Americans Sweep ITF J200 Titles in Dominican Republic; 16-Year-Olds Clarke and Liutova Meet for W35 Las Vegas Title; Heck Advances to M15 Naples Final; Pegula Triumphs at WTA 1000 in Dubai

Americans won all four titles at the ITF J200 in Punta Cana Dominican Republic, with Safir Azam sweeping the boys titles and Adla Lopez winning her first ITF Junior Circuit singles title.

Azam, the No. 3 seed, defeated unseeded Mauricio Schtulmann Gasca of Mexico 6-4, 6-1 in the final to earn his second ITF Junior Circuit singles title, with the first coming last year at a J100, also in the Dominican Republic. Schtulmann Gasca had beaten top seed Agassi Rusher in the semifinals to reach the final.  Azam did not drop a set in singles en route to the final.

Yesterday Azam won his second ITF Junior Circuit doubles title, with his first last month at the J300 in Costa Rica. The 16-year from Washington, partnering this week with Mason Taube, won an all-USA final, with the top seeds beating unseeded Theo Hegarty and William McEwan 6-2, 6-4 for the title.

Lopez, the No. 7 seed, defeated No. 4 seed Ireland O'Brien 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 for her first singles title, with the 17-year-old left-hander from Florida winning her first ITF Junior Circuit title since a doubles victory at a J5 in 2022.

In the girls doubles final, unseeded 14-year-olds Emery Combs and Olivia Traynor began a new winning streak, beating unseeded Elicia Lin of Canada and Olivia Traynor 6-3, 6-4 in the final. Traynor and Combs had won three consecutive ITF girls doubles titles, as well as the Orange Bowl 16s doubles title before losing in the opening round of the J200 last week in the Dominican Republic.

Two juniors will play for the title of the USTA Pro Circuit W35 in Las Vegas, with 16-year-olds Kristina Liutova and Melije Clarke each seeking their first professional title in their first professional final.

Liutova, who trains in Washington, beat No. 3 seed Julieta Pareja 6-4, 6-4, the second straight-sets win for Liutova this year over the former ITF junior No. 1, with the first coming at the W100 in San Diego.  

Wild card Clarke defeated unseeded Salma Ewing(USC, Texas A&M) 6-3, 6-3 in today's semifinals. 

Liutova won two J300s(College Park and Bradenton) last year; Clarke won one(Houston). They have not met in junior or pro competition.

In the doubles final in Las Vegas, top seeds Haley Giavara(Cal) and Texas freshman Anastasia Abbagnato of Italy won the title, beating unseeded Jessica Hinojosa Gomez of Mexico and Mell Reasco(Georgia) of Ecuador 6-3, 4-6, 10-8.

Hunter Heck(Illinois), who was 1-2 on the M15 Florida clay swing this year, is through to his first Pro Circuit final after beating fellow wild card David Tortora of Italy 6-4, 6-2 today in Naples. The 23-year-old from Minnesota will face No. 2 seed Tomas Compagnucci of Italy, who won the M15 in Palm Coast two weeks ago.

No. 2 seeds Dakotah Bobo(LSU, Southern Mississippi) and Oliver Johansson(Drake) of Sweden won the doubles title, beating No. 3 seeds Joao Victor Couto Loureiro and Tsz Fu Wong(Holy Cross) of Hong Kong 6-0, 6-1 in the final.

Both teenagers lost in the semifinals of the W15 in Palm Coast, with 17-year-old wild card Carlota Morena dropping a 6-3, 6-0 decision to top seed Thaisa Pedretti of Brazil and No. 6 seed Bella Payne losing to qualifier Sofia Johnson(Old Dominion) of Great Britain 3-6, 7-5, 6-1. No. 3 seeds Pedretti and Carolina Bohrer Martins of Brazil won the doubles title, beating No. 2 seeds Kolie Allen(Ohio State) and Sabastiani Leon(San Jose State) 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 10-4 in the final.

Neither No. 8 seed Mary Stoiana(Texas A&M) nor No. 2 Dasha Vidmanova(Georgia) of Czechia managed to advance to the final of the WTA 125 Dow Tennis Classic in Midland Michigan. Stoiana saw a 5-2 third set lead slip away to Hanyu Guo of China in a 7-6(4), 6-7(2), 7-5 semifinal that spanned more than three hours. Vidmanova lost to No. 5 seed Alina Charaeva of Russia. 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Jessica Pegula won the WTA 1000 in Dubai today, her fourth at that level, with the No. 4 seed beating No. 7 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-2, 6-4 in the final. Pegula now has ten titles on the WTA tour. For more on her win today, see this article from the WTA.

Three Teens Reach Semifinals at W35 in Las Vegas; Tien Outlasts Tiafoe at Delray; Men's D-III and Women's D-II ITA Team Indoors Underway; Gardner-Webb Drops Tennis; D-I Indoor All-Tournament Teams

Seventeen-year-old Julieta Pareja and 16-year-olds Melije Clarke and Kristina Liutova are through to the all-USA semifinals of the USTA Pro Circuit W35 in Las Vegas, and while the temperatures were in the low 50s, it was sunny there today, allowing the tournament to finish the second round and play all four quarterfinals after a wet day Thursday.

Pareja, the No. 3 seed, got a retirement from LSU freshman Ella McDonald, the No. 8 seed, after Pareja won the first set 6-1. Pareja will face the unseeded Liutova, who beat Texas freshman Anastasia Abbagnato of Italy 6-3, 7-5 in the second round and got a retirement from top seed Vivian Wolff(Georgia, UCLA) with Liutova leading 7-5, 1-0.

Clarke beat fellow wild card Savannah Broadus(Pepperdine) 6-4, 7-5 and will play unseeded Salma Ewing(USC, Texas A&M) Saturday. 

At the M15 in Naples, both Michael Antonius and qualifier Teodor Davidov lost in the quarterfinals, with wild card Hunter Heck(Illinois) the only American to reach the semifinals. But at the W15 in Palm Coast, two teens have reached the semifinals: wild card Carlota Moreno, playing her first pro event, and No. 6 seed Bella Payne. 

At the WTA 125 Dow Tennis Classic in Midland, No. 2 seed Dasha Vidmanova(Georgia) of the Czech Republic beat UNC freshman Anna Frey 6-2, 6-2 to reach the semifinals. Vidmanova's college rival Mary Stoiana(Texas A&M), seeded eighth, beat Katherine Sebov of Canada 6-3, 6-4, but they'll renew that rivalry only if they both win Saturday.

Tonight at the ATP 250 in Delray Beach, No. 4 seed Learner Tien defeated No. 8 seed Frances Tiafoe 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-5 to avenge his 2023 US Open first round loss. It was a roller coaster of a match, with Tien up 3-0 in the first, then down 4-5, with Tiafoe serving for the set. He had two set points, but Tien broke, lost his serve, then broke Tiafoe again to force the tiebreaker. Up 2-0 in the second, Tien proceeded to lose six of the next seven games after Tiafoe took a medical timeout. Tiafoe's momentum continued at the start of the third set, with a 2-0 lead, but Tien saved three break points to keep from going down 5-2 and then broke Tiafoe when he served for the match at 5-4, winning nine of the last 10 points to finish the two-hour and 20 minute match. 

Tien will play the winner of tonight's quarterfinal between top seed Taylor Fritz and No. 5 seed Tommy Paul, a rematch of the 2015 Roland Garros and US Open boys finals.

Sebastian Korda, who beat No. 2 seed Casper Ruud of Norway 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, will face No. 3 seed Flavio Cobolli of Italy in the other semifinal.

While I was concentrating on the Division I Team Indoor Championships, both NAIA Indoor Championships and the Men's Division II Championships were decided this month. The Georgia Gwinnett men won their third straight NAIA Team Indoor title, defeating Tennessee Wesleyan 4-1 in the final. The Keiser women won their second straight NAIA Team Indoor title, beating Lindsey Wilson 4-1 in the championship match. Perennial D-II powerhouse Barry avenged the loss in the final last year to West Florida, beating them 4-0 in Sunday's final in Indianapolis. There has been no update on the ITA website, but the box score is here.

The Division II women's Team Indoor, also in Indianapolis, began today, with the Barry women, seeded No. 1, hoping to make it two titles for the Buccaneers this month.

The Division III Men's Team Indoor Championships are underway in Minnesota, with reigning NCAA champion Denison the top seed. Live scoring for both the current Team Indoor events is available at the iOnCourt site.

The Division III Women's Team Indoor Championships are next weekend in Tennessee, with Washington-St. Louis the top seeds.

College tennis lost another, actually two, programs this week, with Division I Gardner-Webb eliminating both its men's and women's tennis teams after this season. Tennis Recruiting Network has more on the athletic department's announcement.

Men's Division I Team Indoor All-tournament team:

Doubles:
1. Alex Chang and Alex Razeghi, Stanford
2. Duncan Chan and Cosme Rolland de Ravel, TCU
3. Filip Apltauer and Albert Pedrico, TCU

Singles:
1. Sebastian Gorzny, Texas
2. Kalin Ivanovski, Texas
3. Jack Anthrop, Ohio State
4. Sebastian Eriksson, Texas
5. Stiles Brockett, Virginia
6. Lucas Marionneau, Texas

Most Outstanding Player: Sebastian Gorzny, Texas

For the full release, including each player's results, see this article from the ITA.

Women's ITA Division I Team Indoor All-tournament team:

Doubles:

1. Deniz Dilek and Aysegul Mert, Georgia

2. Angella Okutoyi and Ava Esposito, Auburn

3. Ekaterina Khayrutdinova and Ashton Bowers, Auburn

Singles:

1. Luciana Perry, Ohio State

2. Teah Chavez, Ohio State

3. Deniz Dilek, Georgia

4. Anastasiia Gureva, Georgia

5. Audrey Spencer, Ohio State

6. Sofia Rojas, Georgia

Most Outstanding Player: Deniz Dilek, Georgia

For the full release, including each player's results, see this article from the ITA.

My Recap of Texas's Title at ITA D-I Men's Team Indoor; Ohio State Men, Georgia Women Top New Rankings; Ambidextrous Davidov, 15, Reaches Quarterfinals M15 in Naples; Clarke Advances at Las Vegas W35; Frey vs Vidmanova at WTA 125 Midland

If you weren't able to follow my daily coverage of the ITA Men's Division I Team Indoor Championships, my recap of the tournament for the Tennis Recruiting Network can fill that gap. It was an exciting event that I was fortunate to be able to cover in person and I look forward to seeing how the rest of the season plays out as we head to Athens in May for the NCAAs.

The conclusion of the Division I Team Indoor Championships marks the beginning of the computer rankings, with the coaches poll discontinued. There is a new method in place this year, with the coaches polls having no bearing on the initial computer rankings, resulting in some interesting placements right now.  Below are the rankings published today, with Ohio State at No. 1 despite their loss in the Team Indoor final to Texas, which is No. 3. Women's Team Indoor champion Georgia is No. 1, with Team Indoor finalist Ohio State at No. 2. Click on the heading of each ranking to view the full list.

Top 10 ITA Division I Men's Rankings, computer, February 19, 2026

TEAM:

1. Ohio State

2. Virginia

3. Texas

4. Wake Forest

5. LSU

6. Baylor

7. TCU

8. Central Florida

9. San Diego

10. Mississippi State

SINGLES:

1. Trevor Svajda, SMU

2. Dylan Dietrich, Virginia

3. Sebastian Gorzny, Texas

4. Paul Inchauspe, Princeton

5. Jay Friend, Arizona

6. Michael Zheng, Columbia

7. Max Dahlin, Michigan

8. Aidan Kim, Ohio State

9. Duncan Chan, TCU

10. Petar Jovanovic, Mississippi State

DOUBLES (Top 5):

1. Brandon Carpico and Nikita Filin, Ohio State

2. DK Suresh and Andrew Delgado, Wake Forest

3. Mans Dahlberg and Dylan Dietrich, Virginia

4. Benito Sanchez Martinez and Petar Jovanovic, Mississippi State

5. Paul Inchauspe and Landon Ardila, Princeton

Top 10 ITA Division I Women's Rankings, computer, February 19, 2026

TEAM:

1. Georgia

2. Ohio State

3. North Carolina

4. LSU

5. Texas A&M

6. Southern California

7. Oklahoma

8. UCLA

9. Tennessee

10. Texas

SINGLES:

1. Reese Brantmeier, North Carolina

2. Teah Chavez, Ohio State

3. Carmen Herea, Texas

4. Luciana Perry, Ohio State

5. Lucciana Perez, Texas A&M

6. Ange Oby Kajuru, North Carolina

7. Aysegul Mert, Georgia

8. Anastasiia Grechkina, Pepperdine

9. Savannah Dada-Mascoll, Appalachian State

10. Valerie Glozman, Stanford

DOUBLES (Top 5):

1. Roisin Gilheany and Gloriana Nahum, Oklahoma

2. Sophia Webster and Celia-Belle Mohr, Vanderbilt

3. Melodie Collard and Vivian Yang, Virginia

4. Gabriella Broadfoot and Victoria Osuigwe, NC State

5. Reese Brantmeier and Alanis Hamilton, North Carolina

There are three women's pro events this week in the United States: a W15 in Palm Coast Florida, a W35 in Las Vegas and the WTA 125 Dow Tennis Classic in Midland Michigan. There are two men's events, the ATP 250 in Delray Beach Florida and an M15 in Naples Florida.

In Naples, 15-year-old Teodor Davidov, who has been something of a celebrity in tennis circles for years now due to his forehand-only playing style, earned his first ATP point this week after qualifying, and has advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 6 seed Karue Sell(UCLA) of Brazil. Sell had beaten Jack Kennedy in the first round. Fifteen-year-old Michael Antonius also has reached the quarterfinals, beating qualifier Louis Tessa of France 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 today.  Other Americans through to the quarterfinals are wild card Hunter Heck(Illinois), Evan Bynoe and Mwendwa Mbithi.

In Palm Coast, 17-year-old wild card Carlota Moreno, playing in her first Pro Circuit event, is through to the quarterfinals after beating No. 3 seed Maria Fernanda Navarro in the first round and fellow junior Capucine Jauffret today 6-2, 6-7(1), 7-6(5) in match that lasted more than three hours. She will play unseeded Emily De Oliveira(Florida) next. No. 6 seed Bella Payne is the third American in the quarterfinals.

The weather has been bad in Las Vegas, cold and wet, with today's second round unfinished. But two teens have booked their spots in the quarterfinals, with 16-year-old wild card Melije Clarke taking out No. 2 seed Eryn Cayetano(USC) 6-3, 6-4 today to reach her first women's pro circuit quarterfinal above the W15 level. No. 3 seed Julieta Pareja, who turned 17 yesterday, defeated qualifier Snow Han(USC) of China 6-0, 6-3. Qualifier Kelly Keller(Arkansas) is also through to the quarterfinals.

I'm usually in Midland for the Dow Tennis Classic WTA 125, but it moved from November to February for this year, which conflicted with my coverage of the Men's Team Indoor. So I will not be seeing Friday's quarterfinal match between 18-year-old wild card Anna Frey and 2024 NCAA singles champion Dasha Vidmanova(Georgia) of the Czech Republic, the No. 2 seed. 

Frey, a freshman at North Carolina, defeated No. 6 seed Eli Mandlik 7-5, 6-2 in the first round and Kayla Day 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the second round to reach her first pro circuit quarterfinal above the W15 level.

After No. 8 seed Frances Tiafoe beat two-time Kalamazoo 18s champion Zachary Svajda, a qualifier, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, he will face another two-time Kalamazoo 18s champion in No. 4 seed Learner Tien(USC). Tien defeated defending champion Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(5) to set up a rematch with Tiafoe, who won the Kalamazoo 18s title in 2015. They met in the first round of the US Open in 2023, after Tien had earned a wild card after winning Kalamazoo for the second time, with Tiafoe posting a 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 victory.

Tucson ITF J300 Acceptances; ITA Announces Host Sites for 2027 and 2028 Team Indoor Championships; Pro Connections at Men's Team Indoor; Confirmation of Tiley's Move to USTA CEO Position Expected Next Week

Acceptances for the ITF J300 in Tucson were posted today, with Janae Preston and Michael Antonius leading the fields. Tucson is the new site of this tournament, which had been during the second week of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells the past three years.

Preston, now up to 21 in the ITF junior rankings after her three straight J300 titles in Central and South America, is one of four Top 50 American girls on the acceptance list, with No. 39 Welles Newman, No. 49 Melije Clarke and No. 50 Jordyn Hazelitt entering.

No. 25 Mariella Thamm of Germany and Kristina Liutova are the other ITF Top 50 players in the draw. No. 34 Liutova, currently 601 in the WTA rankings, has, by far, the best World Tennis Number in the field.

Antonius, who won back-to-back J300 titles in South American recently, is joined by Junior Davis Cup teammate Andy Johnson, who won the M15 in Sunrise Florida last week. The third member of that JDC championship team, Jordan Lee, is not entered.

The Top 50 US boys, in addition to No. 11 Antonius and No. 16 Johnson, are No. 28 Tanishk Konduri, No. 39 Ryan Cozad and No. 49 Vihaan Reddy.

The initial main draw cutoff ranking was 195 for the boys and 187 for the girls.

I will be covering the event, which is March 9-14, to kick off my three-week trip, the San Diego J300 North American Closed and the Easter Bowl in weeks two and three respectively.

There's still some digesting to do on Texas's first ITA Men's Team Indoor Championships title, but planning for the next two years is already underway, with the ITA announcing today that the men's 2027 and 2028 events will be co-hosted by Clemson and South Carolina, with Clemson the final site in 2027, and the women's events in 2027 and 2028 co-hosted by Michigan and Ohio State, with Michigan the final site in 2027. 

Although I'm disappointed not to be returning to SMU, where head coach Grant Chen does an outstanding job hosting, I am pleased to be able to focus on the women's event next year, with Michigan just a couple of hours east on I-94 from me. Fingers crossed that the weather cooperates, because this is the first time two states will be involved as host sites, and Ann Arbor is a three-hour drive from Columbus in good weather.

For more from the four coaches who will be hosting, see this article from the ITA.

Mary Joe Fernandez and Lindsay Davenport at Men's Team Indoor

Greg Sharko, the former ATP stats guru, was in Dallas helping with the media at the men's Team Indoor and he wrote this article for tennis.com about the seven different familial relationships between ITA Men's Team Indoor competitors and current and former ATP and WTA pros. Mary Joe Fernandez and Lindsay Davenport and their sons, who are Stanford teammates and competing together in doubles, are the most well-known of the seven, but Sharko tracked down five other connections as well.

I also heard Sharko arrange a call with Texas head coach Bruce Berque and the Tennis Channel T2 hosts Brad Gilbert and Nick Monroe for Thursday afternoon, so check that out if you can.

There was plenty of chatter at the Men's Team Indoor about the likelihood of Tennis Australia's Craig Tiley joining the USTA as its new CEO, and that announcement is now expected next week according to this Australian source. I heard speculation that his start date may not be immediate given a non-compete clause in his TA contract, but I will be sure to pass along the official USTA announcement, in its entirety, when I receive it.

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