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The draws are out for the second Oracle ITA Masters in Malibu with this year’s format differing a good bit from last year. Last year the singles field was limited to 16 players with the field selected based on preseason ITA rankings; this year the field has been expanded to 32 players with the goal to have one player per conference. The other change relates to doubles – last year there was a men’s and women’s doubles draw but this year those have been scrapped in favor of a mixed doubles draw.

The seeding is completely based on Universal Tennis Rating using a UTR from a few days ago. Texas freshman Yuya Ito is the top seed in the men’s draw while Pepperdine sophomore Luisa Stefani is tops in the women’s draw.

The ITA’s event page has more information on the event including the mixed doubles draw. FloTennis will be streaming the event with a paid subscription required for viewing. Live scoring of the event will be available at this link.

Men’s Notes:

  • Georgia Tech junior Chris Eubanks has the top ITA ranking at No. 5 but he will be seeded sixth
  • Texas’s Yuya Ito is the only freshmen in the men’s field but he’ll be the top seed based off his UTR
  • UCLA, Pepperdine, Kentucky, and Memphis are the only schools with two players
  • Baylor senior Max Tchoutakian got the Oracle Wild Card
  • Pepperdine junior Lautaro Pane got the Host Wild Card
  • Texas freshman Yuya Ito and Kentucky sophomore Ryotaro Matsumura were at-large entries based off their high UTRs
  • Players originally committed that pulled out 
    • George Goldhoff (Texas)
    • Sam Matheson (Liberty) – turned pro
    • Juan Estevarena (Colllege of Charleston)
    • Stjepan Sisko (Toledo)
    • Eduardo Mena (Tennessee Tech)
    • Tom Fawcett (Stanford) – entered in $100K Stocktown Challenger
  • Players added after the others pulled out
    • William Bushamuka (Kentucky)
    • Martin Redlicki (UCLA)
    • Gage Brymer (UCLA) 
    • Andrew Watson (Memphis)
    • Ryan Peniston (Memphis) 
    • Nick Crystal (USC)  
  • Largest First Round UTR Variance (8 matches greater than 1.00)
    • 2.50 – Ito vs. Ezaka
    • 2.34 – Matsumura vs. Whalley
    • 2.24 – Rinderknech vs. Chepik
    • 1.90 – Peniston vs. Nguyen

Women’s Notes:

  • North Carolina senior Hayley Carter was the preseason ITA No. 1 but she will be seeded fifth
  • Pepperdine, Oklahoma State, and North Carolina are the only schools with multiple players
  • There are four freshman in the field 
    • Ena Shibahara (UCLA)
    • Ashley Lahey (Pepperdine)
    • Sara Daavettila (North Carolina)
    • Meible Chi (Duke)
  • Baylor senior Blair Shankle got the Oracle Wild Card
  • Pepperdine junior Laura Gulbe got the Host Wild Card 
  • Ena Shibahara and Sara Daavettila were at-large entries based off their high UTRs
  • Players originally committed that pulled out
    • Francesca Di Lorenzo (Ohio State)
    • Mina Matsuba (Bethune-Cookman)
    • Ellen Perez (Georgia)
    • Alexandria Stiteler (South Alabama)
    • Taylor Davidson (Stanford)
  • Players added after others pulled out
    • Ashley Lahey (Pepperdine)
    • Meible Chi (Duke)
    • Denise Starr (Cal)
    • Jasmine Lee (Mississippi State)
    • Viktoriya Lushkova (Oklahoma State)
  • Largest First Round UTR Variance (10 matches greater than 1.00)
    • 3.71 – Stefani vs. Rencheli
    • 3.35 – Shibahara vs. Cartier
    • 2.72 – Daavettila vs. Pasricha
    • 2.71 – Lahey vs. Faybyshev
    • 2.25 – Carter vs. Blinova
    • 2.14 – Lee vs. Yanes Garcia

I have the men’s and women’s draw broken down by UTR, ITA ranking, school, and class year. To view in a separate window you can click these links – men & women