Pepperdine’s Lahey, Texas’ Ito Win Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships Titles

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ITA All-American Singles Champions
Pepperdine's Ashley Lahey and Texas' Yuya Ito won singles titles at the 2019 Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships.

TULSA, Okla. (October 13) – Two champions were crowned Sunday night during the singles finals of the 2019 Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships that were held at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center on the University of Tulsa campus and played before a national ESPNU viewing audience.

In the women’s final, Pepperdine’s Ashley Lahey continued her remarkable fall season as she defeated North Carolina’s Alexa Graham, 6-4, 7-5. It marked her third singles title in three fall events after previously capturing the Oracle ITA Masters (Sept. 28) and Women’s Collegiate Invitational last weekend.

Yuya Ito of Texas claimed the men’s singles championship, defeating Florida’s Sam Riffice, 6-4, 6-4 to claim the Longhorns and Big 12’s second ITA All-American Championships title. In an all Texas final, Chad Clark defeated teammate Ian Williams in 1993.

Ito, ranked No. 4 in the Oracle ITA National Preseason Rankings has opened his senior season in impressive fashion, posting a 9-1 singles record with his lone loss coming to teammate Siem Woldeab in the finals of the Gamecock Fall Invitational in September.

Ranked No. 14 in the Oracle ITA Preseason National Rankings, Lahey opened quickly against the No. 4-ranked Graham, winning the first four games and led 5-2 before Graham won the next two to make it 5-4. The Waves’ senior then broke Graham’s serve to capture the opening set.

Graham opened the second set by breaking Lahey in the first game and the two were tied five times before Lahey won the final two games to capture the match.

Lahey became the first Pepperdine women’s player to win the ITA All-American Championships singles title and the second straight and fourth overall from West Coast Conference. Gonzaga’s Sophie Whittle was the 2018 champion and the University of San Diego’s Zuzana Lesernorova won back-to-back titles in 1998 and 1999.

Main Draw Doubles Finals
It was a big day for the Ivy League as the Columbia men and Yale women captured the main draw doubles titles Sunday afternoon.

Both matches went to a third-set tiebreaker with the Columbia duo of Jack Lin and Jackie Tang outlasting the UCF pair of Gabriel Decamps and Juan Pablo Mazzuchi, 3-6, 6-2, 10-8. Meanwhile, on the next court, Yale’s Jessie Gong and Samantha Martinelli rallied from down a set to defeat Tennessee’s Tenika McGiffin and Kaitlin Staines (Tennessee); 2-6, 6-3, 10-8.

Columbia became the second Ivy League school since doubles were added to the ITA All-American Championships in 1985 to capture the men’s main draw title. The Harvard team of James Blake and Kunj Majmudar defeated Jeff Laski and Gavin Sontag of Illinois in 1998.

Gong and Martinelli provided Yale and the Ivy League with their first women’s ITA All-American Championships in either singles or doubles.

Consolation Singles Finals
Ohio State’s Cannon Kingsley defeated Notre Dame’s Richard Ciamarra, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the men’s singles final, while the Florida duo of Oliver Crawford and Sam Riffice recorded a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Georgia’s Blake Croyder and Philip Henning in an All-SEC final.

Consolation Doubles Finals
UCF’s Rebeka Stolmar defeated Furman’s Katarina Kozarov, 7-5, 6-3 in the women’s singles consolation final. In the women’s doubles consolation final Saturday afternoon, North Carolina State’s Jeada Daniel and Adriana Reami defeated the UCLA duo of Elysia Bolton and Jada Hart, 8-2.

Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Men’s Championships
University of Tulsa; Michael D. Case Tennis Center; Tulsa, Okla. 
October 9-13, 2019

Men’s Singles Main Draw (Finals; Oct. 13)
[3] Yuya Ito (Texas) def. [6] Sam Riffice (Florida); 6-4, 6-4 

Men’s Doubles Main Draw (Finals; Oct. 13)
Jack Lin/Jackie Tang (Columbia) def. Gabriel Decamps/Juan Pablo Mazzuchi (UCF); 3-6, 6-2, 10-8

Men’s Singles Consolation Draw (Finals; Oct. 13)
Cannon Kingsley (Ohio State) def. Richard Ciamarra (Notre Dame); 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6)

Men’s Doubles Consolation Draw (Finals; Oct. 13)
Oliver Crawford/Sam Riffice (Florida) def. Blake Croyder/Philip Henning (Georgia); 6-4, 6-3

Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Women’s Championships
Case Tennis Center at LaFortune Park; Tulsa, Okla.
October 9-13, 2019

Women’s Singles Main Draw (Finals; Oct. 13)
[12] Ashley Lahey (Pepperdine) def. [3] Alexa Graham (North Carolina)

Women’s Doubles Main Draw (Finals; Oct. 13)
Jessie Gong/Samantha Martinelli (Yale) def. Tenika McGiffin/Kaitlin Staines (Tennessee); 2-6, 6-3, 10-8

Women’s Singles Consolation Draw (Finals; Oct. 13)
Rebeka Stolmar (UCF) def. Katarina Kozarov (Furman); 7-5, 6-3

Women’s Doubles Consolation Draw (Finals; Oct. 12)
Jaeda Daniel/Adriana Reami (NC State) def. [3] Elysia Bolton/Jada Hart (UCLA); 8-2

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