SURPRISE, Ariz. – Following a full slate of singles and doubles action on Friday at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex in Surprise, Arizona, singles and doubles semifinals are set at the 2018 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships.
Georgia’s Katarina Jokic had an impressive showing on Friday, winning both of her matches against higher-seeded players. The ninth-seeded Jokic topped No. 6 Ashley Lahey of Pepperdine 6-1, 7-6 (1) in the Round of 16 and then defeated Fernanda Contreras of Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals after the top-seeded Commodore was forced to retire due to injury.
Facing Jokic in the semifinals will be Christina Rosca of Vanderbilt. Rosca topped No. 12 Andie Daniell of Alabama 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the Round of 16 and then scored a three-set victory over LSU’s Eden Richardson 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.
North Carolina’s Makenna Jones, the No. 10 seed, scored a pair of straight set victories on Friday. She bested No. 7 Meible Chi of Duke 7-5, 6-2 in the Round of 16 and No. 13 Elysia Bolton of UCLA 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. Bolton had advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 2 Estela Perez-Somarriba of Miami.
Jones, who is also in the women’s doubles semifinals with partner Cameron Morra, will take on No. 11 Kate Fahey of Michigan on Saturday. The Wolverines senior bested No. 3 Evgeniya Levashova of Pepperdine 7-5, 6-4 in the quarterfinals and Georgia’s Marta Gonzalez 6-3, 6-3 in the Round of 16.
All seeded players remain in the men’s singles draw, including No. 1 Petros Chrysochos, who won both of his matches on Friday in straight sets. He’ll face No. 5 Thomas Laurent of Oregon in the semifinals. Laurent took down No. 10 John McNally of Ohio State 6-4, 1-6, 6-0 in the Round of 16 and Adria Sorriano Barrera of Miami 7-6 (1), 7-5.
Daniel Cukierman, the No. 6 seed out of USC, defeated No. 3 Paul Jubb of South Carolina 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 in the quarterfinals and Kyle Seeling of Ohio State 6-3, 6-2 in the Round of 16 to reach the semifinals. Eighth-seeded Nicolas Moreno de Alboran of UCSB won the rubber match with No. 2 Christian Sigsgaard of Texas 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. Moreno de Alboran defeated Sigsgaard at the Oracle ITA Masters semifinals, while the Texas junior won the rematch at the Saint Francis Health System ITA Men’s All-American Championships.
As mentioned, Jones and Morra are in the women’s doubles semifinals. The No. 2 seeds will face Pepperdine’s Lahey and Levashova on Saturday, after the Waves topped UCLA’s sixth-seeded team of Ayan Broomfield and Gabby Andrews 6-3, 1-6, 1-0 (8) in the quarterfinals.
Clemson’s Marie-Alexandre Leduc and Fernanda Navarro outlasted Winthrop’s Megan Kauffman and Lauren Proctor 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (5) in their quarterfinal match, and will face South Carolina’s Mia Horvit and Ingrid Gamarra Martins. The Gamecocks defeated UCLA’s Bolton and Jada Hart 7-6 (4), 2-6, 1-0 (6) in the quarterfinals.
Oli Nolan and Henry Patten of UNC Asheville scored their second victory over a seeded opponent on Friday, as they took down No. 5 Giovanni Oradini and Niclas Braun of Mississippi State 6-3, 7-6 (4) to advance to the semifinals. Old Dominion’s Aziz Kijametovic and Francois Musitelli will be UNC Asheville’s opponent, as they topped USC’s Cukierman and Tanner Smith 6-7 (4), 7-5, 1-0 (2) in the quarterfinals.
Yuta Kikuchi and Jacob Brumm of California are into the semifinals following their straight set victory over Florida’s Brian Berducso and Johannes Ingildsen 7-5, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. The Golden Bears will face Texas Tech’s Bjorn Thomson and Parker Wynn, who defeated Arizona State’s Tim Ruehl and Andrea Bolla 7-6 (9), 7-6 (4) in the quarterfinals.
Recently, it was announced that the men’s and women’s singles champions will receive main draw wildcards into a 2019 Oracle Challenger Series tournament.
The 2018 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships men’s and women’s singles finals will stream live on ESPN3 and the ESPN App on Sunday, November 11th, beginning at 10 a.m. PDT/1 p.m. EDT, with the women’s final. The singles championships will re-air on ESPNU on Tuesday, November 13th, at 3 p.m. EDT/12 p.m. EDT.
Draws, schedule of play, daily recaps and a photo gallery can be found on the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships event page. Live scoring via Tennis Ticker will be available, while TempuZ will provide live streaming coverage from two courts at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex. Links to both live scoring and streaming are also available on the event page. You can also follow the conversation on Twitter by following @ITA_Tennis and @OracleTennis and using the hashtag #ITAFallNats.
