After an eventful first week of play, the 2022 ITA Regional Small College Championships were back in full swing this past weekend as over half of the automatic qualifiers into the ITA Cup have now been determined. Serving student-athletes from the Division II, Division III, NAIA, and Junior College levels, the ITA Regional Small College Championships the winners of these Regional Championships get the opportunity to compete in the upcoming ITA Cup. In week two, tournaments were held at the Division II, III, NAIA, and Junior College levels, with both men’s and women’s players competing across 18 host sites around the country.
Division II
In the East Regional hosted by Queens College, it was Southern New Hampshire coming out victorious in three of the four main flights of the Regional. Jonathan Berling (Men’s Singles), Fernando Torres/Berling (Men’s Doubles), and Alexxa Etienne/Magdalena Hubickova (Women’s Doubles) all advance to the upcoming ITA Cup for the Penmen. In the Women’s Singles competition, it was Sanne Selmer Gilje of Adelphi who came out on top. The freshman from Stabekk, Norway made the most of her collegiate debut winning 6-2, 6-2 in the championship match.
At the Southeast Regional, Columbus State swept the Men’s side of play, while Flagler was able to take both the Singles and Doubles Titles on the Women’s side. Newcomer Santiago Perez shined in his first ITA Regional Championship taking home the Men’s Singles Title while teaming up with teammate Javier Cueto Ramos to win the Men’s Doubles Title as well. On the Women’s side, Luisa Hrda was another double-champion as she won the Women’s Singles draw before taking home the Doubles Championship with Eryka Kruk to mark the first time in which Flagler has won both the Singles and Doubles draw at the same event in program history.
From the Division II South Regional, the Gulf South Conference dominated in the Men’s Singles and Doubles Draws, while the Sunshine State Conference shined in the Women’s Singles and Doubles Draws. In Men’s Singles, Valdosta State’s Luca Mack was crowned Champion after winning in straight sets in each match of the Regional. It was Lucas Hammond and Marcel Hornung of West Alabama who came out victorious in the Men’s Doubles Draw. The newly formed duo took down the tournament’s top-seeded team in the Championship to earn their spot in the ITA Cup. Women’s Singles saw the nation’s No. 1 player, Deniz Khazan come out victorious. The 2022 ITA Cup Singles Champion will be back in Rome this season to defend her title. In Women’s Doubles, the Nova Southeastern duo of Natalie Espinal and Fatima Bizhukova claimed the title after cruising through the competition as the top-seeded pairing.
The Central Regional saw a highly contested competition in which a representative from a different school took home championships in all four main draws. Teodor Zlatar of Harding took home the Men’s Singles Title, beating teammate Dani Ortiz in the Finals. In the Men’s Doubles competition, Mason Meier and Jan Skerbatis of Northwest Missouri State came out victorious, marking the fourth straight year in which the Bearcats have had a player(s) in the ITA Cup. Sofia Smagina of Washburn won the Women’s Singles competition, cruising through the competition as the tournament’s top seed. Finally, in Women’s Doubles, it was Nikki Boyar and Blythe Buntrock of Central Oklahoma winning the Regional Title marking the third straight season in which Central Oklahoma has won the Doubles Title.
In the Midwest Women’s Regional, representatives from both Drury and UIndy advanced to the upcoming ITA Cup. In singles, Drury’s Nastasia Jedrychowski won the Regional Championship after taking down multiple top seeds en route to the Championship. Doubles saw Anna Novikova and Sofiia Sharonova of UIndy claim the Title. The duo was the tournament’s top-seeded team and only dropped one game in the Championship Match.
Finally in the South Central Women’s Regional, St. Mary’s (TX) swept both the Singles and Doubles competitions from Dallas Baptist University. Ashley Penshorn won the Singles Championship, coming back after dropping the first set to win 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the Championship Match. In doubles, Penshorn teamed up with Kyndall Quiroz to win in straight sets in the Championship Match.
Division III
From Williams College, the Women’s New England Regional Championship was held with representatives from Babson and Bowdoin finishing as champions. In singles, Olivia Soffer became Babson’s first-ever New England Regional Champion, winning 7-5, 6-2 in the Championship Match. Doubles play saw Cara Hung and Jamilah Karah cruise through the competition, finishing the Regional with a 6-4, 6-3 victory.
At the Central Men’s Regional, WashU faired well on their home courts, winning both the Singles and Doubles draw to secure their spot in the upcoming ITA Cup. Abhi Ramireddy won the Men’s Singles draw before teaming up with Phuc Huynh in doubles to sweep the titles. Ramireddy became the first player in WashU history to win Regional Titles in both Singles and Doubles at the same Regional Championship.
In the Northwest Regional Championship, New York University took home both the Singles and Doubles Titles to secure NYU’s fifth straight Regional Doubles Title and fourth Singles title in the last five years. Ida Krause was the 2022 Northwest Regional Singles Champion, while also teaming up with teammate Dakota Fordham to claim the Doubles Title as well.
The Southeast Women’s Regional Championships saw Carnegie Mellon sweep the Championships in both Singles and Doubles. Crystal Zhou came out victorious in the Women’s Singles Draw, before teaming up with teammate Danna Taylor for the Doubles Title as well. The Doubles Championship marked the fifth straight year in which a team from Carnegie Mellon has won the Regional Title.
At the South Women’s Regional, it was Emory and Sewanee who came away with Regional Titles. In Singles Stephanie Shulman of Emory came away with the Championship, marking 20 straight seasons in which an Emory player has won the Singles Championship. In doubles, Brooke Despriet and Katherine Petty of Sewanee came into the weekend as the top seeds and made quick work of the competition to win the Women’s Doubles Title.
Sabrina Tang of Grinnell as well as Amelia Asfaw and Mariam Nechiporuk of Carleton took home Regional Titles at the Division III Women’s Midwest Regional Championship. For Tang this marks her second consecutive ITA Regional Singles Championship, winning as the tournament’s top-seeded player. In doubles, Asfaw and Nechiporuk were another top-seeded team to run the table as they won 6-2, 7-6 in the Championship Match to claim the Championship.
From the Southwest Women’s Regional at Trinity University, it was Suzuka Nishino of UT Dallas and Cate Cushing and Trinity Levy of Trinity who won Regional Championships. As another repeat winner, Nishino was 6-1, 6-1 in the Championship Match to repeat as the Southwest Women’s Singles Champion. In what was an all-Trinity final, Cushing and Levy fought back from a first-set deficit to earn the Women’s Doubles Title and a spot into the ITA Cup.
Finally, in the Northwest Women’s Regional, representatives from Pacific and Whitman College took home Singles and Doubles Titles this past weekend. In singles, Cassidy Binder of Pacific won five straight matches before prevailing 6-1, 6-0 in the Championship Match to earn her first Regional Championship. In doubles, Angel Le and Arianna Castellanos of Whitman won their second consecutive Regional Doubles Championship, winning 6-4, 6-3 in the Championship Match.
NAIA
In the NAIA Florida Regional Championship, Keiser swept all Championships winning the Men’s Singles and Doubles Championships as well as the Women’s Singles and Doubles Championships. Yassir Kilani won the Men’s Singles Title, while Martin Carrizo and Soufiane El Mesbahi took home the Doubles Title. Over the entire men’s competition, Keiser did not drop a single match to a non-Keiser player in either the singles or doubles draws. On the women’s side, Violet Apisah took home the Women’s Singles Title before teaming up with Yvette Schmucker to win the Women’s Doubles Title as well. Keiser’s women’s team finished 19-1 against non-Keiser competition over the Regional Championship.
From the Women’s Central-East Regional, Holy Cross College swept the Championships from Olivet Nazarene University. In singles play, freshman Vitoria Savvidou advanced to the ITA Cup after dominating play in her first collegiate competition. Doubles play saw Kia Carvalho-Landell and Helga Lopez pair up to secure the sweep for Holy Cross College as they all now advance to Rome, Georgia.
JUCO
At Cowley College, the hosts took home three of four championships at the 2022 JUCO Central Regional Championships. In Men’s Singles, Takeshi Taco came out on top, while the 2022 ITA Rookie of the Year Boruch Skierkier and Bruno Nhavene teamed up to sweep the Men’s Titles for Cowley. On the women’s side, Carol Mora Camacho of Seward County won the Women’s Singles Championship, while Isid Hernandez and Mariia Koroleva took home the Doubles Title to cap off the impressive weekend for Cowley.
In the JUCO Southeast Regional, hosts Abraham Baldwin took home three of four Championships winning the Women’s Singles and Doubles Championships as well as the Men’s Singles Championship. It was Nicole Dufour who won the Women’s Singles Title as well as the Women’s Doubles Title with partner Jou Chen Chen, while Safar Rasulov won the Men’s Singles Championship. In Men’s Doubles, the Eastern Florida State College pairing of Lucas Gonzalez and Jack Dixon advanced to the ITA Cup after an impressive showing at the Regional Championship.
A complete list of Week One ITA Regional Small College Championship flight winners can be found below:
Division II
Queens College (East) (M/W):
- Men’s Singles, Flight A: Jonathan Berling (Southern New Hampshire)
- Women’s Singles, Flight A: Sanne Selmer Gilje (Adelphi)
- Men’s Doubles, Flight A: Jonathan Berling/Fernando Torres (Southern New Hampshire)
- Women’s Doubles, Flight A: Alexxa Etienne/Magdalena Hubickova (Southern New Hampshire)
Palmetto Tennis Center (Southeast) (M/W):
- Men’s Singles, Flight A: Santiago Perez (Columbus State)
- Women’s Singles, Flight A: Luisa Hrda (Flagler)
- Men’s Doubles, Flight A: Santiago Perez/Javier Cueto Ramos (Columbus State)
- Women’s Doubles, Flight A: Luisa Hrda/Eryka Kruk (Flagler)
Auburn University at Montgomery (South) (M/W):
- Men’s Singles, Flight A: Luca Mack (Valdosta State)
- Women’s Singles, Flight A: Deniz Khazan (Barry)
- Men’s Doubles, Flight A: Lucas Hammond/Marcel Hornung (West Alabama)
- Women’s Doubles, Flight A: Natalie Espinal/Fatima Bizhukova (Nova Southeastern)
University of Central Oklahoma (Central) (M/W):
- Men’s Singles, Flight A: Teodor Zlatar (Harding)
- Women’s Singles, Flight A: Sofia Smagina (Washburn)
- Men’s Doubles, Flight A: Mason Meier/Jan Skerbatis (Northwest Missouri State)
- Women’s Doubles, Flight A: Nikki Boyar/Blythe Buntrock (Central Oklahoma)
Grand Valley State University (Midwest) (W):
- Women’s Singles, Flight A: Nastasia Jedrychowski (Drury)
- Women’s Doubles, Flight A: Anna Novikova/Sofiia Sharonova (UIndy)
Dallas Baptist (South Central) (W):
- Women’s Singles, Flight A: Ashley Penshorn (St. Mary’s TX)
- Women’s Doubles, Flight A: Ashley Penshorn/Kyndall Quiroz (St. Mary’s TX)
Division III
Williams College (New England) (W):
- Women’s Singles, Flight A: Olivia Soffer (Babson)
- Women’s Doubles, Flight A: Cara Hung/Jamilah Karah (Bowdoin)
Washington University in St. Louis (Central) (M):
- Men’s Singles, Flight A: Abhi Ramireddy (WashU)
- Men’s Doubles, Flight A: Abhi Ramireddy/Phuc Huynh (WashU)
Hamilton College (Northeast) (W):
- Women’s Singles, Flight A: Ida Krause (New York University)
- Women’s Doubles, Flight A: Dakota Fordham/Ida Krause (New York University)
University of Mary Washington (Southeast) (W):
- Women’s Singles, Flight A: Crystal Zhou (Carnegie Mellon)
- Women’s Doubles, Flight A: Danna Taylor/Crystal Zhou (Carnegie Mellon)
Emory University (South) (W):
- Women’s Singles, Flight A: Stephanie Shulman (Emory)
- Women’s Doubles, Flight A: Brooke Despriet/Katherine Petty (Sewanee)
Gustavus Adolphus College (Midwest) (W):
- Women’s Singles, Flight A: Sabrina Tang (Grinnell)
- Women’s Doubles, Flight A: Amelia Asfaw/Mariam Nechiporuk (Carleton)
Trinity University TX (Southwest) (W):
- Women’s Singles, Flight A: Suzuka Nishino (UT Dallas)
- Women’s Doubles, Flight A: Cate Cushing/Trinity Levy (Trinity)
Whitman College (Northwest) (W):
- Women’s Singles, Flight A: Cassidy Binder (Pacific)
- Women’s Doubles, Flight A: Angel Le/Arianna Castellanos (Whitman)
NAIA
Keiser University (Florida) (M/W):
- Men’s Singles, Flight A: Yassir Kilani (Keiser)
- Women’s Singles, Flight A: Violet Apisah (Keiser)
- Men’s Doubles, Flight A: Martin Carrizo/Soufiane El Mesbahi (Keiser)
- Women’s Doubles, Flight A: Yvette Schmucker/Violet Apisah (Keiser)
Olivet Nazarene University (Central-East) (W):
- Women’s Singles, Flight A: Vitoria Savvidou (Holy Cross College)
- Women’s Doubles, Flight A: Kia Carvalho-Landell/Helga Lopez (Holy Cross College)
JUCO
Cowley College (Central) (M/W):
- Men’s Singles, Flight A: Takeshi Taco (Cowley)
- Women’s Singles, Flight A: Carol Mora Camacho (Seward)
- Men’s Doubles, Flight A: Boruch Skierkier/Bruno Nhavene (Cowley)
- Women’s Doubles, Flight A: Isid Hernandez/Mariia Koroleva (Cowley)
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (Southeast):
- Men’s Singles, Flight A: Safar Rasulov (Abraham Baldwin)
- Women’s Singles, Flight A: Nicole Dufour (Abraham Baldwin)
- Men’s Doubles, Flight A: Lucas Gonzalez/Jack Dixon (Eastern Florida)
- Women’s Doubles, Flight A: Nicole Dufour/Jou Chen Chen (Abraham Baldwin)
