Arkansas Restores Tennis Programs; TCU's 4-3 Win Over Ohio State Highlights Men's Quarterfinal Action in Athens; Wake Forest, Virginia and Texas Reach Final Four; Women's Quarterfinals Begin Friday

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Athens GA--

The good news traveled fast today in the press box of the Dan Magill Tennis Center, with the announcement that the University of Arkansas will restore the men's and women's tennis programs, effective immediately. With over 5 million dollars raised by donors in the community, the athletic department agreed to reinstate the programs for a minimum of two years, as long-term endowment funding is sought to keep the teams alive. 

When the first day at the final site ended at 10:30 p.m., the men's quarterfinals had produced three 4-1 decisions and one thriller, with three of the top four seeds advancing to Saturday's semifinals.

The lone exception was No. 6 seed TCU, who is No. 2 in the ITA rankings, but the formula the NCAA uses to seed teams had dropped them four spots, while their opponent Ohio State was No. 3 in both systems. That was the recipe for the 4-3 barnburner that developed, with Duncan Chan outlasting Aidan Kim 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 at line 1 to send his team to the Final Four for the fourth straight year.

TCU dominated the doubles point, getting a 6-0 win at 2 and a 6-4 victory at 3, but Ohio State came out in singles prepared to overcome it. Each team took three first sets in singles, meaning Ohio State had to force a third set somewhere. It was Nikita Filin that gave the Buckeye faithful hope, going up an early break in the second against Oliver Bonding and earning the split. But Chan returned the favor at line 1, and even then, TCU only held the slimmest advantage. TCU went up 2-0 with a win at 6, but Ohio State got the next two points at lines 2 and 4 to tie it. 

Ohio State had a chance to force a third set at line 3, with Jack Anthrop getting a second set break back and putting his match with Cooper Woestendick into a second set tiebreaker, but Woestendick gave TCU a lead when he hit an ace at 6-4, which Anthrop called out, and Woestendick immediately challenged, with the Electronic Line Calling system employed this weekend agreeing that it was an ace, giving TCU a 3-2 lead.

Meanwhile, Bonding had gotten a break in the third to serve for the match against Nikita Filin at line 4, and Chan had come from 3-1 down to make it 3-all at line 1. But there was one more twist, with Filin taking four straight games from 5-3 down for a 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 win to tie it up. By that time, Chan had won his fourth straight game for a 5-3 lead and all eyes turned to Court 1, with Chan serving at 5-3, 30-15. 

Chan said he knew he shouldn't be looking at the scoreboard, but felt he played better once he thought he wouldn't be called on to clinch.

"I have to admit, 3-2, I was down a break and I thought we were going to win, so I started going for my shots," said the junior from Canada, the only player on the team that won the 2024 title. "Roditi doesn't like it when we think our teammates are going to win, but it helped me. I got the break back and I saw Nikita piling on some points, and that helped me too. I have a sense of duty to my team and I just kind of rolled with it."

Chan hit a forehand plus one winner at 30-all but didn't get a first serve in on match point. Yet the work he has been putting in on that shot, especially the second serve, paid off. After missing his first serve, he felt no pressure on the second.

"I have confidence in my second serve, I know I need to accelerate more," Chan said. "When I'm in those situations, I kind of free up a little bit and it helps me hit the corners sometimes and it drops in."

The second serve was a good one, but Kim got a short ball in the rally and approached to the backhand. Chan answered with a backhand pass that sent the Horned Frogs into the jumping circuit celebration.

"I'm really proud of a very young team," said head coach David Roditi. "Where they've come from the beginning of the season to be a part of the Final Four, and to win over Ohio State, one of the best programs, if not the best program, of the last 25 years. I couldn't be happier and I couldn't be more proud."

On Friday, TCU will play Texas in the semifinals, a rivalry that has pushed both programs to new heights.

"We've had so many, I think we're like 6-6 and that's just in the last three years," said Roditi, whose team lost to Texas in this year's Team Indoor and beat them in a non-conference match the following month. "It seems like we always find a way to play each other...so many brutal moments, I'm feisty, he's feisty. I don't even want to think about it. But obviously, it's a fun match, a huge match--Texas - TCU, the big, the little, all that stuff. But right now we're just going to enjoy the win today."

TCU[6] 4 Ohio State[[3] 3

Doubles:

1. Duncan Chan and Cosme Rolland De Ravel(TCU) v Nikta Filin and Brandon Carpico(OSU) 5-4, unf.

2. Cooper Woestendick and Albert Pedrico(TCU) d. Alex Okonkwo and Alex Bernard(OSU) 6-0

3. Oliver Bonding and Maximus Dussault(TCU) d. Bryce Nakashima and Aidan Kim(OSU) 6-4

Order of finish 2, 3

Singles:

1. Duncan Chan(TCU) d. Aidan Kim(OSU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3

2. Preston Stearns(OSU) d. Cosme Rolland De Ravel(TCU) 6-2, 7-5

3. Cooper Woestendick(TCU) d. Jack Anthrop(OSU) 6-3, 7-6(4)

4. Nikita Filin(OSU) d. Oliver Bonding(TCU) 2-6, 6-3, 7-5

5. Bryce Nakashima(OSU) d. Albert Pedrico(TCU) 6-2, 7-6(6)

6. Roger Pascual(TCU) d. Alex Bernard(OSU) 6-2, 6-2

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

In the first quarterfinal of the day, No. 2 seed Texas defeated No. 10 Baylor, the only men's team outside the top eight advancing to the final site, 4-1.

The Bears took the doubles point, with an impressive performance at line 1 and a late break at line 3 to grab the momentum. But the Longhorns are no strangers to needing four singles points and they quickly took first sets on four courts, with Texas's Sebastian Gorzny making it five at line 1. Gorzny and Devin Badenhorst finished their first set nearly a half hour later, with Gorzny taking it in the tiebreaker 9-7.

Baylor had one first set at 6 and earned a third set at 5, but Texas had their freshman Lucas Marionneau at line 6, which no doubt was a relief to the Burnt Orange-clad fans supporting him in the "pit." Marionneau clinched Texas's first ITA Team Indoor title in February over Ohio State and its SEC tournament championship last month over Mississippi State, both by 4-2 scores, so he was not a freshman unfamiliar with pressure in big moments, as he again demonstrated with his 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Calvin Baierl.

"I don't know honestly, but every time it's on me, and I love it, so much confidence in these huge moments," said the 19-year-old from France, who took the advice of compatriot Timo Legout, the former No. 1 at Texas, to explore playing for the Longhorns. "From indoors and then after Mississippi State in the SEC tournament, I don't know, I'm just really happy to be in this moment; we train and live for these moments, so I'm really happy to put this match away."

Texas head coach Bruce Berque wasn't surprised by any of the ups and downs his team experienced this morning.

"It was a pretty typical match in some ways, I was just thinking about it," said Berque, whose team had beaten Baylor 4-0 in the ITA Team Indoor Championships semifinals. "We had a couple of guys play great, we had a couple of guys play bad and we had a couple guys do some of both. That's the most common thing you see in a tennis match. It's not about playing our best tennis, but it's about being composed, about being coachable, about staying connected with each other, showing great enthusiasm and playing hard. I was proud of our team for being able to do that against a very good team today."

Texas[2] 4 Baylor[10] 1

Doubles:

1. Alexandru Chirita and Zsombor Velcz[BAY] d. Abel Forger and Kalin Ivanovski[TEX] 6-3

2. Sebastian Gorzny and Lucas Marionneau[TEX] v Luc Koenig and Connor Van Schalkwyk[BAY] 6-6, 8-7 unf.

3. Calvin Baierl and Devin Badenhorst[BAY] d. Sebastian Eriksson and Oliver Ojakaar[TEX] 7-5

Order of finish: 1, 3

Singles:

1. Sebastian Gorzny[TEX] v Devin Badenhorst[BAY] 7-6(7), 5-66] unf.

2. Kalin Ivanovski[TEX] d. Zsombor Velcz[BAY] 6-3, 6-1

3. Sebastian Eriksson[TEX] d.  Connor Van Schalkwyk[BAY] 6-2, 6-2

4. Oliver Ojakaar[TEX] d. Alexandru Chirita[BAY] 6-3, 6-3

5. Abel Forger[TEX] v Luc Koenig(BAY] 6-2, 3-6, 5-4 unf.

6. Lucas Marionneau[TEX] v Calvin Baierl[BAY] 3-6, 6-2, 6-2

Order of finish: 2, 3, 4

Defending champion Wake Forest continued their quest for another title Thursday evening, with the top seeds defeating No. 8 seed Arizona 4-1. 

The doubles point was over in less than a half hour, with Wake, who hasn't lost a doubles point since February, getting a 6-0 win at line 2 and a 6-2 victory at line 1.

Freshman Mees Rottgering, who has been a sure point for Wake Forest since he moved up to line 2, gave them a quick 2-0 lead, beating Filip Gustafsson 6-2, 6-1 in under an hour.

Once Wake took four first sets in singles, the outcome appeared to be ordained, but Arizona, playing in the program's first NCAA team quarterfinal, wasn't ready to concede, even after Aryan Shah posted a win at line 5 to make it 3-0.

Arizona's Sasha Rozin gave the Wildcats their first point with a 6-3, 7-5 win at line 3 over Luca Pow, another of Wake Forest's most reliable points. Wake Forest's DK Suresh had a chance to close the door against Jay Friend at line 1, but Friend took a second set tiebreaker, and once Charlie Robertson of Wake lost his second set tiebreaker at line 4, Arizona had a glimmer of hope. 

But by that time Wake's Joaquin Guilleme had turned around his match at line 6. After dropping the first set to Alejandro Arcila 6-0, the sophomore from Nicaragua found his form and ended with the clinch 0-6, 7-5, 6-3.

"It's never easy losing the first set, especially 6-0," Guilleme said. "But my coach told me just try to make balls, try to start winning games. I felt like I never left the match and I won the first game of the second set and that obviously helped a lot, and my teammates and the fans helped me to keep pushing and keep fighting. Luckily tennis is two out three sets."

Head coach Tony Bresky spoke in the press conference about the pressure of defending an NCAA final.

"We talk about that a lot, the pressure is obviously a privilege," said Bresky, whose teams have now reached the Final Four the past three years. "The biggest thing is we try to take the pressure off the guys, I feel our preparation and fitness is top notch, they way the guys practice and they way we treat every match during the season, so hopefully that takes pressure off them. You're not going to be successful in these moments if you want to win too much. You have to perspective on it and realize it's just tennis and go out and do your best.  The goal is to take as much pressure off them, know they want to win really bad and make them actually want to win a little less."

Wake Forest[1] 4 Arizona[8] 1

Doubles:

1. DK Suresh and Andrew Delgado[WAKE]  Filip Gustafsson and Glib Sekachov[UA] 6-2

2. Mees Rottgering and Kacper Szymkowiak(WAKE) d. Jay Friend and Sasha Rozin[UA] 6-0

3. Cole Stelse and Alejandro Arcila(UA)  v Luca Pow and Aryan Shah(WAKE) 4-3

Order of finish:

2, 1

Singles:

1. Jay Friend(UA) v DK Suresh(WAKE) 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 5-3 unf.

2. Mees Rottgering(WAKE) d. Filip Gustafsson(UA) 6-2, 6-1

3. Sasha Rozin(UA) d. Luca Pow(WAKE) 6-3, 7-5 

4. Charlie Robertson(WAKE) v Zoran Ludoski(UA) 6-3, 6-7(2) unf.

5. Aryan Shah(WAKE) d. Glib Sekachov(UA) 6-4, 6-2

6. Joaquin Guilleme(WAKE) d. Alejandro Arcila(UA) 0-6, 7-5, 6-3

Order of finish: 2, 1, 3, 6

The last quarterfinal saw No. 4 seed Virginia duplicate their 4-1 decision over No. 5 seed Mississippi State in February's ITA Team Indoor quarterfinals, with the Cavaliers setting the tone early in the match with the third dominant doubles point put up by the eventual winners.

Virginia, which had struggled in doubles throughout the season, had found the right combinations in the past three weeks according to head coach Andres Pedroso.

"We've been playing good doubles the last few weeks, we've worked a lot on it and taken a close look at it," Pedroso said. "These guys have been really coachable and we're really organized, we know what are roles are on the doubles court...we feel really good about our doubles ,so it's been a very productive three weeks of practice when it comes to that part of our team."

Mississippi State got their only singles point early, with Raphael Vaksmann getting off the court in less than an hour at line 5, but Virginia countered with two straightforward wins from Keegan Rice at line 2 and Dylan Dietrich at line 1. The fourth point proved elusive however, with Virginia's best chance to close it out quickly coming with freshman Andres Santamarta up 3-0 in the second set against Mario Martinez Serrano at line 4.

Martinez Serrano won the next three games however, with neither player gaining an advantage until Santamarta forced a deciding point with Martinez Serrano serving at 4-5. Martinez Serrano came up with a stellar passing shot to save it, and looked to be heading to a third set when he went up 5-2 in the tiebreaker.

That's when the Electronic Line Calling system threw a lifeline to Santamarta however. After Martinez Serrano called Santamarta's ball out, Santamarta challenged the call, and instead of 6-2, the score ended up at 5-4, with ELC showing the ball good. Because Martinez Serrano had already had a call challenged and overturned, he also received a point penalty. Santamarta had his first match point at 6-5, but netted a forehand, and Martinez Serrano was unable to convert his two set points at 7-6, and 8-7. Santamarta got his third match point at 9-8 and Martinez Serrano double faulted to give the Santamarta a 6-2, 7-6(8) victory and send Virginia to a Final Four matchup with Wake Forest.

Santamarta appreciated having access to the Electronic Line Calling system, which may have helped him avoid a third set.

"That made a big difference," said the 19-year-old from Spain, a former ITF Junior No. 1. "I saw the ball in, so that's why I asked the referee if I could check it. Depending on the score, it can be a big change. It's a good thing, I like it, yeah."

Although the top four teams in the ITA rankings have made the Final Four, all of whom have won NCAA titles in the past six years, Pedroso said that favorites will continue to be challenged given the depth in the sport now.

"College tennis is in a really good place, a really good place," Pedroso said. "If you're the four or five team in the country and you play the number 45 or 50 team in the country and lose the doubles point, it's a dogfight. It's a credit to the coaches, how hard they're trying, the athletic departments pouring resources into these programs. I'm so happy to see Arkansas coming back, that's awesome news for our sport. But college tennis is in a great place, it's the best developmental pathway for young men 18, 19, 20 years old who are not quite ready to turn pro, they come to college, they mature, have Top 100 resources, great coaches, amazing people around them. It's the best place for someone not quite ready to play pro tennis."

Virginia[4] 4 Mississippi State[5] 1

Doubles:

1. Benito Sanchez Martinez and Michal Novansky(MSST) v Mans Dahlberg and Dylan Dietrich(UVA)

2. Andres Santamarta and Jangjun Kim(UVA) d. Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano(MSST) 6-2 

3. Petar Jovanovic and Bryan Hernandez Cortes(MSST) v Stiles Brockett and Keegan Rice(UVA) 5-5 unf.

Order of finish: 2, 1

Singles:

1. Dylan Dietrich(UVA) d. Benito Sanchez Martinez(MSST) 6-4, 6-3

2. Keegan Rice(UVA) d. Petar Jovanovic(MSST) 6-3, 6-2

3. Niccolo Baroni(MSST) v Jangjun Kim(UVA) 3-6, 6-3, 4-4, unf.

4. Andres Santamarta(UVA) d. Mario Martinez Serrano(MSST) 6-2. 7-6(8)

5. Raphael Vaksmann(MSST) d. Stiles Brockett(UVA) 6-1, 6-2

6. Mans Dahlberg(UVA) v Bryan Cortes Hernandez(MSST) 4-6, 6-2, 5-4 unf.

Order of finish: 5, 2, 1, 4

The women's quarterfinals begin at 10 a.m. Monday with No. 2 Auburn facing No. 10 seed LSU in a rematch of the SEC tournament final.

Friday's women's quarterfinals:

Auburn[2] v LSU[10] 10 a.m.

Ohio State[3] v Pepperdine[11] 1 p.m.

Georgia[1] v North Carolina State [8] 4 p.m.

Texas A&M[4] v North Carolina[5] 7 p.m.

The NCAA finals tournament page is here; live scoring is provided by iOnCourt, with the men's link here and the women's link here.

All matches are being streamed on ESPN+(subscription required). Cracked Racquets will be providing the commentary for the women's quarterfinals.

NCAA Division I Team Championships Begin Thursday with Men's Quarterfinals, Women's Quarterfinals Friday; Ayrault Reaches Quarterfinals at ITF J300 in Santa Croce Italy

©Colette Lewis 2026--

Athens GA--

Final preparations were underway today at the Dan Magill Tennis Center in Athens Georgia, with signage and banners being assembled and practices held on all 12 courts in anticipation of Thursday's and Friday's quarterfinals.

The photo of the top three courts at Georgia, with the newly renovated press box above them, will be my office for the next four days. It's extremely rare for a tennis facility to have a press box overlooking the courts, so it's a special treat for me to return that luxury this week in Athens.

The men's quarterfinals are first up this year, as they are every even year, with Texas and Baylor the opening act at the final site this year.

Thursday's men's quarterfinals:

Texas[2] v Baylor[10] 10 a.m. (All times Eastern)

Ohio State[3] v TCU[6] 1 p.m.

Wake Forest[1] v Arizona[8], 4 p.m.

Virginia[4] v Mississippi State[5]

Final approved lineups for the men are here.

Friday's women's quarterfinals:

Auburn[2] v LSU[10] 10 a.m.

Ohio State[3] v Pepperdine[11] 1 p.m.

Georgia[1] v North Carolina State [8] 4 p.m.

Texas A&M[4] v North Carolina[5]

Final approved lineups for the women are here.

The NCAA finals tournament page is here; live scoring is provided by iOnCourt, with the men's link here and the women's link here.

All matches are being streamed on ESPN+(subscription required). Cracked Racquets will be providing the commentary for the men's and women's quarterfinals.

The weather forecast is excellent, with no rain  in the forecast and temperatures in the upper 70s and low 80s for the first two days, with warmer temperatures predicted for the semifinals and finals.

Follow me on Bluesky @zootennis.bsky.social for updates during the matches; John Parsons of No-Ad, No-Problem (https://x.com/JTweetsTennis) and Nate Walroth of Not Your Country Club (https://x.com/showfortennis) are here as well, so look for their content throughout the next four days.

The next three days are going to stretch from 10 a.m. to midnight for me, with four matches every day, so there won't be coverage of other events during these NCAAs and the post may not go up until very late each night.

One American has advanced to the quarterfinals of this week's ITF J300 in Santa Croce Italy, with 15-year-old Hannah Ayrault defeated No. 6 seed Hollie Smart of Great Britain 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(6) today and will play fellow qualifier Daphnee Mpetshi Perricard of France in the quarterfinals.  Carrie-Anne Hoo lost her second round match to No. 8 seed Tereza Hermanova of Czechia 6-3, 6-4.

Doubles partners Jack Secord and Puerto Rico's Yannik Alvarez played in the second round of the singles draw today, with the second-seeded Alvarez coming back for 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(8) victory.

This Week's USTA Pro Circuit Features M25 in Pensacola and W35 in Bethany Beach; USTA's Urhobo Feature; Goodman Named Head Coach at Missouri; ITA Announces New Board of Directors; IONsport Partners with Tennis Europe

Qualifying was completed today at the two events on the USTA Pro Circuit, with the women competing in a W35 in Bethany Beach Delaware and the men playing at an M25 in Pensacola Florida.

Rain washed out the first day of qualifying Monday in Bethany Beach, so two rounds had to be played today, but fortunately for officials, the qualifying draws did not fill and and several players qualified without playing a match.

Americans reaching the main draw via qualifying are: Ligaya Murray, a Baylor recruit, Kaitlyn Carnicella(Auburn, South Carolina), Jane Dunyon(South Carolina), Paola Lopez and Zoe Hitt.

Only one wild card was awarded, to 18-year-old Florida signee Capucine Jauffret, a Delaware native. 

Madison Brengle, another Delaware native, is the top seed, with Anna Rogers(NC State) the No. 2 seed.

Four first round matches were played today, with future Georgia Bulldog, Bella Payne beating former Georgia Bulldog Mell Reasco, the No. 4 seed from Ecuador, 7-6(2), 7-6(5). No. 3 seed Haley Giavara(Cal), Kylie Collins(Texas, LSU, Oklahoma State) and Savannah Broadus(Pepperdine) also won their opening matches.

In Pensacola, five American advanced through qualifying to reach the main draw: Drew Van Orderlain, Oren Vasser(William & Mary, Miami), Ilyas Fahim(Virginia Tech), Ryan Haviland(Stanford) and Alex Finkelstein(Brown, SMU). Kentucky junior Eli Stephenson advanced to the main draw as a lucky loser.

The three wild cards went to LSU recruit Nick Stoot, who won his first round match today; Lucca Liu(UC Santa Barbara) and Florida State's Justin Lyons and Corey Craig.

Daniel Milavsky(Harvard) is the top seed, with Andrew Fenty(Michigan) the No. 2 seed.

Roland Garros main draw wild card winner Akasha Urhobo is the subject of an in-depth feature at the USTA's new Inside American Tennis newsletter. USTA National Coach Jermaine Jenkins, who has been working with Urhobo for nearly a year now, explains how he and Urhobo have been building her baseline game, as she was one of the rare juniors who learned to serve and volley from the outset. 

Another recent article focuses on Welles Newman and Jordyn Hazelitt, who won the W35 Boca Raton doubles title two weeks ago.

The University of Missouri named a new women's head coach today: University of Tennessee associate head coach Robin Goodman. Missouri's previous head coach, Bianca Turati returned to her alma mater Texas last summer as an associate head coach, with Silvia Chinellato, her associate head coach at Missouri named interim coach for the 2025-26 season.

The ITA announced its new board of directors for the two-year term beginning July 1, 2026. You may recognize some of them, but others may be new to you, so take time to read the biographies of those who will be leading the governing body of college tennis in the coming years.

IONSport, which has provided live scoring for Kalamazoo for the past several years and has been in the college tennis space for quite some time, has announced a major partnership with TennisEurope for its junior events. The press release is below:

IONSport Named Official Live Scoring and Data Partner of Tennis Europe

Multi-year agreement brings a unified scoring and data ecosystem to more than 540 Tennis Europe events

ATLANTA (May 11, 2026) – Tennis Europe has announced a multi-year partnership with IONSport, naming the company its Official Live Scoring and Data Partner and integrating the platform at all Tennis Europe Junior Tour events.

Beginning this summer, IONSport will power a unified scoring and data ecosystem across approximately 540 tournaments and team events held at over 300 venues in 45 member nations, bringing consistent scoring, centralized data delivery, and enhanced digital experiences to one of the largest junior tennis networks in the world. Together, this represents one of the most comprehensive digital scoring implementations in junior tennis and lays the foundation for continued innovation in how match data is captured, distributed, and experienced across the Tennis Europe network.

From first serve to match point, the platform will deliver live scoring, real-time match statistics, and integrated digital distribution across mobile, web, broadcast, and in-venue experiences, turning every match into a connected, shareable moment for players, coaches, and fans. The platform will also serve as a single digital destination for scores, statistics, streaming video, and match updates.

The collaboration is designed to deliver faster, more reliable live scoring and instant access to results, draws, and schedules for players, while providing tournaments with standardized tools that reduce operational workload and enhance both on-site and online fan experiences. Built to integrate seamlessly with existing tournament operations, IONSport simplifies scoring and data management while enabling consistent execution across events of all sizes.

“Technology continues to play an increasingly important role in the development and visibility of our sport,” said Henrik Thorsøe Pedersen, President of Tennis Europe. “By appointing IONSport as our Official Live Scoring and Data Partner, we are ensuring that Tennis Europe competitions are supported by world-class digital infrastructure. This partnership strengthens the competitive environment for our players while enhancing engagement and accessibility for fans, coaches, and national associations across Europe.”

“We are honored to be named the Official Live Scoring and Data Partner of Tennis Europe,” said Dave Mowrey, Founder and CEO of IONSport. “With IONSport integrated into the Tennis Europe competition framework, we’re not just delivering live scoring, we’re creating a more connected competition experience across every tournament, every match, and every point.”

In the coming weeks, Tennis Europe Junior Tour event organisers will be contacted with full details on implementation timelines, onboarding, and how to prepare for upcoming events as part of this partnership.

For more information, visit https://www.ionsport.com/.
For company updates and announcements, follow @IONSportapp on Instagram, LinkedIn and X.

+++

Mendell and Godoy Win J100 Titles in Costa Rica; Top Seeds Out at ITF J300 Santa Croce; ITF Junior No. 3 Alexandrescou Signs with Duke; ITF Junior No. 1 Efremova, Jones, Kouame Receive Roland Garros Wild Cards

American juniors dominated the ITF J200 in Tennessee last week, with my coverage of the doubles titles in Friday's post and the singles titles earned by Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann and Tyler Lee in Sunday's post.

Americans also swept the singles titles at the J100 in Costa Rica last week, with Ellery Mendell going back-to-back and Sebastian Godoy sweeping the titles.

No. 2 seed Mendell, a 16-year-old from Georgia, had won the J100 two weeks ago in Costa Rica without dropping a set. The future Ohio State Buckeye did have a tough semifinal this week, beating No. 3 seed Aoi Watanabe of Japan 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-2, but the 2026 Easter Bowl 18s champion had no trouble in the final, beating top seed Sera Park of Korea 6-1, 6-0. With her fourth ITF singles title of the year, she has moved into the ITF Junior Top 200 for the first time.

The seventh-seeded Godoy, also 16, defeated top seed Charles Minivielle 7-5, 7-5 in the semifinals and third-seeded South African Jayden Summers 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-0 in the final for the third ITF Junior Circuit singles title of his career.

Godoy and Mason Vaughan, the No. 2 seeds, defeated No. 3 seeds Anay Kulkarni and Nicolas Pedraza 6-2, 6-4 in the final. Audrey Dussault and Canadian Payton Dith won the girls doubles title, beating No. 3 seeds Azul Lopez Vazquez R of Mexico and Aurora Lugo of Puerto Rico 6-2, 2-6, 12-10 in the final.

There were three others singles titles last week for Americans, all at the J30 level. 

In the US Virgin Islands, No. 6 seed Noah Vinbaytel won his first ITF Junior Circuit title, with the 16-year-old from Florida defeating Karl Ekstrand 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the final. No. 3 seed Sofia Dvortsova won her second career singles title, with the 14-year-old from Florida defeating No. 2 seed Quinn Sommer, also 14, 6-3, 6-4 in the final. 

Leyla Kilgour and the Netherlands Danica Struiken won the girls doubles title, beating the unseeded Canadian team of Maya Lazar and Mina Woodruff 6-4, 7-5 in the final. No. 3 seeds Mateo Garcia Castro and Israel's Kai Lev won the boys doubles title, beating No. 4 seeds Amaury Blondet of Puerto Rico and David Llovera De Lasse of Mexico 6-0, 6-4.

In Cote D'Ivoire, 17-year-old Poudima Gnarou won her second ITF Junior singles title, both this year, with the top seed defeating No. 2 seed Alexie Duclair of Canada 7-6(6), 2-6, 7-6(7) in the final.

At the J200 in Austria, top seeds Olivia Traynor and Brooke Wallman won the girls doubles title, beating No. 2 seed Sofia Barhacova of Slovakia and Kristyna Dulikova of Czechia 6-4, 6-3 in the final. Top seed Traynor and Kori Montoya, the No. 5 seed, advanced to the quarterfinals in singles.

At the J100 in Canada, Ariana Morris partnered with Yelyzaveta Dovhopol of Ukraine for the girls doubles title. The No. 3 seeds defeated top seeds Elisabeth Djabourian and Elicia Lin of Canada 3-6, 6-4, 12-10 in the final.

Americans swept the doubles titles at the J60 in Nicaragua, with unseeded Dylan and Luke Jones defeating unseeded Xavier Alonso Rozada of Mexico and Jaden Chui of Hong Kong 6-3, 6-2 in the final.

No. 4 seeds Vibha Gogineni and Myna Medicetty won the girls doubles title, defeating top seeds Romina Dominguez Garcia of Mexico and Amina Nurmakhan of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-3 in the final.

This week's ITF J300 in Santa Croce Italy began today with two big upsets. Girls top seed Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi of Argentina lost to Maria Valentina Pop of Romania, who won last week's J200 in Italy, 6-2, 6-0. Boys top seed Kuan-Shou Chen of Taiwan fell to wild card Mattia Logrippo of Italy 7-5, 4-6, 7-5. 

Just one American is in the boys draw, Jack Secord, with Yannik Alvarez of Puerto Rico the No. 2 seed.

Four US girls were in the main draw: qualifier Hannah Ayrault, who won the J200 two weeks ago in Sumter SC; Ireland O'Brien, Nancy Lee and Carrie-Ann Hoo.  O'Brien and Lee lost their opening round matches today, Hoo won her first round match and Ayrault plays hers Tuesday.

The number of top ITF juniors choosing to attend college in the United States has increased dramatically over the past several years and today another one will be taking that path this fall, with Yannick Alexandrescou of France signing with Duke for this fall. The 18-year-old, who began representing France late last year after previously competing for Romanis, is currently No. 3 in the ITF junior rankings with a career-high of No. 2.

Roland Garros announced its wild cards today, with three 17-year-olds receiving main draw wild cards: ITF World Junior No. 1 Ksenia Efremova of France, the 2026 Australian Open girls champion; Emerson Jones, who received Australia's reciprocal wild card, and Moise Kouame of France, who is up to 313 in the ATP ranking after three ITF men's titles this year and success on the ATP Challenger Tour. The only other teenaged wild card is 19-year-old Floridian Akasha Urhobo, who won the reciprocal wild card in the USTA's annual competition recently.

Women's main draw wild cards:

Clara Burel, France
Ksenia Efremova, France

Fiona Ferro, France

Leolia Jeanjean, France

Emerson Jones, Australia

Sarah Rakotomanga, France

Alice Tubello, France

Akasha Urhobo, United States

Women's qualifying wild cards:

Eleejah Inisan, France

Selena Janicijevic, France

Tahlia Kokkinis, Australia

Manon Leonard, France

Kristina Mladenovic, France

Amandine Monnot, France

Daphnée Mpetshi Perricard, France

Chloé Paquet, France

Margaux Rouvroy, France

Men's main draw wild cards:

Nishesh Basavareddy, United States

Titouan Droguet, France

Hugo Gaston, France

Arthur Gea, France

Moise Kouame, France

Gael Monfils, France

Adam Wilton, Australia

Stan Wawrinka, Switzerland

Men's qualifying wild cards:

Florent Bax, France

Robin Bertrand, France

Sean Cuenin, France

Thomas Faurel, France

Antoine Ghibaudo, Kentucky

David Goffin, Belgium

Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg, France

Calvin Hemery, France

Daniel Jade, France.

Liutova Wins Indian Harbour Beach W100; Barros and Mackenzie Claim ITF J500 Offenbach Titles; Lee and Drenser-Hagmann Crowned Champions at ITF J200 College Grove; Favorites Sail Into D-III Quarterfinals

Sixteen-year-old wild card Kristina Liutova boosted her WTA ranking to the Top 300 today on the USTA Pro Circuit at the W100 in Indian Harbour Beach, beating No. 8 seed Julia Riera of Argentina 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-3 in the final.

The Russian-born Seattle-area resident won her first USTA Pro Circuit tournament at a W35 in Las Vegas in February, but earning a title at a W100, the highest level of the ITF women's World Tennis Tour, is an impressive accomplishment, given her age and inexperience at that level. The ITF junior No. 52, who won the ITF J300 in College Park Maryland in August and the IMG ITF J300 in Bradenton in December, picked up her first two WTA Top 200 wins this week. Now that she is inside the WTA Top 400, she will receive direct entry into both the Wimbledon and US Open Junior Championships, should she decide to enter. She has not yet played in a junior slam.

At the W35 in Boca Raton Florida, qualifier Carson Tanguilig(UNC) lost to unseeded Justina Gonzalez Daniele of Argentina 6-4, 6-4.

At the M15 in Vero Beach Florida, the improbable run of qualifying alternate came to a triumphant conclusion Sunday, with Joaquim Almeida of Brazil defeating top seed Alex Rybakov(TCU) 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 to claim his first pro singles title. The 24-year-old Almeida, who played college tennis at VCU and Liberty, was playing just his second tournament of the year this week, but he beat three seeds and former ATP No. 39 JJ Wolf(Ohio State) in his dream week.

The singles titles were decided today in Offenbach Germany with Victoria Barros of Brazil and Jamie Mackenzie of Germany winning their first J500 titles. 

The top-seeded Barros, 16, defeated No. 2 seed Anastasija Cvetkovic of Serbia 6-2, 6-4 in the girls final. No. 3 seed Mackenzie, 18, beat No. 4 seed Dimitar Kisimov of Bulgaria 6-4, 6-3 in the boys final. Mackenzie has signed with TCU for this fall.

In the doubles finals Saturday, the girls title went to No. 3 seed Polina Skliar of Ukraine and Mariella Thamm of Germany, and the boys title to Eric Mueller and Vincent Reisach of Germany. Skliar and Thamm defeated the unseeded team of Polina Berezina of Russia and Barbar Kostecka of Poland 6-4, 7-5. Mueller and Reisach won the battle of unseeded teams, beating Marko Bekeni of Slovakia and Patrick Valentin Moise of Germany 6-3, 6-3.

On the red clay at the ITF J200 in College Grove Tennessee, No. 5 seed Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann added a first ITF Junior Circuit singles title to the doubles championship she won Friday, and unseeded Tyler Lee won his first ITF Junior Circuit singles title today.

The 17-year-old Drenser-Hagmann, who came through qualifying as a late entry, defeated No. 4 seed Carlota Moreno 6-4, 6-4 in today's final; all six of her matches came in straight sets.

The unseeded Lee, 16, who took out top seed Agassi Rusher in the first round, had a tougher path, coming from a set down in the quarterfinals and semifinals, but had no need for another comeback in today's final, beating unseeded Gurjot Singh 6-1, 6-2.

After a long weekend of preliminary play, the Division III quarterfinals are set for May 18th(women) and 19th(men) with the top four teams in both the men's and women's ITA rankings advancing. The matchups are below, with the rankings in brackets (seeds are not used in Division III). Times will be posted to the draws, with the men's here, and the women's here.

Women's D-III quarterfinals:

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps[1] v Bowdoin[11]

Washington and Lee[14] v Wesleyan[4]

Chicago[2] v Babson[5]

Carnegie Mellon[8] v Washington-St. Louis[3]

Men's D-III quarterfinals:

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps[2] v Emory[11]

Denison[4] v Case Western Reserve[5]

Tufts[3] v Swarthmore[8]

Bowdoin[7] v Chicago[1]

NCAA Division I Quarterfinals Set; Forbes to Ohio State; Liutova Reaches Final at W100 Indian Harbour Beach; Jauffret and Penickova Claim W35 Doubles Title; All-USA Finals at ITF J200 in College Grove

The second and final day of the NCAA Division I Super Regionals wasn't dramatic until the last match of the day, when No. 8 Arizona rallied from 3-1 down to earn a 4-3 victory over No. 9 Oklahoma and the first NCAA team quarterfinal in program history.

The other two men's matches had little suspense, with No. 5 seed Mississippi State defeating No. 12 seed Georgia 4-1, and No. 6 seed TCU rolling past unseeded Stanford 4-0 in less than two hours.

With those matches earlier in the day, the focus was solely on Tucson, with a large and loud crowd eager to see the Wildcats avenge their 4-2 loss to the Sooners in January in Norman.

After Oklahoma took the doubles point, Arizona had a steep hill to climb, but eventually they took four first sets, to give themselves a path. The Sooners needed to take a second set somewhere and they got two of them, forcing a third set at both lines 6 and 1. Freshman Alejandro Arcila went up a break early in the third set at line 6, but lost it, only to come up with a break at 4-all. He served a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 decision at love, making it 3-3, and by that time Arizona senior Jay Friend had taken a 3-0 lead over Luis Alvarez at line 1. The reigning All-American champion  ran away with it, grabbing a 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-0 win to make history for the Arizona program.

The two women's matches were not particularly close either, although there was one minor upset, with No. 10 LSU going to Charlottesville and taking out No. 7 Virginia 4-1. The third-seeded Ohio State women will join the Ohio State men in Athens after a 4-1 win over No. 14 Vanderbilt.

Today's box scores are below; the box scores from the 11 matches on Friday can be found here.

Women's Super Regionals Saturday May 9:

Ohio State[3] 4 Vanderbilt[14] 1

Doubles:
1. Luciana Perry and Flora Johnson(OSU) d. Celia-Belle Mohr and Sophia Webster(VAND) 6-3
2. Hephzibah Oluwadare and Teah Chavez(OSU) v. Bridget Stammel and Valeria Ray[VAND) 4-3, unf.
3. Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev and Audrey Spencer(OSU) d. Erin Pearce and Mia Yamakita(VAND) 6-1

Order of finish: 3, 1

Singles:

1. Teah Chavez(OSU) d Celia-Belle Mohr(VAND) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3

2. Luciana Perry(OSU) v Bridget Stammel(VAND) 7-5, 1-6, 5-0, unf.

3. Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev(OSU) d. Valeria Ray(VAND) 7-6, 6-1

4. Nao Nishino(OSU) d. Mia Yamakita(VAND) 6-2, 6-2

5. Erin Pearce(VAND) v Audrey Spencer(OSU)2-6, 7-5, 3-1, unf.

6. Sophia Webster(VAND) d.  Hephzibah Oluwadare(OSU) 7-5, 6-4

Order of finish: 4, 6, 3, 1

LSU[10] 4 Virginia[7] 1

Doubles:

1. Melodie Collard and Vivian Yang(UVA)  d. Cadence Brace and Kayla Cross(LSU) 6-3

2. Kenna Erickson and Ella McDonald(LSU) d. Annabelle Xu and Martina Genis Salas(UVA) 7-5

3. Addison Lanton and Carolina Kuhl(LSU) d. Katie Rolls and Isabelle Lacy(UVA) 7-5

Order of finish: 1, 2, 3

Singles:

1. Cadence Brace(LSU) d. Vivian Yang(UVA) 6-3, 6-4

2. Annabelle Xu(UVA) d. Kayla Cross(LSU) 6-3, 6-3

3. Ella McDonald(LSU) d. Katie Rolls(UVA) 7-5, 6-1

4. Addison Lanton(LSU) d. Isabelle Lacy(UVA) 6-4, 6-3

5. Melodie Collard(UVA) v Carolina Kuhl(LSU) 7-5, 4-5, unf.

6. Kenna Erickson(LSU) v Martina Genis Salas(UVA) 6-4, 1-6, 1-0, unf.

Order of finish: 3, 4, 2, 1

Men's Super Regionals Saturday May 9:

Mississippi State[5] 4 Georgia[12] 1

Doubles:

1. Arda Azkara and Santiago Giamichelle(UGA) d. Mical Novansky and Benito Sanchez Martinez(MSST) 6-1

2. Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano(MSST) d. Gabriele Vulpitta and Will Jansen(UGA) 6-4

3. Bryan Hernandez Cortes and Petar Jovanovic(MSST) d. Derrick Chen and Noah Johnston(UGA) 6-2

Order of finish: 1, 3, 2

Singles:

1. Benito Sanchez Martinez(MSST) d.  Arda Azkara(UGA) 6-4, 6-4

2. Will Jansen(UGA) d. Petar Jovanovic(MSST) 6-4, 6-4

3. Niccola Baroni(MSST) v Santiago Giamichelle(UGA) 6-3, 6-6, unf.

4. Noah Johnston(UGA) v Mario Martinez Serrano(MSST) 7-6(4), 5-3, unf.

5. Raphael Vaksmann(MSST) d. Derrick Chen(UGA) 6-4, 6-2

6. Bryan Hernandez Cortes(MSST) d. Gabriele Vulpitta(UGA) 6-2, 6-3

Order of finish: 6, 2, 5, 1

TCU[6] 4 Stanford 0

Doubles:

1. Duncan Chan and Cosme Rolland De Ravel(TCU) d. Nico Godsick and Alex Razeghi(STAN) 6-2

2. Cooper Woestendick and Albert Pedrico(TCU) d. Samir Banerjee and Hudson Rivera(STAN) 6-3

3. Oliver Bonding and Maximus Dussault(TCU) v Alex Chang and Jagger Leach(STAN) 5-4, unf.

Order of finish: 2, 1 

Singles:

1. Duncan Chan(TCU) v Samir Banerjee(STAN) 6-4, 5-1, unf.

2. Cosme Rolland De Ravel(TCU) d. Alex Razeghi(STAN) 6-0, 6-3

3. Cooper Woestendick(TCU) v Nico Godsick(STAN) 7-5, 1-2, unf.

4. Oliver Bonding(TCU) d. Hudson Rivera(STAN) 6-1, 6-1

5. Albert Pedrico(TCU) d. Jagger Leach(STAN) 6-3, 6-4

6. Roger Pascual(TCU) v Alex Chang(STAN) 6-3, 3-1, unf.

Order of finish: 4, 5, 2

Arizona[8] 4 Oklahoma[9] 3

Doubles:

1. Bruno Nhavene and Luis Alvarez(OU) d. Glib Sekachov and Filip Gustafsson(UA) 6-4

2. Oscar Lacides and Alejandro Melero(OU) d. Jay Friend and Alexander Rozin(UA) 6-4  

3. Cole Stelse and Alejandro Arcila(UA) v Asahi Harazaki and Johan Rodriguez(OU) 5-2, unf.

Order of finish: 1, 2

Singles:

1. Jay Friend(UA) d. Luis Alvarez(OU) 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-0

2. Oscar Lacides(OU) d. Filip Gustafsson(UA) 7-6(1), 6-2

3. Sasha Rozin(UA) d. Orel Kimhi(OU) 7-6(4), 7-6(4)

4. Johan Rodriguez(OU) d. Zoran Ludoski(UA) 6-2, 6-1

5. Glib Sekachov(UA) d. Alejandro Melero(OU) 6-3, 6-2

6. Alejandra Arcila(UA) d. Asahi Harazaki(OU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4

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

Which matches will be played at what times have not yet been announced, but will be posted on the draws. The men play their quarterfinals on Thursday, the women play their quarterfinals on Friday.

In other college news today, Ohio State announced that Matt Forbes, who spent his first two years at Michigan State, has  signed with the Buckeyes as a transfer. The 2024 Kalamazoo 18s champion is currently No. 15 in the ITA singles rankings and No. 38 in the ITA doubles rankings.

On the USTA Pro Circuit, 16-year-old wild card Kristina Liutova is through to the W100 Indian Harbour Beach Florida final, beating No. 5 seed Jazmin Ortenzi of Argentina 6-1, 2-6, 7-6(1). The Seattle-area resident will play another Argentinian in the final, No. 8 seed Julia Riera, who beat top seed Dasha Vidmanova(Georgia) of Czechia 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-1.

No. 3 seeds Anna Rogers(NC State) and Allura Zamarippa(Texas) won the doubles title, defeating No. 4 seeds Ingrid Neel(Florida) and Abigail Rencheli(NC State) 6-3, 6-0 in this evening's final.

For the second straight week, a junior pair won a Boca Raton W35 doubles title. After Welles Newman and Jordyn Hazelitt won last week's doubles title there, Capucine Jauffret and Annika Penickova matched that accomplishment, with the wild cards defeating unseeded Dasha Ivanova and Canadian Alexandra Vagramov(UCLA) 6-1, 6-2 in today's final. It's the first pro title for Jauffret; Penickova has won two W15 doubles title with her sister Kristina.

Former North Carolina All-American Carson Tanguilig has reached her third USTA Pro Circuit final and the first at the W35 level, with the 22-year-old qualifier beating 17-year-old Luna Cinalli of Argentina 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 today in Boca Raton. She will face unseeded Justina Gonzalez Daniele of Argentina, who beat Dasha Ivanova 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Top seed Alex Rybakov(TCU) will face qualifier Joaquim Almeida(VCU, Liberty) of Brazil in Sunday's final at the M15 in Vero Beach Florida. Rybakov defeated Liam Krall(SMU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, while Almeida took out No. 4 seed Quinn Vandecasteele (Oregon) 6-4, 6-1. Almeida was the 28th alternate in qualifying for the tournament, but ended up getting into qualifying and has won six matches. For more on JJ Wolf's injury retirement against Almeida, see this article from World Tennis Magazine.

Former Illinois teammates Hunter Heck and Great Britain's Oliver Okonkwo won their second straight doubles title today. The M15 Orange Park champions, the top seeds, defeated unseeded Preston Brown and Chile's Diego Jarry Fillol 6-2, 6-2 in the final.

The finals are set for the ITF J200 in College Grove Tennessee, with two seeded American girls and two unseeded American boys vying for the titles Sunday.

Tyler Lee defeated Colter Amey 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in today's semifinals, and will face Gurjot Singh, who beat No. 3 seed Izyan Ahmad 6-3, 1-6, 7-5. Lee and Singh met in the second round of last week's J200 in Sumter SC, with Lee winning 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.

No. 5 seed Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann defeated doubles partner Clemence Mercier of Canada, and the 17-year-old from Michigan will go for a sweep of the titles against No. 4 seed Carlota Moreno. Moreno, who beat Audrey Kao of Taiwan 6-2, 6-3, defeated Drenser-Hagmann 6-4, 6-3 in the second round of the ITF J300 in San Diego in March.