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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

From the Eastern Illinois announcement:

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

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

From the Radford announcement:

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