The 61st Annual Southern California Intercollegiate Championships came to a close on Monday with Azusa Pacific’s Oliver Frank claiming the singles title after a straight set win over USC’s Brandon Holt. The 32-player singles draw was comprised of 29 players from D1 schools and 3 from D2 schools which made Frank’s run to the title that much more unlikely. Frank started off the tournament with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 win over UC Davis’s David Goulak and then he came from behind to defeat USC’s Jake DeVine 2-6, 6-3, 6-1. In the quarterfinals Frank defeated USC’s Laurens Verboven 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 and in the semifinals he knocked out USC’s Logan Smith 6-1, 1-6, 6-0. In today’s final Frank broke Holt in the eighth game of the match to go up 5-3 and then served out the opening set to take it 6-3. In the second set Frank broke Holt in the fifth game to go in front 3-2 and he held on from there to win it 6-3, 6-4.
“This tournament win means a lot to me. To play against NCAA Division I level players and win is special. The competition here was just a different level. You have to be focused and concentrate more on all the details,” Frank said via APU’s recap. “I was able to get the momentum early and keep it throughout the tournament. To play as an underdog here was good for my game. I was just able to play my game point-by-point.”
Congrats to Oliver Frank & @APUtennis on winning the @usta Southern California Intercollegiate title #NCAATennis https://t.co/XaYn6YeBnF pic.twitter.com/U2S1MYVUQA
— APUCougars (@APUCougars) October 30, 2017
Northwestern freshman Antonioni Fasano won the Big Ten Singles Championship with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 win over Ohio State senior Matt Mendez. Fasano defeated teammate Nick Brookes in the semifinals while defeating Ohio State’s Joseph Thomas, Iowa’s Jonas Larsen, and Ohio State’s Riley Reist in earlier rounds. Full singles results are available at this link.
UNC Greensboro’s Connor Thompson and Duke’s Sean Sculley won the top two singles flights at the Charlotte 49ers Fall Invitational. Thompson won the A1 flight with straight set wins over Davidson’s David Hager, Vanderbilt’s George Harwell, Gardner-Webb’s Millen Hurrion, and North Carolina’s Simon Soendergaard. Sculley won the A2 flight with straight set wins over Richmond’s Klein Evans, Vanderbilt’s Tate Allwardt, Tennessee’s Adam Walton, and Gardner-Webb’s Max Scholl.
St. Leo had five men’s players win singles flights at the Juan Varon Wildcat Invitational in Daytona Beach. A full recap of the three-day event is located here and below is a quote from Bethune-Cookman head coach Val Villucci via that same recap.
“It was a rewarding tournament in more ways than one. The tournament ran well as a whole, and we’re thankful to everyone who made it a special event. Everyone who knew Juan or knew of hum were touched to be able to be connected to his family this weekend. My hope is this tournament helps them continue to be strong.”
Top college players including @EnaShibs aim for a 7th straight Master’U title in France 11.30-12.3!https://t.co/zT1qqm4Hyk #TeamUSATennis pic.twitter.com/Oi3GOStzZp
— USTA (@usta) October 30, 2017
The USTA announced Team USA’s roster for the upcoming Master’U BNP Paribas which will be held in Marcq-en-Baroeul, France, from November 30th through December 3rd. UCLA’s Ena Shibahara and Martin Redlicki, USC’s Brandon Holt, Florida’s Alfredo Perez, Pepperdine’s Ashley Lahey, and North Carolina’s Alle Sanford will attempt to give Team USA a seventh consecutive title at the Davis Cup/Fed Cup type of event which features singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. The other countries competing are Belgium, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland and Russia.
The fact that Oliver Frank did not get an At-Large bid to the Fall Championship as he beat Holt, is a little bit interesting. Would also be interesting to hear if the ITA took any Oracle Cup finalists into consideration when handing out At-Large bids..
I agree that he would have been a good selection and technically he should have been eligible for consideration for an at-large due to making it to at least the quarters of an ITA Regional Championship even though the ITA is probably really looking at the D1 Regionals.