TULSA, Okla. – Earlier in the 2018 Saint Francis Health System ITA Men’s All-American Championships, Nuno Borges of Mississippi State, the No. 1 seed in the men’s singles draw, commented on how just a point here or there can decide the outcome of a match.
He couldn’t have been more right.
The senior was forced into the deepest of waters by Alex Brown of Illinois in their semifinal tilt on the indoors courts of the Michael D. Case Tennis Center on the University of Tulsa campus. Borges had to fend off multiple match points to even see a deciding third set, and there, he was pushed all the way to a match tiebreaker. Down 4-1, Borges found that championship gear and rattled off six straight points to close out the match 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (4) and secure his spot in Monday’s final.
Facing Borges for the ITA Men’s All-American Singles Championship is JJ Wolf of Ohio State. Wolf got off to an incredibly hot start in his semifinal match with Georgia’s Emil Reinberg, winning all six games in the opener. Reinberg did a nice job of putting the tough first set behind him and pushed Wolf into a second set tiebreak. Knotted 5-5 in the breaker, Wolf scored the match’s final two points to garner the victory and advance to the championship.
Ohio State will also be represented in the main draw doubles final, as Alex Kobelt and Kyle Seelig scored a straight set victory over Florida’s Andy Andrade 7-5, 6-4. Kobelt and Seelig have certainly made the most of their entry into the Main Draw via a Lucky Loser provision, winning four matches to reach the final.
Baylor will take on the Buckeyes in that main draw doubles final, as the duo of Jimmy Bendeck and Sven Lah won their semifinal tilt over the Ole Miss team of Fabian Fallert and Finn Reynolds 7-6, 6-3.
The consolation singles final will feature John McNally of Ohio State taking on Christian Sigsgaard of Texas. McNally and Sigsgaard qualified for the 2018 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships by virtue of their semifinal victories on Sunday. McNally defeated Johannes Ingildsen of Florida 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 and Sigsgaard topped Brian Cernoch of North Carolina 6-0, 7-6 (4).
It’ll be an all-Mississippi State affair in the consolation doubles, with Borges and Strahinja Rakic facing Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini. Borges and Rakic topped the Texas Tech team of Bjorn Thomson and Parker Wynn 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (8), while Braun and Oradini scored a 6-3, 6-2 decision over San Diego’s Nico Borter and Guilherme Osorio.
The 2018 Saint Francis Health System ITA Men’s All-American Championships concludes play on Monday, with championship matches in main and consolation draws. Action from the Michael D. Case Tennis Center on the University of Tulsa campus gets underway at 9 a.m. CDT. View updated draws and results and get access to live scoring and video links by visiting the official event page .
