played in Columbus at the end of last month, with the Buckeyes claiming a 4-1 win.

"We were a little soft last time," Berque said. "You know they're not soft. Singles, doubles, every court they're going to compete their butts off. They're really good tennis players, but they're tough as nails and we're going to have to match that at least. We're going to have to play a high level of tennis, but what I saw out here today, I think we'll have a fighting chance, but anything less than our best competitive effort is going to result in a trip home with a 3-1 record."

The final is scheduled for 6:30 p.m Central time Tuesday, with the inaugural collegiate version of the famous "Taste of Tennis" event being held in conjunction with the final.

Cracked Racquets will be providing coverage at their YouTube Channel.

ITA Men's Division I Team Indoor Championships 

Semifinals, SMU, Monday February 16, 2026

Ohio State[1] d. Virginia[2] 4-2

1. Stiles Brockett and Dylan Dietrich(UVA) d. Alex Bernard and Alex Okonkwo 6-2

2. Brandon Carpico and Nikita Filin(OSU) d. Mans Dahlberg and Jangjun Kim(UVA) 6-1

3. Aidan Kim and Bryce Nakashima(OSU) d. Andres Santamarta and Keegan Rice(UVA) 6-3

Order of finish: 1, 2, 3

Singles:

1. Aidan Kim(OSU) d. Dylan Dietrich(UVA) 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4

2. Preston Stearns(OSU) v Keegan Rice(UVA) 6-4, 6-7(3), 2-2, unf.

3. Jack Anthrop(OSU) d. Andres Santamarta(UVA) 6-2, 6-3

4. Jangjun Kim(UVA) d. Bryce Nakashima(OSU) 7-6(3), 6-4

5. Stiles Brockett(UVA) d. Loren Byers(OSU) 1-6, 7-5, 6-3

6. Nikita Filin(OSU) d. Mans Dahlberg(UVA) 7-5, 7-5

Order of finish: 3, 4, 6, 5, 1

Texas[3] d. Baylor[5] 4-0

Doubles:

1. Abel Forger and Kalin Ivanovski(TEX) d. Connor Van Schalkwyk and Luc Koenig(BAY) 6-3

2. Sebastian Gorzny and Lucas Marionneau(TEX) d. Alexandru Chirita and Zsombor Velcz(BAY) 7-5

3. Sebastian Eriksson and Oliver Ojakaar(TEX) v Devin Badenhorst and Blake Anderson(BAY) 6-5, unf

Order of finish: 1, 2

Singles:

1. Sebastian Gorzny(TEX) v Devin Badenhorst(BAY) 6-4, 6-7(4), 1-1, unf.

2. Kalin Ivanovski(TEX) d. Zsombor Velcz(BAY) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3

3. Abel Forger(TEX) v Connor Van Schalkwyk(BAY) 3-6, 6-3, 4-2, unf

4. Sebastian Eriksson(TEX) d. Alexandru Chirita(BAY) 6-4, 7-5

5. Jonah Braswell(TEX) v Luc Koenig(BAY) 6-4, 4-6, 1-2, unf

6. Lucas Marionneau(TEX) d. Louis Bowden(BAY) 6-4, 7-5

Order of finish: 4, 2, 6

Sixteen-year-old Johnson Earns First USTA Pro Circuit Title at M15 Sunrise; Dostanic Claims First ATP Challenger Title; Former Collegians Shelton and Cerundolo Win ATP Titles; ITF Junior Circuit Update

©Colette Lewis 2026--

Dallas Texas--

Six consolation matches were on Sunday's schedule at the ITA Men's Division I Team Indoor Championships, and I watched Mississippi State's 4-3 win over Stanford and Florida's 4-1 win over SMU here in Dallas(John Isner was also in attendance for the latter), with the Clemson - Arizona State match yet to finish. They had another thriller in Waco today, with Wake Forest beating TCU 4-3 in a rematch of last year's Team Indoor and NCAA Team final. The match again came down to Wake's DK Suresh at No. 1, in a third set tiebreaker, and this time he came out on top, beating Duncan Chan 7-6(4), 6-7(2), 7-6(6) in a nearly three-hour contest.

All consolation results and individual scores can be found at iOnSport's live scoring app and page.

Monday's semifinals begin with Ohio State and Virginia at 3:30 pm Central, followed by Baylor and Texas, not before 6:30 pm. Cracked Racquets will provide the live stream, with commentary, at their YouTube channel.

American men won all three finals played today in the United States, and I'll start with the youngest champion, 16-year-old Southern Californian Andy Johnson. Johnson, who received an ITF junior reserved entry into the M15 in Sunrise Florida based on his year-end junior ranking of 29, defeated unseeded Dragos Nicolae Cazacu 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in today's final.

Johnson led 5-0 in the third set but never managed another hold. He had match points on return at 5-0 and 5-2, but never had one on serve, breaking Cazacu at 4-5, on his sixth match point, for the win. Johnson now joins Moise Kouame of France as the only players born in 2009 with ITF Men's Pro Circuit singles titles.

Unseeded John Sperle of Germany and Louis Tessa of France won the doubles title in Sunrise, beating No. 4 seeds Joao Victor Couto Loureiro of Brazil and Tsz Fu Wong of Hong Kong 6-4, 6-1 in the final.

Twenty-four-year-old qualifier Stefan Dostanic, the Most Outstanding Player of last year's Men's Team Indoor here at SMU while at Wake Forest, earned his first ATP Challenger title today at the Baton Rouge 50, beating top seed Alexis Galarneau(NC State) of Canada 6-4, 6-1 in his first Challenger final.

Dostanic was no doubt helped by Galarneau's 34 unforced errors, but he served well, facing only one break point in the match while converting all four break opportunities he had. Dostanic, who spent four years at USC before joining Wake, is up to a career-high ATP ranking of 354 with this title.

At ATP 500 Nexo Dallas Open, just 40 minutes north of here, 2022 NCAA champion Ben Shelton(Florida) saved three match points in his 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Taylor Fritz to claim his fourth ATP title. For more on the 23-year-old's victory, see this article from the tournament website.

Another former collegian also earned his fourth ATP title today, this one at the 250 level, with Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina defeating Luciano Darderi of Italy 6-4, 6-2 at the IEB+ Argentina Open in Buenos Aires. The 27-year-old Cerundolo, who played briefly at South Carolina, is No. 19 in the ATP rankings. See the ATP's article for more on the final.

I usually review the ITF Junior Circuit results of Americans on Monday, but because the ITA Men's Team Indoor Championships semifinals will be occupying all of my attention, I'll post that information tonight instead.

In addition to Janae Preston's title at the ITF J300 in Peru, which I covered in Saturday's post, three other Americans claimed singles titles on the ITF Junior Circuit.

In 2026's first ITF Junior Circuit event in the United States, a J30 in Hawaii, 17-year-old Ashley Kurizaki won the title in her ITF Junior Circuit debut, beating Amara Ama 6-1, 6-2 in the all-USA final. Unseeded Lucy Graci and Ania Zabost won the doubles title, beating top seeds Quinn Sommer and Canada's Sophia Montemurro 5-7, 7-5, 10-6 in the final. Top seeds Grant Kleppinger and Peter Nistad won the boys doubles title, beating No. 4 seeds Luca Sevim and Luxembourg's Evan Palumbo  5-7, 7-6(5), 10-6.

At the J60 in Guatemala, unseeded 16-year-old Ellery Mendell won her second ITF Junior Circuit singles title, beating top seed and doubles partner Romina Dominguez Garcia of Mexico 6-1, 6-2 in the final. No. 2 seeds Dominguez Garcia and Mendell lost in the doubles final to top seeds London Evans and Italy's Asia Sundas 6-3, 6-7(3), 10-4.

Unseeded 16-year-old Dhakshish Aryan Basavaraju won his first ITF Junior Circuit title in boys singles, beating No. 2 seed Harold Cotom Hidalgo of Guatemala 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 in the final.  

At the ITF J200 in the Dominican Republic, unseeded 15-year-old Hannah Ayrault, the 2025 San Diego 16s champion, reached the final, where she lost to No. 2 seed Emily Eigelsbach of Germany 2-6, 6-4, 6-0. Ayrault had beaten top seed Sofiia Bielinska of Urkraine 7-6(3), 6-2 in the quarterfinals.

No. 2 seeds Ireland O'Brien and Canada's Andrea Cabio won the girls doubles title, beating top seeds Bielinska and Ophelia Korpanec Davies of Great Britain 6-2, 6-4 in the final.

No. 3 seeds Zavier Augustin and Germany's Eric Mueller won the boys doubles title, beating the fourth-seeded Canadian team of Joshua Adamson and Caden Colburne 6-4, 6-2 in the championship match.

Enya Hamilton and Autumn Xu won their second girls doubles title in as many weeks at J60s in Mexico, with the No. 6 seeds beating No. 7 seeds Valentina Galvan Solorzano and Mar Miramontes of Mexico 6-1, 6-1 in the final in Zapopan.

Defending Champion Wake Forest Upset by Baylor, Ohio State Wins Another 4-3 Battle to Reach ITA Men's D-I Team Indoor Semifinals; Johnson Advances to M15 Sunrise Final; Preston Wins Third Straight ITF J300 in Peru

©Colette Lewis 2026--

Dallas TX--

There will be a new champion Tuesday at the ITA Men's Division I Team Indoor Championships, after No. 5 seed Baylor used its home crowd advantage and some clutch play during two third-set tiebreakers in the deciding matches to earn a 4-3 victory over defending champion and No. 1 seed Wake Forest in Waco. 

Moments after Baylor's Luc Koenig defeated Charlie Robertson 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(3) at line 5, Devin Badenhorst got the better of India's recent Davis Cup hero DK Suresh at No. 1 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) to reach their first Indoor semifinal since 2022 Monday at the Styslinger-Altec Tennis Complex in Dallas.

Also heading north on Sunday's travel day will be Texas, who ended TCU's streak of four consecutive Team Indoor finals with another 4-3 decision. With heavy rain in Texas most of the day Saturday, only five of the six courts at Baylor were used in the match, so No. 6 singles was early in the second set when the score reached 3-all. Longhorn Oliver Ojakaar, playing his first singles match of the season, defeated Roger Pascual 6-3, 7-6(5) to return Texas to the semifinals for the second consecutive year.

Here in Dallas, No. 1 seed Ohio State continued their Houdini act, dropping the doubles point to No. 4 Stanford and digging themselves a 3-1 hole. But the Buckeyes, with a new look to their lineup after their 4-3 win over SMU Friday, rebounded with four singles points from the top two spots and the bottom two spots.

Stanford's Samir Banerjee was unable to play today after retiring with a back injury in the Cardinal's 4-3 win over Arizona State, so everyone had to move up a spot in the lineup. That put freshman Mark Krupkin into the No. 6 spot, and, as at Baylor, there was a court taken out of commission due to dampness during the doubles point, so that match went on last.

Head coach Ty Tucker pulled Preston Stearns and Loren Byers from his lineup, after Stearns lost at line 2 and Byers at line 5 in the SMU match. Aidan Kim remained at 1, but the rest of the Buckeyes moved up a spot and Brandon Carpico, a doubles regular in the Ohio State lineup, made his major match debut at line 6.

"We think Banerjee's not going to be playing, so they've got a guy coming in at 6, and Carpico has a good skill set to return serves, a great doubles player," Tucker said about his lineup strategy. "And Nikita (Filin) had beaten Godsick at the All-Americans, played a three-set war there, and so obviously we liked that, thought (Godsick) would be moving up, and the person behind Nikita would be Carpico."

After Stanford took the doubles point with wins at line 3 and line 1, with line 2 unfinished, the singles started with little advantage to either team.  Ohio State's Jack Anthrop, the hero of the win over SMU, drew his team even with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Alex Chang at line 2, but Stanford retook the lead with Jagger Leach's 7-6(4), 6-3 win over Bryce Nakashima at line 3.

At line 4, Alex Bernard, who did not play Friday, had a set point/deciding point at 5-4 in the first, but Alex Razeghi won that point and the next two games, and made it 3-1 Stanford with a 7-5, 7-5 win at line 4.  

By that time, Aidan Kim had earned a third set in his match with Hudson Rivera at line 1, and Godsick had forced a third set against Filin at line 5. 

Carpico had taken the court and had built a 6-2, 4-1 lead over Krupkin, and Kim earned an early break in the third against Rivera. The Buckeyes had no margin for error however, and with Filin and Godsick even throughout that match took on extra significance. Filin held for 6-5, Carpico was on the brink of closing out Krupkin and Kim was up 5-3 in the third with a deciding point, but Rivera saved it. Godsick went down 0-40 serving at 5-6 and Filin pounced, earning the win as Kim was ready to serve for the match.

The junior from Michigan made five straight first serves, but Rivera kept the pressure on, hitting a backhand pass for 30-15 and getting a netcord volley opportunity. Kim then drilled an ace for 40-30, and finally missed a first serve. The second was short in the box on the far sideline, with Rivera calling it out. Kim challenged the call and the Electronic Line Calling replay showed it good, giving Kim a second serve ace and the Buckeyes a spot in Monday's semifinal.

"That's all Ty preaches," Kim said of getting his first serves in during that critical game. "On that second serve, I didn't really feel like I went for it. I got a little bit more lucky to hit it closer to the line and thank god it was in."

Tucker said he was looking forward to the day off after two consecutive emotional matches.

"It's my favorite day," Tucker said. "I go back to the days of the (NCAA) Sweet 16 when you'd play a match and have a day off. These are the best days: you have tomorrow off and tonight everybody feels pretty good and you go out to dinner and you don't have the stress and you're not watching tape," said Tucker, who then corrected himself. "Of course we'll watch some tape, but it's nice to know we've got a little bit of time, and it's enjoyable. It's so much fun, gosh. If they sold that at 7-11, I'd buy lots of cans of that."

The only quarterfinal match that didn't end in a 4-3 score was next, with No. 2 seed Virginia beating No. 3 seed Mississippi State 4-1, but in no sense was the match routine.

Virginia lost the doubles point, as did every other quarterfinal winner, with Dylan Dietrich and Stiles Brockett losing five straight games after leading 5-2 to drop the deciding set to Benito Sanchez Martinez and Petar Jovanovic after Mississippi State won at 2 and Virginia at 3.

Virginia took that disappointment to heart and won all six first sets in singles, but Mississippi State was not about to concede, even if it meant needing to split sets on four courts to get an improbable win. They got three splits, with Benito Sanchez Martinez going from 6-4, 5-0 down to Dietrich at line 1, to winning eight straight games to keep his team alive.

Stiles Brockett got a quick 6-1, 6-0 win over Roberto Ferrer at line 5 to get the Cavaliers back even, but their next point was a long time coming.

Keegan Rice did close out Petar Jovanovic 6-3, 7-6(1) to make it 2-1, but Virginia's Jangjun Kim couldn't convert a match point in the second set tiebreaker sending that to a third set.

At line 3, Mississippi State's Mario Martinez Serrano served for the second set against Andres Santamarta at 5-4, but lost that game at love and Santamarta won the next two games to make it 3-1. 

Virginia's Mans Dahlberg had gotten an early break in his third set with Michal Novansky at line 6 and held onto it throughout. Novansky saved a match point serving at 3-5, but Dahlberg, a senior from Sweden, closed out the match with no drama in the next game.

"I started out great, but the guy raised his level quite a bit in the second set," said 2025 NCAA doubles champion Dahlberg, the only member of Virginia's 2023 NCAA championship team still competing for the Cavaliers. "He started playing way more aggressively. I just hung in there in the third set, playing physical and I ended up taking it."

A week ago, Virginia lost 5-2 to the Buckeyes in Columbus, but Dahlberg is ready for the rematch.

"They won't have the entire city of Columbus behind them, everybody being super loud," Dahlberg said. "Regardless, it will be a great match, they're a great indoor tennis team and we're all super excited to play them again, and hopefully get revenge."

Head coach Andres Pedroso agreed.

"The courts are slower here and they won't have however many fans, I heard they had like 800, roaring for their team," Pedroso said. "It was fun, it was an awesome environment, but this will be a different environment, I hope it will be a different result. We'll do our best."

Monday's semifinals are scheduled for 3:30 pm and 6:30 pm Central time, with free live streaming at the Cracked Racquets YouTube channel. The final consolation matches will be on Sunday's schedule; live scoring for those matches is available here.

ITA Men's Division I Team Indoor Championships

Quarterfinals, February 14, 2026

SMU site:

Ohio State[1] d. Stanford[4] 4-3

Doubles:

1. Alex Razeghi and Alex Chang(STAN) d. Alex Bernard and Alex Okonkwo(OSU) 7-6(5)

2. Nico Godsick and Jagger Leach(STAN) v Brandon Carpico and Nikita Filin(OSU) 5-6, unf

3. Mark Krupkin and Hudson Rivera(STAN) d. Aidan Kim and Bryce Nakashima(OSU) 6-3

Order of finish: 3, 1

Singles:

1. Aidan Kim(OSU) d. Hudson Rivera(STAN) 5-7, 6-2, 6-4

2. Jack Anthrop(OSU) d. Alex Chang(STAN) 6-4, 6-4 

3. Jagger Leach(STAN) d. Bryce Nakashima(OSU) 7-6(4), 6-3

4. Alex Razeghi(STAN) d. Alex Bernard(OSU) 7-5, 7-5

5. Nikita Filin(OSU) d. Nico Godsick(STAN)  6-3, 1-6, 7-5

6.  Brandon Carpico(OSU) d. Mark Krupkin(STAN) 6-2, 6-2

Order of finish: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1

Virginia[2] d. Mississippi State[3] 4-1

Doubles

1. Benito Sanchez Martinez and Petar Jovanovic(MSU) d. Stiles Brockett and Dylan Dietrich(UVA) 7-5

2. Mario Martinez Serrano and Michal Novansky(MSU) d. Mans Dahlberg and Jangjun Kim(UVA) 6-3

3. Andres Santamarta and Keegan Rice(UVA) d. Bryan Hernandez Cortes and Raphael Vaksmann(MSU) 7-5

Order of finish: 2, 3, 1

Singles:

1. Dylan Dietrich(UVA) v Benito Sanchez Martinez(MSU) 5-4, 5-7, 3-3, unf

2. Keegan Rice(UVA) d. Petar Jovanovic(MSU) 6-3, 7-6(1)

3.  Andres Santamarta(UVA) d. Mario Martinez(MSU) 6-4, 7-5

4. Jangjun Kim(UVA) v Raphael Vaksmann(MSU) 6-4, 6-7(7), 1-1, unf

5. Stiles Brockett(UVA) d. Roberto Ferrer(MSU) 6-1, 6-0

6. Mans Dahlberg(UVA) d. Michal Novansky(MSU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4

Order of finish: 5, 2, 3, 6

Baylor site:

Texas[3] d. TCU[2] 4-3

Doubles:

1. Oliver Bonding and Cooper Woestendick(TCU) d. Abel Forger and Kalin Ivanovski(TEX) 6-3

2. Duncan Chan and Cosme Rolland de Ravel(TCU) d. Sebastian Gorzny and Lucas Marionneau(TEX) 6-3

3. Albert Pedrico and Filip Apltauer(TCU) v Sebastian Eriksson and Oliver Ojakaar(TEX) 5-4, unf

Order of finish: 1, 2

Singles:

1. Sebastian Gorzny(TEX) d. Duncan Chan(TCU) 7-6(2), 6-4

2. Kalin Ivanovski(TEX) d. Cosme Rolland de Ravel(TCU) 6-7(6) 6-1, 6-2 

3. Cooper Woestendick(TCU) d. Abel Forger(TEX) 6-7(3), 6-2. 7-5

4. Sebastian Eriksson(TEX) d. Oliver Bonding(TCU) 6-4, 6-7(2). 6-4

5. Albert Pedrico(TCU) d. Jonah Braswell(TEX) 6-2, 6-2

6. Oliver Ojakaar(TEX) d. Roger Pascual(TCU) 6-3, 7-6(5)

Order of finish: 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6

Baylor[5] d. Wake Forest[1] 4-3

Doubles:

1. Andrew Delgado and DK Suresh(WAKE) d. Connor Van Schalkwyk and Luc Koeing(BAY) 6-3

2. Alexandru Chirita and Zsombor Velcz(BAY) d. Aryan Shah and Kacper Szymkowiak(WAKE) 6-3 

3. Luca Pow and Charlie Robertson(WAKE) d. Blake Anderson and Devin Badenhorst(BAY) 6-4

Order of finish: 1, 2, 3

Singles:

1. Devin Badenhorst(BAY) d. DK Suresh(WAKE) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5)

2. Zsombor Velcz(BAY) d. Aryan Shah(WAKE) 6-3, 7-6(3)

3. Connor Van Schalkwyk(BAY) d. Luca Pow(WAKE) 6-4, 6-4

4. Mees Rottgering(WAKE) d. Alexandru Chirita(BAY) 6-4, 6-4

5. Luc Koenig(BAY) d. Charlie Robertson(WAKE) 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(3)

6. Joaquin Guilleme(WAKE) d. Louis Bowden(BAY) 6-4, 7-5

Order of finish:

4, 2, 3, 6, 5, 1

========================================

Andy Johnson is through to the final of the USTA Pro Circuit M15 in Sunrise Florida after defeating No. 4 seed Bruno Kuzuhara 6-2, 6-4. The 16-year-old from Southern California will play unseeded 22-year-old Dragos Nicolae Cazacu of Romania in the final. Cazacu beat No. 7 seed Ignacio Monzon of Argentina 6-1, 6-4.

Stefan Dostanic, who was the Most Outstanding Player of last year's Men's Team Indoor while at Wake Forest, is through to his first ATP Challenger final at the 50 in Baton Rouge Louisiana. Dostanic, a qualifier, defeated No. 2 seed Andres Andrade(Florida) of Ecuador 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in today's semifinals. Dostanic will play top seed Alexis Galarneau(NC State) of Canada, who beat Andre Ilagan(Hawaii) 6-3, 6-2.

Alafia Ayeni(Cornell, Kentucky) and Keegan Smith(UCLA) won the doubles title in Baton Rouge, beating wild cards Ron Hohmann(LSU, Michigan State) and Andres Martin(Georgia Tech) 5-7, 6-3, 10-7 in the final.

Fifteen-year-old Janae Preston won her third consecutive ITF J300 title today in Peru, with the No. 3 seed beating No. 5 seed Lani Chang 6-1, 6-2 in the final. Preston, who won in Costa Rica and Ecuador on hard courts and this week on clay, has not lost a set in her last two title runs. 

No. 2 seed Mathys Domenc defeated No. 6 seed Benjamin Azar 6-1, 6-1 in the boys final.

Top Seed Ohio State Escapes Host SMU's Upset Bid, Stanford Survives Arizona State in 4-3 Thrillers on Opening Day of ITA Men's D-I Team Indoor Championships; Johnson Reaches Semis at M15 Sunrise; Chang Faces Preston in ITF J300 Final in Peru

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Dallas TX--

All the drama of the first day of the ITA Division I Men's Team Indoor Championships was front-loaded in the opening two matches Friday at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex, with 4-3 thrillers clinched by players who had never found themselves in that scenario until today.

Of the two 4-3 decisions, The more expected of the two 4-3 decision came in the 9:00 am match between No. 4 Stanford and No. 5 Arizona State, although the Cardinal looked in control after taking two of the three doubles sets at lines 1 and 3, while the Sun Devils took line 2.

Stanford then proceeded to take the first three sets in singles, but Arizona State took the remaining three, needing just one split to get themselves right back in the match. 

They got that quickly at line 2, with Ofek Shimanov taking the second set from Hudson Rivera, and the battle was joined.

Stanford's Samir Banerjee, who was playing with a brace on his left wrist and was able to only slice the ball on the backhand, also experienced a back issue in the second set and retired to Bor Artnak at line 1 with the score 7-6(4), 4-1, pulling Arizona State even. 

Alex Chang put Stanford up 2-1 with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Mathias Bondaz at line 3, while Stanford's Nico Godsick had earned a split over Jelani Sarr at line 6. Rivera then picked up the third point for the Cardinal with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 win at line 2, and a tough but routine win was on the horizon with Jagger Leach in a second set tiebreaker with Shu Matsuoka at line 4 that would seal the win for Stanford. But Matsuoka took that tiebreaker, so the search for the fourth point was still on, with Godsick leading Sarr at 4-2 in the third and Alex Razeghi, who had dropped the first set to Niels Villard at line 5, taking the second and leading 2-0 in the third.

Godsick served for the match at 5-4 and had a match point on the deciding point, but Sarr hit a return winner to deny him the clinch, and Sarr held for a 6-5 lead, as Leach lost his third set to Matsuoka 6-1. Sarr then broke Godsick for the Sun Devils third point, when Godsick was given a point penalty for ball abuse serving down 30-40.

By then Razeghi was up a break in the third set, and he was right where he wanted to be, even though he had no experience in that situation.

"It was a great experience. I've always dreamed of having a 3-3 clinch, and this was my first one," said the sophomore from Texas. "It was something I thought about a lot, so when the moment did come, I wasn't nervous at all. I felt great out there, body feels good and I'm just happy for the team win."

Razeghi showed no sign of nerves serving for the match after Villard had held for 5-3, with a backhand pass and then an ace giving him three match points at 40-15. He only needed one, with Villard sending backhand return of a second serve long. 

"Once I got that first point in the last game, it was smooth sailing for me," Razeghi said. "I always thought about how it would be with all the people watching in the 3-3 match, and I'm very happy how I handled that today."

Razeghi kept his celebration muted, reasoning that the job's not finished, and the team needs to start over again in Saturday's quarterfinal against the winner of Ohio State and SMU.

"What a team victory this was," said head coach Paul Goldstein. "We got contributions down the line, and we were able to survive today because of everybody's performance, whether you were technically participating or not, and that was an example of it."

Stanford[4] d. Arizona State[5] 4-3

Doubles:

1. Alex Razeghi and Alex Chang(STAN) d. Shu Matsuoka and Niels Villard(ASU) 6-1

2. Ofek Shimanov and Bor Artnak(ASU) d. Hudson Rivera and Samir Banerjee(STAN) 6-2

3. Nico Godsick and Jagger Leach(STAN) d. Jelani Sarr and Milos Mikovic(ASU) 6-2

Order of finish:

1, 2, 3

Singles:

1. Bor Artnak(ASU) d, Samir Banerjee(STAN) 7-6(4), 4-1, ret.

2. Hudson Rivera(STAN) d. Ofek Shimanov(ASU) 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 

3. Alex Chang(STAN) d. Mathis Bondaz(ASU) 6-4, 6-3

4. Shu Matsuoka(ASU) d. Jagger Leach(STAN) 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-1

5. Alexander Razeghi(STAN) d. Niels Villard(ASU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3

6. Jelani Sarr(ASU) d.  Nico Godsick(STAN) 6-4, 1-6, 7-5

Order of finish:  1, 3, 2, 4, 6, 5

The match between top seed Ohio State and No. 8 seed SMU was widely expected to be a routine win for the undefeated Buckeyes, who had beaten Wake Forest and Virginia, teams who had been No. 1 at the time of the losses in Columbus. But Ohio State was challenged down to the last points of a third-set tiebreaker with senior Jack Anthrop getting his first career 3-3 clinch over Georgi Georgiev at line 3.

The Buckeyes got a glimpse of their future struggles when SMU pushed them to the limit in the doubles point. Although Brandon Carpico and Nikita Filin won comfortably at line 2, SMU's Trevor Svajda and Alex Finkelstein took line 1 over Alex Bernard and Alex Okonkwo 7-6(2). SMU's Jerry Barton and Krish Arora saved eight match points before finally succumbing on the ninth to Aidan Kim and Bryce Nakashima, with the Buckeyes securing what proved to be the deciding point. 

The teams split first sets, but Ohio State got the first two points in singles with Nikita Filin getting a win at line 6 and Bryce Nakashima following a few minutes later with a victory at line 4.

Up 3-0, the attention turned to Anthrop, who had won the first set and was up a break in the second. But Georgiev took the second set, and after Trevor Svajda beat Aidan Kim 6-4, 6-2 at line 1 and Jerry Barton defeated Loren Byers at line 5, it was 3-2 and the finish line was not in sight for either team. Preston Stearns and Alex Finkelstein were in a third set at line 2, with Finkelstein getting a break at 4-4 and serving for the third point, which he secured just as Anthrop and Georgiev were beginning their third set tiebreaker.

Anthrop got a mini-break at 2-0 and was the steadier of the two players throughout the tiebreaker, while Georgiev began to show signs of fatigue with several unforced errors. Anthrop went up 6-1, and brought out his best shot of the match on that point, recovering from being pinned into the backhand corner and scrambling for a dropshot and flicking a sharply angled forehand volley from near the chair umpire to the opposite sideline.

Anthrop had reached several of Georgiev's drop shots earlier in the match but had not been able to convert any into winners, but he was not letting this opportunity pass him by.

"I think that was like, what, the fifth time I'd been in that spot and not got that," said the 22-year-old from Florida. "I just saw it and said, nah, I'm not doing it this time, we're ending it right here. I'm not stressing anybody else out anymore."

Head coach Ty Tucker said he wasn't surprised that his team struggled away from their home courts.

"I feel like we're a top 5 team in the country at home and we're a top 25 team in the country in a true road match," Tucker said. "We hope to keep getting a little bit better, inch by inch and find ourselves playing to 90 percent of our level. It's hard in the first match, and SMU's very good."

Ohio State[1] d. SMU[8] 4-3

Doubles:

1. Trevor Svajda and Alex Finkelstein(SMU) d. Alex Okonkwo and Alex Bernard(OSU) 7-6(2)

2. Nikita Filin and Brandon Carpico(OSU) d. Georgia Georgiev and Vikas Deo(SMU) 6-3

3. Aidan Kim and Bryce Nakashima(OSU) d. Jerry Barton and Krish Arora(SMU) 7-6(5)

Order of finish: 2, 1, 3

Singles:

1. Trevor Svajda(SMU) d. Aidan Kim(OSU) 6-4, 6-2

2. Alex Finkelstein(SMU) d. Preston Stearns(OSU) 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4

3. Jack Anthrop(OSU) d. Georgi Georgiev(SMU) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(1)

4. Bryce Nakashima(OSU) d. Krish Arora 6-4, 6-2

5. Jerry Barton(SMU) d. Loren Byers 6-2, 7-6(5)

6. Nikita Filin(OSU) d. Noah McDonald(SMU) 6-4, 6-1

Order of finish: 6, 1, 4, 5, 2, 3

The two matches in the afternoon and evening were competitive, but went according to seed, with No. 2 Virginia beating No. 7 seed Clemson 4-0 and No. 3 seed Mississippi State defeating No. 6 Florida 4-1.

Virginia[2] d. Clemson[7] 4-0

Doubles: 

1. Stiles Brockett and Dylan Dietrich(UVA) v Henrik Bladelius and Viktor Markov(CLEM) 6-6, unf

2. Mans Dahlberg and Jangjun Kim(UVA) d. Noa Vukadin and Manuel Plunger(CLEM) 6-4

3. Andres Santamarta Roi and Keegan Rice(UVA) d. Yannic Nittmann and Matisse Farzam(CLEM) 6-4

Order of finish: 2, 3

Singles:

1. Dylan Dietrich(UVA) d. Viktor Markov(CLEM) 6-3, 6-3

2. Noa Vukadin(CLEM) v Keegan Rice(UVA) 7-5, 4-3, unf 

3. Matisse Farzam(CLEM) v Andres Santamarta(UVA) 6-3, 5-3, unf

4. Marko Mesarovic(CLEM) v Jangjun Kim(UVA) 3-6, 6-4, 0-1, unf

5. Stiles Brockett(UVA) d. Henrik Bladelius(CLEM) 7-6(6), 6-0

6. Mans Dahlberg(UVA) d. Edoardo Cherie Ligniere(CLEM) 6-4, 6-2

Order of finish: 1, 6, 5

Mississippi State[3] d. Florida[6] 4-1

Doubles:

1. Benito Sanchez Martinez and Petar Jovanovic(MSU) v Henry Jefferson and Lorenzo Claverie(FLA) 4-5, dnf

2. Mario Martinez Serrano and Michal Novansky(MSU) d. Pablo Ramos Perez and Adhithya Ganesan(FLA) 6-4

3. Bryan Hernandez Cortes and Raphael Vaksmann(MSU) d. Kevin Edengren and Tanapatt Nirundorn(FLA) 6-1

Order of finish: 3,2 

Singles:

1. Benito Martinez Sanchez(MSU) v Adhithya Ganesan(FLA) 3-6, 6-2, 3-1, unf

2. Henry Jefferson(FLA) d. Petar Jovanovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-2

3. Mario Martinez Serrano(MSU) d. Lorenzo Claverie(FLA) 6-4, 6-4

4. Pablo Ramos Perez(FLA) v Raphael Vaksmann(MSU) 4-6, 7-6(5), unf

5. Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes(MSU) d. Kevin Edengren(FLA) 6-2, 6-4

6. Michal Novansky(MSU) d. Andreas Timini(FLA) 7-5, 6-3

Order of finish: 3, 5, 2, 6

The four matches at the Baylor site were much more predictable, with only one mild upset, with host Baylor defeating No. 4 seed Central Florida 4-0.

TCU[2] d. LSU[7] 4-1

Doubles:

1. Matias Ponce de Leon and Erik Arutiunian(LSU) d. Oliver Bonding and Cooper Woestendick(TCU) 6-4

2. Duncan Chan and Cosme Rolland de Ravel(TCU) d. Enzo Kohlmann and Rudy Ceccon(LSU) 6-1

3. Filip Apltauer and Albert Pedrico(TCU) d. Sasa Markovic and Calin Stirbu(LSU) 6-3

Order of finish: 2, 1, 3

Singles:

1. Duncan Chan(TCU) d. Erik Arutiunian(LSU) 7-6(4), 6-3

2. Cosme Rolland de Ravel(TCU) v Enzo Kohlmann(LSU) 5-7, 6-1, 4-1, dnf

3. Cooper Woestendick(TCU) v Matias Ponce de Leon(LSU) 3-6, 6-3, 5-2, dnf 

4. Sasa Markovic(LSU) d. Oliver Bonding(TCU) 6-2, 6-4

5. Albert Pedrico(TCU) d. Rudy Ceccon(LSU) 7-5, 7-5

6. Roger Pascual(TCU) d. Calin Stirbu(LSU) 6-2, 6-3

Order of finish: 4, 6, 1, 5

Texas[3] d. Texas A&M[6] 4-2

Doubles:

1. Theo Papamalamis and Togan Tokac(TAMU) d. Sebastian Gorzny and Lucas Marionneau(TEX) 6-3

2. Oliver Ojakaar and Sebastian Eriksson(TEX) v Alex Frusina and Kholowam Montsi(TAMU) 5-3, unf.

3. Tiago Pires and Kriish Tyagi(TAMU) d. Evan Burnett and Abel Forger(TEX) 6-2

Order of finish, 3, 1

Singles:

1. Sebastian Gorzny(TEX) d. Theo Papamalamis(TAMU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2

2. Abel Forger(TEX) d. Alex Frusina(TAMU) 6-3, 7-6(3)

3. Sebastian Eriksson(TEX) d. Khololwam Montsi(TAMU) 7-6(4), 6-4

4. Jonah Braswell(TEX) v Tiago Pires(TAMU) 6-0, 6-7(4), 4-4, dnf

5. Lucas Marionneau(TEX) d. Togan Tokac(TAMU) 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3

6. Markus Molder(TAMU) d. Mariano Dedura-Palomero(TEX) 7-6(3), 6-3

Order of finish:  6, 2, 3, 1, 5

Baylor[5] d. Central Florida[4] 4-0

Doubles:

1. Paul Colin and Yassine Dlimi(UCF) v Connor Van Schalkwyk and Luc Koenig(BAY) 4-4, dnf

2. Zsombor Velcz and Ioan Alexandru Chirita(BAY) d. Mehdi Benchakroun and Wissam Abderrahman(UCF) 6-1

3. Blake Anderson and Devin Badenhorst(BAY) d. Luca Hotze and Nicolas Oliveira(UCA) 6-3

Order of finish: 2, 3

Singles:

1. Devin Badenhorst(BAY) d. Yassine Dlimi(UCF) 6-4, 6-2

2. Zsombor Velcz(BAY) v Wissam Abderrahman(UCF) 7-5, 3-3, unf

3. Connor Van Schalkwyk(BAY) v Mehdi Benchakroun(UCF) 6-3, 5-6, unf 

4. Pedro Rodrigues(UCF) v Ioan Alexandru Chirita(BAY) 7-5, 2-6, unf

5. Luc Koenig(BAY) d. Paul Colin(UCF) 6-4, 7-6(3)

6.  Louis Bowden(BAY) d. Clement Lemire(UCF)  6-4, 6-1

Order of finish: 1, 6, 5

Wake Forest[1] d. UC-Santa Barbara[8] 4-0

Doubles:

1. DK Suresh and Andrew Delgado(WAKE) v Conrad Brown and Dominque Rolland(UCSB) 5-4, unf

2. Aryan Shah and Kacper Szymowiak(WAKE) d. Lucca Liu and Miguel Avendano Cadena(UCSB) 6-2

3. Luca Pow and Charlie Robertson(WAKE) d. Lorenzo Brunkow and Diogo Morais(UCSB) 6-3

Order of finish: 2, 3

Singles:

1. DK Suresh(WAKE) v Lucca Liu(UCSB) 6-4, 6-5, dnf

2. Dominique Rolland(UCSB) v Aryan Shah(WAKE) 6-1, 4-4, dnf

3. Miguel Avendano Cadena(UCSB) v Luca Pow(WAKE) 6-1, 4-4, dnf

4. Mees Rottgering(WAKE) d. Diogo Morais(UCSB) 6-3, 6-3

5. Charlie Robertson(WAKE) d. Charlie Underwood(UCSB) 6-2, 6-3

6. Joaquin Guilleme(WAKE) d. Conrad Brown(UCSB) 6-3, 6-1

Order of finish: 6, 5, 4

The schedule for Saturday in SMU features No. 4 Stanford versus No. 1 Ohio State at noon and No. 3 Mississippi State versus No. 2 Virginia at 3:30 pm Central.

In Waco, No. 2 TCU will play No. 3 Texas at noon, with No. 5 Baylor facing No. 1 Wake Forest at 3:30 pm Central.

Cracked Racquets will have two streams of the quarterfinals at each site at their YouTube channel.

At the M15 in Sunrise Florida, 16-year-old Andy Johnson has reached his first Pro Circuit semifinal, defeating qualifier Fermin Tenti of Argentina 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. He will play No. 4 seed Bruno Kuzuhara Saturday.

At the ITF J300 in Lima Peru, 15-year-olds Janae Preston and Lani Chang will play for the singles title, with Preston, the No. 3 seed going for her third straight J300 title this year and Chang, the No. 5 seed, playing in her first J300 final.

Preston defeated top seed Canedla Vazquez of Argentina 6-1, 6-4 in today's semifinals and Chang beat qualifier Londyn McCord 6-2, 6-4.

Chang and Preston, the top seeds in doubles, lost to No. 2 seeds Marianne Angel of Mexico and Camila Rodero of Chile 7-6(2), 3-6, 10-7 in today's final.

Unseeded Gabriel Jessup and Agassi Rusher lost in the boys doubles final to top seeds Benjamin Azar of Canada and Mathys Domenc of France 6-3, 6-3.

Svajda Ready for Top Seed Ohio State as Men's ITA Indoor Championships Begin Friday; Pinnington Jones Makes Dallas Open Quarterfinals; Johnson Beats Fenty To Reach Sunrise M15 Quarterfinals; Preston Extends J300 Winning Streak in Peru

©Colette Lewis 2026--

Dallas Texas--

Today was Media Day for the teams at the ITA Men's Team Indoor Championships, and the eight teams at the SMU site cycled through the production area on the third floor, filming introductions, answering questions from Cracked Racquets announcer Chris Halioris, the ITA's social media consultants and Nate Walroth of Not Your Country Club.

One player who I wasn't able to talk to at the Dallas Open in my visit there yesterday was at the top of my list for an interview today, with SMU junior Trevor Svajda in a unique position to compare the level of the college game.

Svajda, who lost to Ethan Quinn 7-6(3), 7-5 in the first round of the Dallas Open, was in the unique position of being able to see the improvements in his game from one year to the next, after he had lost to Quinn in the first round of the Dallas Open last year 6-4, 6-2.

"I was excited when I saw the draw," Svajda said. "He's a great player, I'm kind of friends with him off the court, he's a nice kid, but I was excited to have a second chance at him. And I think I proved myself a little bit more this year than I did last year."

Although Svajda has been focusing on improving his serve and saw the fruits of that labor when he reached the NCAA singles final in November, he singled out Quinn's serve as the difference in the match Wednesday.

"His serve was the toughest thing," said the 19-year-old from San Diego, who broke Quinn just once in the match. "I got an early break in the first set, but I guessed right four times in a row and saw a couple of second serves. He broke me back right after, and I saw no more chances at all. He has one of the best serves I've played against, so I'd say that's the biggest difference."

Svajda is also not only in a position to rate his own game, but in the middle of his third collegiate season, he can compare the levels of the pros at the ATP 500 level and the players he competes against at the No. 1 position in collegiate competition.

"I think college tennis is at the highest level that it's ever been," Svajda said. "These players are definitely Top 200 players, some top 150, and I think college tennis is at its peak right now, it's pretty similar level to the ATP tour."

Svajda returned for his junior year after what he described as "not the greatest seasons" but with his results this fall he sees himself more prepared now for the pro tour.

"I think it was a good learning experience for me and I'm going to get as many matches as I can, and once I feel I'm ready, I'll turn pro," said Svajda, who believes his switch to a Yonex racquet has contributed to his improved results. "This season, it's looking more and more likely that I'm ready."

Svajda will take on Ohio State's Aidan Kim, who he beat in his run to the Kalamazoo 18s final in 2023 and lost to in an M25 last summer here in Dallas, at No. 1 singles in the noon match Friday.

"I think we're going to come out loose," Svajda said. "Anything can happen, it's college tennis, so I think no nerves for us. I think we're going to try to come out and play our best tennis. They are a good team."

Another player who just a year ago was playing No. 1 in the final of the ITA Men's Team Indoor, TCU's Jack Pinnington Jones, provided more evidence of the level at the top of the collegiate game, advancing to the quarterfinals of the Dallas Open with a 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(4) win over collegiate rival Eliot Spizzirri. Pinnington Jones, who lost to Wake Forest's Stefan Dostanic 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-4 in the deciding match, qualified for the Dallas Open and beat No. 4 seed Flavio Cobolli of Italy 6-2, 6-2 in the first round Tuesday.

In his first ATP quarterfinal Friday, Pinnington Jones will face Marin Cilic of Croatia, who beat Ethan Quinn(Georgia) 7-6(4), 6-3.

I'll be covering all four matches at the SMU site tomorrow; all matches at both sites will be available at the Cracked Racquets YouTube Channel, with two separate streams.

ITA Men's Division I Team Indoors first round matches Friday February 13, 2026

All times Central

Baylor site

Wake Forest[1] v UC Santa Barbara[8] 6:30 pm

Central Florida[4] v Baylor[5] 3:30 pm

Texas A&M[6] v Texas[3] 12:00 pm

LSU[7] v TCU[2] 9:00 am

SMU site

Ohio State[1] v SMU[8] noon

Stanford [4] v Arizona State[5] 9:00 am

Florida[6] v Mississippi State[3] 6:30 pm

Clemson[7] v Virginia[2] 3:30 pm

I probably won't have time to follow much else Friday, so I'll do a brief update tonight on the USTA Pro Circuit events, with the quarterfinals set at the ATP Challenger 50 in Baton Rouge and the M15 in Sunrise Florida. 

In Baton Rouge, Stefan Dostanic is through to his third Challenger quarterfinal and the second in a row, with the 24-year-old qualifier advancing to a meeting with LSU's Olaf Pieczkowski of Poland, who will not be available for the Tigers 9 a.m. match in Waco against TCU.

Wild card Braden Shick(NC State), playing in just his second career Challenger, beat No. 7 seed Tyler Zink(Georgia, Oklahoma State) 7-6(7), 6-4 to advance to a meeting with No. 2 seed Andres Andrade(Florida) of Ecuador. Cannon Kingsley(Ohio State) and Andre Ilagan(Hawaii) will face off in a an all-USA quarterfinal, with Daniel Milavsky(Harvard) playing top seed Alexis Galarneau(NC State) of Canada. Galarneau beat Jack Kennedy 6-4, 6-3 in the second round.

In Sunrise, 16-year-old Andy Johnson reached the quarterfinals of an M15 for the second time in three weeks, beating No. 2 seed Andrew Fenty(Michigan) 6-4, 7-6(2). Johnson will face qualifier Fermin Tenti of Argentina in the quarterfinals.

At the J300 in Lima Peru, Janae Preston continued her winning streak, with the No. 3 seed beating unseeded Sophie Triquart of Germany 6-1, 6-2. Preston, who won the J300 in Costa Rica last month and the J300 in Ecuador last week, will play top seed Candela Vasquez of Argentina in the semifinals.

In the all-USA semifinal in the bottom half, qualifier Londyn McCord will take on No. 5 seed Lani Chang.

All US boys are out in singles, but Gabriel Jessup and Agassi Rusher are through to the doubles final.  Chang and Preston, the top seeds, are in the girls doubles final.