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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MEN:
May 19, Claremont CA

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

WOMEN:

May 20, Claremont CA

Chicago v Washington St. Louis

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps v Johns Hopkins

Emory v Bowdoin

Wesleyan v Pomona-Pitzer

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

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