TEMPE, Ariz. (October 8) – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced today the UTR/ITA National Players of the Month for September.
The newly instituted awards program honors individuals from of all five collegiate divisions (NCAA DI, DII, DIII, NAIA and Junior College) each month during the fall and on a weekly basis in the spring. A combination of Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) Powered by Oracle and Oracle ITA National Rankings are utilized to determine the honorees, who are nominated by their institution’s athletics communications directors.
The September honorees include:
NCAA Division I
Male: Siem Woldeab (Texas)
Female: Ashley Lahey (Pepperdine)
NCAA Division II
Male: Niklas Karcz (Wayne State)
Female: Barbie Quagliardi (Adelphi)
NCAA Division III
Male: Antonio Mora (Emory)
Female: Danna Taylor (Carnegie Mellon)
NAIA
Male: Jose Dugo (Georgia Gwinnett)
Female: Maria Genovese (Georgia Gwinnett)
Junior College
Male: Sander Jans (Seward County CC)
Female: Lucie Devier (Tyler JC)
NCAA DIVISION I
Siem Woldeab (Texas | Fr. | Le Mesa, Calif. | UTR: 13.30 | ITA: NR)
As a true freshman, Woldeab won the singles and doubles titles in the top draw at the Gamecock Fall Invitational in Columbia, S.C., along with the doubles title in the top draw at the Southern Intercollegiate Championships in Athens, Ga. He defeated three Top-40 singles opponents (No. 4 Yuya Ito, Texas; No. 37 Carles Sarrio, SMU; No. 38 Jonas Ziverts, Arizona) and three Top-30 doubles opponents, including the No. 41-ranked doubles team. Ito ranks No. 7 among college players with a UTR of 14.37.
Ashley Lahey (Pepperdine | Sr. | Hawthorne, Calif. | UTR: 11.79 | ITA: No. 14)
The 19-year old senior defeated three top 50 players and the fourth-ranked freshman/newcomer in the Oracle ITA National Preseason Rankings en route to capturing the Oracle ITA Masters women’s singles title Sept. 29 in Malibu. Lahey posted wins over No. 46 Katarina Kozarov (Furman), No. 4 Alexa Graham (North Carolina; UTR 11.56) and No. 9 Jada Hart (UCLA; UTR 11.72). She recorded a semi-final win over Abbey Forbes (UCLA), who is the fourth-ranked freshman/newcomer and has a UTR of 11.92.
NCAA DIVISION II
Niklas Karcz (Wayne State | Jr. | Bottrop, North-Rhine-Westphalia, Germany | UTR: 11.92 | ITA: NR)
Karcz was seeded fifth in the 2019 ITA Midwest Regional A Singles and seventh in A Doubles. He upended the fourth seed in the quarterfinals and advanced to the semifinals. Karcz and Renaudie fell to the second seed in the round of eight. He was named to the 2019 Toledo Rocket Invite’s All-Tournament Team. At the conclusion of the 2018-19 season, Karcz was named the ITA Midwest Region Player to Watch. Among his wins were victories over Toledo’s Danilo Vukotic (UTR 11.67) and Drury’s Augustin Diot (UTR 11.97) in the finals of the ITA Midwest Regional.
Barbie Quagliardi (Adelphi | So. | Istanbul, Turkey | UTR: 8.74 | ITA: NR)
Quagliardi was named Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Week (Sept. 17). She won the ITA East Region Doubles championship. Quagliardi went 12-1 in doubles play with partner Nicole Kielan and 7-2 in singles, including a 6-1 mark at No. 1 singles. She posted a win over Stonehill’s Isabella Porter, who was ranked No. 13 in the final 2018-19 Oracle ITA National Rankings.
NCAA DIVISION III
Antonio Mora (Emory | So. | Miami, Fla. | UTR: 11.95 | ITA: NR)
Mora went 6-0 in singles play to capture the ITA South Region Championships. He also teamed with Will Wanner to go 4-0 and claim the doubles title. Mora capped the month with a victory over teammate Andrew Esses (UTR 12.08) in the ITA South Region Championships final.
Danna Taylor (Carnegie Mellon | So. | Orlando, Fla. | UTR: 9.53 | ITA: No. 4)
Taylor, who finished the 2018-19 season ranked No. 4 in the final Oracle ITA National Rankings, repeated as both the ITA Southeast Regional singles and doubles champion. She breezed through the singles bracket and won the championship with a 6-0, 6-4 victory against the University of Mary Washington’s Claire Coleman. She defeated four NCAA Division I opponents while posting a 9-0 singles record and teamed with Courtney Ollis to post an 8-0 mark in doubles play. She recorded a semifinal win over Carnegie Mellon teammate Lauren James (UTR 9.23).
NAIA
Jose Dugo (Georgia Gwinnett | So. | Cordoba, Spain | UTR: 11.61 | ITA: No. 11)
Dugo won the ITA South Regional singles title to advance to the ITA Oracle Cup in Rome, Ga. He also reached the semifinals at the Seahawk Fall Invitational. Dugo recorded a 6-1 singles mark with his lone loss coming to an NCAA Division I player. Among his victories was a win over teammate Federico Bonacia (UTR 12.32) in the ITA South Regional singles finals. Bonacia was ranked No. 4 in the 2018-19 final Oracle ITA National Rankings.
Maria Genovese (Georgia Gwinnett | Jr. | Southlake, Texas | UTR: 10.49 | ITA: NR)
Genovese won the ITA South Regional singles title and went undefeated in singles action. She went a combined 13-1 while helping Georgia Gwinnett win the Thomasville Collegiate Invitational and concluded the month by defeating Brenau’s Elyse Lavender (UTR 10.51) in the ITA South Regional final. Genovese, who transferred to Georgia Gwinnett after a standout career at Tyler Junior College, concluded the 2018-19 campaign ranked No. 1 in the Oracle ITA National rankings. While posting a 9-0 singles record, Genovese defeated teammate and No. 34-ranked Tereza Koplova in the ITA South Regional semifinals.
JUNIOR COLLEGE
Sander Jans (Seward County CC | So. | De Ronerborg, Netherlands | UTR: 11.61 | ITA: NR)
Jans won both ITA Central Regional singles and doubles titles hosted by Iowa Central CC. He recorded wins over teammates Raul Centeno (UTR 10.91) and Karl Wurth (UTR 11.72) before defeating fellow Saint Gabriel Ortiz (UTR 13.04) in the finals.
Lucie Devier (Tyler JC | So. | Etrechy, France | UTR: 9.68 | ITA: NR)
Competing for the first time after being diagnosed with Mononucleosis in early July, Devier won both the ITA Southwest Regional singles and doubles titles on her home courts. She went 5-0 in singles and posted a win over teammate Helena Jansen (UTR 9.00), who concluded the 2018-19 season ranked No. 44 in the final Oracle ITA National Rankings. Devier also teamed with Momoko Yoshimuro to record a 5-0 doubles record.
About the Intercollegiate Tennis Association
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) is committed to serving college tennis and returning the leaders of tomorrow. As the governing body of college tennis, the ITA oversees men’s and women’s varsity tennis at NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior/Community College divisions. The ITA administers a comprehensive awards and rankings program for men’s and women’s varsity players, coaches and teams in all divisions, providing recognition for their accomplishments on and off the court. For more information on the ITA, visit the ITA website at www.itatennis.com, like the ITA on Facebook or follow @ITA_Tennis on Twitter and Instagram.
About Universal Tennis Rating
The mission of Universal Tennis is to make tennis more affordable, accessible and fun for all players, regardless of age, gender, and socioeconomic status. At the core is the Universal Tennis Rating (UTR Powered by Oracle), the global gold standard for all tennis players which reflects their current skill level based on actual performance. The company’s UTR Engagement Platform is built on the rating and provides tools and technology for tennis organizers to run engaging, open level-based events and offers players the ability to connect and discover events, players, coaches, clubs and tournaments worldwide. Download the free UTR app for iPhone in the App Store and visit MyUTR.com to learn more.
