We’re only one day away from the start of the 2020 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships at the USTA National Campus. On Thursday, elite collegiate players along with top juniors will begin to compete for the national title. Pepperdine and NC State both check in with two student-athletes in the top eight seeds. The other four seeds are filled by Old Dominion, San Diego, UCLA and UNC.
For a complete look at the draws, visit the National Fall Championships event page. Play will begin Thursday morning with the women’s final scheduled for Sunday at 4 PM ET. Both the men’s and women’s finals will be aired on ESPNU.
8. Holly Hutchinson | Old Dominion
Old Dominion senior Holly Hutchinson has the opportunity to make history at the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships. If Hutchinson takes home the women’s title, she would be the first player in program history to do so. The 2020 National Fall Championships will be Hutchinson’s second appearance at the tournament. She received an at-large bid to last year’s championship. Hutchinson most recently competed at the ITA Fall Circuit event at Kingsmill Resort. She claimed the tournament title without dropping a set the entire weekend.
7. Solymar Colling | San Diego
San Diego’s Solymar Colling is heating up. After finishing the 2020 season ranked No. 65 in the Oracle ITA Singles Rankings, Colling has consistently found herself in the finals against top talent. During the summer, Colling reached the finals of the Oracle ITA National Summer Championships. This past weekend Colling narrowly lost to Oracle ITA Masters champion Eryn Cayetano in the finals of the Southern California Open Sectional Championships. This will be Colling’s second appearance in the National Fall Championships.
6. Anna Rogers | NC State
Anna Rogers has consistently made history for the Wolfpack. Now she has the opportunity to do it again by winning NC State’s first women’s singles championship at the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships. Rogers has experience with ITA individual championships — she won the 2019 Oracle ITA National Summer Championships and was a doubles finalist at the 2019 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships. Rogers recently won the ITA Fall Circuit tournament at Boar’s Head Resort. Rogers will open play at the National Fall Championships against Cal’s Haley Giavara.
5. Alana Smith | NC State
Alana Smith returns to the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships in a bid to become the first Wolfpack player to win the women’s championship. In 2019, Smith reached the doubles final at the National Fall Championships alongside partner Anna Rogers. Smith notched her career-best singles ranking during the spring season — No. 16. Wins over 2019 National Player of the Year Katarina Jokic and No. 9 Jada Hart boosted her ranking. Recently, Smith won the ITA Tour: Fall Circuit by UTR event at Boar’s Head Resort.
4. Abbey Forbes | UCLA
UCLA powerhouse Abbey Forbes will compete for the second time in as many years at the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships. During her debut performance at the championships, Forbes reached the quarterfinals after defeating then No. 12 Cameron Morra in straight sets. Forbes played primarily at No. 2 for the Bruins. She was named an ITA Singles All-American at the end of the season. Over the summer and fall, Forbes competed in two ITA Tour events and she won them both. On Thursday, she will face off against Florida State’s Victoria Allen.
3. Alexa Graham | UNC
Alexa Graham is a member of two ITA National Team Indoor Championship teams – in fact she clinched the championship in 2020 – but has not been able to secure an ITA individual championship. During the 2019 fall season, Graham sparred with Ashley Lahey for the ITA All-American Championships title, but fell short. However, Graham does not have a shortage of accolades to her name. She is a five-time ITA All-American and is third in program history for career singles victories and winning percentage. Graham’s Thursday morning match against Emory’s Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico will be her first competition since the pandemic stopped play.
2. Jessica Failla | Pepperdine
Jessica Failla comes to Lake Nona to win her second ITA championship of the year. After winning the Oracle ITA National Summer Championships, Failla competed in the Oracle ITA Masters by UTR. She fell in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Eryn Cayetano. Since the Masters, Failla has continued to compete in the West Coast Pro Series along with the Southern California Open Sectional Championship. On Thursday, Failla will face Loyola Marymount’s Veronika Miroshnichenko in the opening round of the tournament.
1. Ashley Lahey | Pepperdine
After falling in the Round of 16 at the Oracle ITA Masters by UTR, Ashley Lahey is headed to Lake Nona to compete in her second Oracle ITA National Fall Championships. Lahey’s previously competed in the championship as a junior and reached the quarterfinals. A win at the National Fall Championships would complete her sweep of the ITA’s fall championship slate. The title would also be the first for the Waves since Ginger Helgeson won in 1990. Lahey will face NC State’s Jaeda Daniel in the opening round of the tournament.
