Tagged with:
Aldila Sutjiadi,
Christian Seraphim,
Francesca Di Lorenzo,
Hayley Carter,
Mami Adachi,
Mikael Torpegaard,
Mike Redlicki,
National Indoor Intercollegiates,
Skander MansouriOhio State came into Sunday with a chance to be the first school to sweep the men’s and women’s singles titles at the National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships since Stanford in 2001 (Alex Kim/Laura Granville) but while one Buckeye would play the all-important no-ad points to perfection the other wouldn’t fair as well.
Ohio State sophomore Francesca Di Lorenzo was attemping to become the first women to repeat as the NIIC Singles Champ since Arkansas’s Aurelija Miseviciute (2007/2008) while her opponent North Carolina senior Hayley Carter was trying to give North Carolina it’s second title in the last four years (Jamie Loeb 2013). Di Lorenzo had won both of the previous head-to-head meetings in straight sets (2015 NIIC, 2016 Oracle) so Carter knew she’d have to play her best in the big moments to come out on top.
The first big moment of the match came in the opening game with Carter serving at the no-ad (40/40) point. Both players fired shot after shot but the point would ultimately end with a Carter miss to give Di Lorenzo the early break lead. Di Lorenzo upped her lead to 2-0 with a hold from 40/30 but Carter looked poised to get on the board after going ahead 40/30 on her next service game. However Di Lorenzo would do just as she did in the opening game and would take the final two points to earn the break for 3-0. Carter would then go ahead 30/40 on Di Lorenzo’s serve but Di Lorenzo would get it to the no-ad point after a nice volley winner. Carter showed some frustration by giving the backdrop a little jab but she’d be even more frustrated after the next point. Carter worked Di Lorenzo from side to side and had a chance to finish the point at the net but she put a little too much air in her volley and Di Lorenzo was able to track it down and hammer a forehand that Carter couldn’t handle for the hold. Carter would finally get on the board with a hold from 40/15 and then she’d force a no-ad point on Di Lorenzo’s 4-1 service game. Carter would be denied yet again on the no-ad point as Di Lorenzo hit an inside out forehand winner and then as the icing on the cake Di Lorenzo would win a fifth no-ad point to break Carter to close out the opening set in 41 minutes. Di Lorenzo only won 4 more points than Carter in the opening set but going 5 for 5 on no-ad points translated to a 6-1 set.
The second set started off with three straight holds and Carter was trying to make it a fourth after going up 40/30 on her 1-2 service game. Di Lorenzo punished Carter’s second serve with a backhand winner to bring up the no-ad point and then a Di Lorenzo forehand winner gave her the break for 3-1. Di Lorenzo would extend her lead to 4-1 after Carter hit a shot just long on the seventh, and what turned out to be final, no-ad point of the match. Di Lorenzo would break from 30/40 for 5-1 after a Carter backhand hit the tape and kicked back on Carter’s side (of course it did) and then the Buckeye would serve it out from 40/15 to win it 6-1, 6-1 in 1 hour and 14 minutes.
Key stat – Di Lorenzo was 7 for 7 on no-ad points which made Carter 0 for 7.
“It feels great and I’m not going to lie, it’s a little bit of a relief,” said Di Lorenzo. “Coming into this tournament I did feel some pressure, doing well last year. Coming here and being successful like I was last year is definitely exciting and I’m happy to be able to represent Ohio State here and do well and bring home a title for the university.”
“I just played consistent and deep on those points, looking for opportunities when I had them and made smart choices on big points, and I think that was key,” said Di Lorenzo. “I think there were six deuces and I got all of them. The match was a lot closer than the score says it was, but I was definitely happy to pull through on those points.”
Women’s Singles Championship
[1] Francesca Di Lorenzo (Ohio St) def. [4] Hayley Carter (North Carolina) 6-1, 6-1
Buckeyes & Tar Heels in the NIIC Singles Final
2016 – Francesca Di Lorenzo (Ohio State) def. Hayley Carter (North Carolina) 6-1, 6-1
2015 – Francesca Di Lorenzo (Ohio State) def. Joana Eidukonyte (Clemson) 6-3, 6-1
2013 – Jamie Loeb (North Carolina) def. Robin Anderson (UCLA) 6-3, 6-2
Women’s Consolation Consolation Finals
Sara Daavettila (North Carolina) def. Sinead Lohan (Miami FL) 7-6(3), 6-2
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Arkansas senior Mike Redlicki and Ohio State junior Mikael Torpegaard were each trying to give their school a third NIIC National Singles Championship and as was the case in the women’s final the no-ad points would be the key to the match. Redlicki won the coin toss and elected to serve and then came out and picked up a quick hold from 40/15 to take a 1-0 lead. Torpegaard fell behind 0/40 on his opening service game but a service winner, a swinging volley winner, and a Redlicki backhand error would bring up the no-ad point. Redlicki would play an aggressive no-ad point by hammering a forehand in the corner and then finishing at the net with a volley winner to go up 2-0. Redlicki quickly fell behind 15/40 on his next service game but a service winner and an ace brought up a second consecutive no-ad point. Redlicki would donate the break to Torpegaard with a double fault and then a love hold from Torpegaard evened it at 2-2. Redlicki fell behind 30/40 on his next service game but an ace and a serve and volley winner got him the hold on the no-ad point for 3-2. Torpegaard held on the no-ad point for 3-3 and then Redlicki held from 40/30 for 4-3. Back-to-back holds from 40/15 made it 5-4 and then a Torpegaard double fault on the no-ad point gave the Razorback a 6-4 set.
Redlicki held from 40/30 to start the second set and then he went up 15/40 on Torpegaard’s serve. Redlicki thought he had the break on the 15/40 point when Torpegaard hit a shot that Redlicki thought was long so he didn’t make a play on it. However the out call from the line judge never came (players didn’t call their own shots in this one) and the point went to Torpegaard. Torpegaard won the next point to bring up the no-ad point but another costly double fault gave Redlicki the break and 2-0 lead. Redlicki extended the lead to 3-0 by hitting a service winner on the no-ad point but Torpegaard would get on the board in the following game with a hold from 40/30 to make it 3-1. Redlicki would fall behind 0/40 on his next service game but some big serving and a little luck got him the hold on the no-ad point to make it 4-1. The reason I said some luck was because of what happened on the 15/40 point. Redlicki was stuck at the net within a foot or so from the sideline and Torpegaard hit a forehand right at him and Redlicki was able to deflect it back and two shots later he finished it with an overhead. I guess Torpegaard thought Redlicki would move towards the middle of the court but that didn’t happen. Torpegaard bounced back to hold for 2-4 but Redlicki didn’t waiver and held for 5-2 after hitting a second serve service winner on the no-ad point. Torpegaard held a love for 3-5 but Redlicki was able to close it out on the no-ad point when Torpegaard put one in the net and Redlicki had a 6-4, 6-3 win in 1 hour and 17 minutes.
Key stats – Redlicki was 8 of 10 on no-ad points plus he hit 8 aces and had a slew of service winners.
“Mike played a professional level match and continued to play smart and tough,” head coach Andy Jackson said. “There were several close games that he played well to win. He really earned this national championship. We could not be more excited and we look forward to him continuing to improve going into the spring team season.”
“(Torpegaard) is number one in college tennis for a reason,” said Redlicki. “He just won an indoor challenger and that’s not easy to do, let alone for a college tennis player. He’s the pinnacle of college tennis and as good as it gets, and I was lucky to bring my ‘A’ game and match up with him.
“The difference today was maintaining the mental focus through adversity. There was quite a bit of that today, especially in the big moments. I’ve been part of so many situations in college tennis and feel like I’ve been exposed to it all, so you try and treat it like another day at the office and luckily I was able to do that better than him.”
Men’s Singles Championship
[7] Mike Redlicki (Arkansas) def. [1] Mikael Torpegaard (Ohio St) 6-4, 6-3
Buckeyes in the NIIC Singles Final:
2016 – Mike Redlicki (Arkansas) def. Mikael Torpegaard (Ohio State) 6-4, 6-3
2008 – Bryan Koniecko (Ohio State) def. Justin Kronauge (Ohio State) 6-2, 5-7, 6-3
2006 – Benjamin Kohlloeffel (UCLA) def. Steven Moneke (Ohio State) 6-0, 6-4
2003 – Jeremy Wurtzman (Ohio State) def. Bo Hodge (Georgia) 7-6(9), 6-2
Razorbacks in the NIIC Singles Final:
2016 – Mike Redlicki (Arkansas) def. Mikael Torpegaard (Ohio State) 6-4, 6-3
2001 – Alex Kim (Stanford) def. Oskar Johansson (Arkansas) 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4
1986 – Joey Blake (Arkansas) def. Dan Goldie (Stanford) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6
1981 – Chip Hooper (Arkansas) def. Michael Bauer (Cal) 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
Men’s Consolation Finals
Nicolas Alvarez (Duke) def. Tom Fawcett (Stanford) 6-4, 6-1
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Wake Forest juniors Skander Mansouri and Christian Seraphim gave Wake Forest its second NIIC Doubles Championship, and first since 2008, with a straight set win over Valparaiso seniors Jeffrey Schorsch and Charlie Emhardt. Wake got the lone break of the first set when they broke the Emhardt serve from 15/40 to go ahead 5-3 and then Seraphim served out the set from 40/15. Wake got the first break of the second set when they broke Schorsch’s 2-2 service game and then Seraphim held from 40/30 to make it 4-2. Seraphim would serve for the match up 6-3, 5-4 but Valpo got the break on the no-ad point when Schorsch hit a screaming return winner to even it at 5-5.
Mansouri and Seraphim bounced back on the next game and broke Emhardt from 30/40 and then Mansouri served it out 40/15 to give Wake the Championship.
Men’s Doubles Championship
[2] Skander Mansouri/Christian Seraphim (Wake Forest) def. Jeffrey Schorsch/Charlie Emhardt (Valparaiso) 6-3, 7-5
Demon Deacons & Crusaders in the NIIC Doubles Final
2016 – Skander Mansouri/Christian Seraphim (Wake Forest) def. Jeffrey Schorsch/Charlie Emhardt (Valpo) 6-3, 7-5
2008 – Steve Forman/Cory Parr (Wake Forest) def. Robert Farah/Steve Johnson (USC) 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5)
Cononsolation Doubles Final
Alfredo Perez/Johannes Ingildsen (Florida) def. Julian Cash/Arjun Kadhe (Oklahoma State) 6-3, 6-2
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A year after losing dropping the NIIC Doubles Championship in a third set supertiebreak Kentucky senior Aldila Sutjiadi and junior Mami Adachi made it sure it didn’t come down to a third set. The Wildcats duo managed to defeat UCLA freshmen Ena Shibahara and Jade Hart in straight sets in a match they controlled from start to finish.
Adachi and Sutjiadi broke UCLA on the no-ad point to take an early 2-0 and then they held on a no-ad point to make it 3-0. They would serve for the set up 5-1 but UCLA broke from 15/40 to make it 5-2 and then a love hold made it 5-3. Adachi managed to serve out the set on the no-ad point to put Kentucky a set away from the title. There was only one break in the second set and it came when Kentucky broke the Hart serve from 30/40 to go up 4-3. A few games later Adachi served it out from love to give Kentucky it’s first NIIC Women’s Doubles Championship.
“I couldn’t be more grateful for the outcome of today’s match,” said head coach Carlos Drada. “Seeing Mami and Aldila play with joy and intensity while being disciplined under pressure corroborates what we believe as a team. Structure and a willingness to view situations objectively maximizes our performance level.”
“Today’s performance was very special because they were leading last year but lost a very close match,” added Drada. “It is not an easy feat to improve a second-place finish in a national tournament. I am thrilled that Mami and Aldila get to experience winning a national championship.”
Women’s Doubles Championship
Mami Adachi/Aldila Sutjiadi (Kentucky) def. Ena Shibahara/Jade Hart (UCLA) 6-3, 6-4
Bruins & Wildcats in the NIIC Doubles Final
2016 – Mami Adachi/Aldila Sutjiadi (Kentucky) def. Ena Shibahara/Jade Hart (UCLA) 6-3, 6-4
2015 – Hayley Carter/Whitney Kay (UNC) def. Mami Adachi/Aldila Sutjiadi (Kentucky) 4-6, 6-4, 10-6
2014 – Catherine Harrison/Kyle McPhillips (UCLA) def. Pleun Burgmans/Emily Flickinger (Auburn) 6-2, 6-3
2003 – Cristelle Grier/Jessica Rush (Northwestern) def. Jackie Carleton/Lauren Fisher (UCLA) 8-6
1995 – Keri Phebus/Susie Starrett (UCLA) def. Keirsten Alley/Pam Nelson (Cal-Berkeley) 6-0, 5-7, 6-2
1990 – Susan Gilchrist/Joanna Plautz (Texas) def. Mamie Ceniza/Stella Sampras (UCLA) 7-5, 7-6
1988 – Susan Russo/Betsy Somerville (Arizona) def. Sonia Hahn/Tamaki Takagi (Kentucky) 7-5, 6-2
Doubles Consolation Finals
Kate Fahey/Alex Najarian (Michigan) def. Elizabeth Profit/Blair Shankle (Baylor) 6-1, 6-2
FloTennis subscribers can watch the replay of the matches at these links
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