While the return of college tennis has been the worry of many, it turns out that most student-athletes are interested in competing unattached. The 2020 Oracle ITA Masters by UTR saw numerous collegiate and junior players compete at a high level of play. While fans were limited, the players stepped up to watch the matches.
The event was a team effort between the ITA, USTA Southern California and the Barnes Tennis Center to keep everyone playing and working in a safe and healthy manner. Under the guidance of the ITA, Barnes Tennis Center implemented the safe play guidelines while following the health recommendations of San Diego County, California. All entrants to the facility were screened through temperature checks and proper facial coverings.
Brandon Holt outserves Judson Blair (7-5, 6-1). Judson Blair made an attempt to keep Brandon Holt at bay in the first set of the opening matches, but his efforts were unsuccessful. Judson, who is on the roster at San Diego State University, has yet to compete in a collegiate match. Brandon Holt, a former USC Trojan, was able to outserve Judson in the second set. Brandon appeared relaxed throughout the entire competition, but continued to club the ball to his first round win.
Cannon Kingsley defeats Nathan Ponwith (6-7, 6-1, 1-0 (4)) Cannon came out smoking, firing aces and pushing Nathan to his limits. Nathan’s biggest weapon, his serve, wasn’t able to hold back the Buckeye. Cannon began stalking the baseline and suddenly pushed the match to a tiebreaker. The determination and fight from the ITA Rookie of the Year put the men’s draw on notice: Cannon Kingsley is here to win.
Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer downs reigning champ Ashley Lahey (5-7, 7-6, 1-0 (7)). A battle between the 2019 Oracle ITA Masters champion and a Blue Chip recruit ended with amazing sportsmanship from the Pepperdine Wave. Ashley Lahey, the No. 1 ranked collegiate player, applauded the performance of Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer – even going as far as talking with Lutkemeyer’s mother about her stellar win.
Timothy Sah overcomes Alex Brown in a wild tiebreaker (2-6, 7-6 (2), 1-0 (19))An unusual scene of events ended up in a tiebreak that seemed to go on forever. A mess for what seemed like hours, the match between Timothy Sah of Stanford and Alex Brown of Illinois suddenly became entertaining with a 21-19 third-set tiebreak.
Katie Codd turns San Diego into upset city with win over Julia Rosenqvist (2-6, 6-1, 1-0 (12)). The future of college tennis was able to leave her mark on the opening rounds of the event. Katie came storming back to defeat a valiant Julia, one of the many upsets of a collegiate player today. Julia started off absolutely clubbing the ball, but Katie dug in, hitting deep and hard on her way to the win.
Other notes:
Gui Osorio and Jwany Sherif withdraw from the main draw after suffering injuries. Matchplay will continue tomorrow with consolation matches beginning at 9:00 AM PT. Quarterfinals followed by semifinals of the main draw will hit the courts at 10:00 AM PT tomorrow.
Catch up on all of today’s action:
Women’s Draws & Results
Men’s Draws & Results
