ROME, Ga. – The divisional singles and doubles finals are set following another busy day of play on Friday at the 2017 ITA Oracle Cup, hosted by the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College in Rome, Georgia.
The ITA Oracle Cup brings together four divisions of collegiate tennis (Divisions II, III, NAIA and JUCO) to compete in one ITA National Championship.
The four divisional ITA Oracle Cup singles champions earn automatic entry into the 2017 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, which takes place November 1-5, in Palm Desert, California. Men’s and women’s doubles, meanwhile, will compete for the Oracle Cup, which places the four divisional champions (Division II versus JUCO and Division III versus NAIA) against one another. The winner of the Oracle Cup moves on to the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships.
Head to the ITA Oracle Cup event page to view draws, daily recaps, photo gallery links, as well as find live streaming information. You can also follow the conversation on Twitter by following @ITA_Tennis and using the hashtag #OracleCup.
Below is a look at how main draw singles and doubles play went down in each division.
Division II
Saturday’s final in men’s singles features defending champion Oliver Frank of Azusa Pacific versus Kiranpal Pannu of Columbus State. Frank, the No. 1 seed in the draw, topped No. 4 Alejandro Valareezo Plaza of Washburn 6-0, 6-3, while the No. 3 seed Pannu won 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-2 over No. 2 Thomas Grinberg of Saint Leo.
Frank will also be playing in the men’s doubles final, as he and Christian Schmid, seeded fourth in the draw, defeated Jeremiah Gonzalez and Bojan Popovic from St. Mary’s (TX) 6-4, 6-2. Azusa Pacific will take on the No. 3 seed out of Columbus State, KP Pannu and Alvaro Regalado. Pannu and Regalado scored a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Edinboro’s Vitor Albanese and Daniel Fernandez 6-4, 6-1.
The women’s singles final pits the top two seeds against each other, as No. 1 Hanna Volikova of Indianapolis will play No. 2 Sonja Larsen of Barry. Volikova won her semifinal match against No. 4 Beatriz Lopez of Columbus State 7-6, 6-4, while Larsen took down Lena Dimmer of NYIT 6-0, 6-4.
Like Frank, Volikova also qualified for the women’s doubles final. She and Alina Kislitskaya edged Lynn’s Diana Bogolii and Jan Abaza 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (6). Indianapolis will face NYIT’s Lena Dimmer and Alessia Rossetti. Dimmer and Rossetti won 6-4, 6-4 against Kim Moosbacher and Kateryna Shkot of Oklahoma Baptist.
Division III
Eudice Chong of Wesleyan and Ysabel Gonzalez Rico of Emory are one match away from qualifying for the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships. The No. 1 seed Chong defeated No. 4 Claire Handa of Chicago 6-2, 6-1 and Gonzalez Rico was a 6-2, 6-0 victor against No. 2 Catherine Allen of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in Friday’s semifinal contests.
Chong goes for the double-dip with partner Victoria Yu. The duo claimed the 2017 NCAA National Doubles Championship and are the No. 1-seeded team at the ITA Oracle Cup. They turned back Southwestern’s Kate Daugherty and Esther Bowers 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals. Wesleyan will face Emory’s Bridget Harding and Gonzalez Rico. The third-seeded Eagles soared to a 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (5) victory over No. 2 Pomona-Pitzer’s Emily Chen and Maryann Zhao 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (5).
It’ll be a No. 1 versus No. 2 showdown in the men’s singles final. Top-seeded Mohanad Al Houni of Gustavus Adolphus outlasted No. 4 Jonathan Jemison of Emory in three sets 6-1, 0-6, 6-4. Al Houni will take on No. 2 Daniel Levine of Carnegie Mellon. Levine scored a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (1) victory over Brian Grodecki of Williams.
Chicago’s Jeremy Yuan and Tyler Raclin, the No. 4 seed, advanced to Saturday’s final with a 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (9) victory over Whitman’s Zach Hewlin and Robert Carter. Chicago will face the No. 2 seed out of Bowdoin, Luke Tercek and Grant Urken. The Polar Bears edged out Skidmore’s JT Wynne and Steven Koulouris 7-6 (3), 7-5.
NAIA
Defending women’s singles champion and 2016 Oracle Cup singles champion, Camille Gbaguidi of SCAD, is back in the NAIA championship match. The No. 1 seed, Gbaguidi won her semifinal contest 6-2, 6-2 over No. 4 Isabella Dale of Cumberlands. In the final, she’ll meet up with No. 2 Megane Bianco of Keiser, who won a three-set affair against No. 3 Emerald Able of Georgia Gwinnett 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
It’ll be No. 1 versus No. 2 in the women’s doubles final, as top-seeded Bianco and Daniela Farfan from Keiser take on Georgia Gwinnett’s Able and Margarida Abreu. Keiser won its semifinal tilt against William Woods 6-0, 6-3, while the Grizzles scored a 6-2, 7-6 (3) victory over Lindsey Wilson.
Daniel Ceron of Keiser took down top-seeded Federico Herrera Duran of Georgia Gwinnett in the semifinals on Friday. Keiser won the match in straight sets 6-4, 7-6 (4). He’ll go for his second victory against the Grizzlies in as many days, as he faces No. 2 Kevin Konfederak of the Grizzlies in the final. Konfederak earned his spot in the championship match with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over No. 3 Denis Porcic of Lindsey Wilson.
Ceron will also be featured in the men’s doubles final. He and Vicente Lagos defeated Nicolas Palacio and Fabio Perasso from Cardinal Stritch 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (9). The Keiser duo will face Georgia Gwinnett’s Konfederak and Gilad Berman. The second-seeded Grizzlies won their semifinal contest 6-4, 6-2 over Campbellsville’s Chrys Castro and Alejandro Reyes 6-4, 6-2.
JUCO
For the second consecutive year, it’ll be an all-Tyler JC men’s singles final. Defending champion and No. 2 seed Jorge Martinez will take on teammate and No. 1 seed Marcus Walters. Martinez notched a 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 victory over No. 3 Kent Hunter of Cerritos, while Walters won in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 against No. 4 Tin Chen of ASA Miami.
Martinez and Walters are still alive in the men’s doubles draw, and compete for a championship on Saturday. They’ll take on Victor Castro and Bruno Duarte from Cerritos, who won their semifinal match against Chen and Kentaro Mizushima of ASA Miami 6-3, 3-6 1-0 (9).
The women’s singles final will also feature a pair of Tyler JC teammates, as No. 1 Kalani Soli squares off against No. 3 Tamara Arnold. Soli registered a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Hana Kvapilova of Hillsborough, while Arnold posted a 6-1, 6-2 decision against No. 2 Celia Morel of ABAC.
Soli and Arnold comprise one of two Tyler JC teams in the doubles final. The No. 1 seed will face a pair of teammates in the final, as the second-seeded duo of Maria Genovese and Yuna Ito won their match against the No. 3-seeded team from Hillsborough, Hana Kvapilova and Ceire Mullins.