This past weekend, the 2022 ITA Regional Small College Championships kicked off at four host sites from across the country. Serving student-athletes from the Division II, Division III, NAIA, and Junior College levels, the ITA Regional Small College Championships serve as a direct qualifier for the upcoming ITA Cup. In week one, tournaments were held at the Division II, NAIA, and Junior College levels, with both men’s and women’s players competing at three of the four host sites.
Division II Men
In the Atlantic Regional hosted by Bloomsburg University, it was the University of Charleston that dominated play on both the singles and doubles sides of play. It was Jorge Perez coming out victorious in the Men’s Singles Draw, taking down Viktor Yanev of Davis & Elkins College 3-6, 6-4, 10-3 in the championship match. Coming in as the tournament’s No. 3 seed, Perez took down three seeded opponents on his way to the Championship and secured his spot in the upcoming ITA Cup. In doubles, it was the Charleston duo of Jowan Rawson and Lennert Stevens who took home the Title. Rawson and Lennert took down the tournament’s top seeds in the championship match, prevailing 6-3, 6-1 over the duo from Edinboro University.
From the Men’s Midwest Regional at the University of Indianapolis, the Maryville University sophomore Mario Aleksic was crowned the Men’s Singles Champion after a dominant showing throughout the singles draw. Coming in as the tournament’s No. 9 seed, Aleksic picked up a huge win over the No. 1 seed Dom Spicer in the Semifinals before winning in straight sets in the Championship Match. Within the doubles draw, it was Edgar Destouet and Tom Niklas Zeuch from UIndy who came out victorious. The duo took down the top-seeded pair in straight sets in the finals to earn their spot into the ITA Cup.
Division II Women
At the Division II Women’s Atlantic Regional, Prinkle Singh from the University of Charleston won the women’s singles championship after dominating play all throughout the event. The senior for the Golden Eagles took down the No. 3 seed Kayla Dean in the Final to take home the Regional Championship. To secure the Charleston sweep at the Atlantic Regional, the duo Alyssa Cameron and Sofiia Krasikova won the Women’s Doubles draw to make the Golden Eagles four for four in championship matches over the Men’s and Women’s Regional Championship.
NAIA Men
In the NAIA Men’s South Regional Championship, it was the hosts Georgia Gwinnett College sweeping all of the titles, winning both the Singles and Doubles Championships on both the Men’s and Women’s sides of play. It was Junior Alex Gurmendi, winning the Grizzlies first title, winning an exciting three-set match over Tennessee Wesleyan University’s Gabriel Ortiz. In doubles, the freshman pairing of Dhakshineswar Suresh and Paras Dahiya from Georgia Gwinnett College secured a straight-set victory over the No. 2 seed in the Championship Match in what was their collegiate debut.
NAIA Women
Within the NAIA Women’s South Regional Championship, it was two-time NAIA All-American Iryna Lysykh taking home some more hardware, as the junior from Georgia Gwinnett College won 6-4, 6-4 over the No. 2 seeded player to win the Regional Championship. Not showing any signs of slowing down, Lysykh teamed up with teammate Stephanie Fernandez in doubles and took home her second title after the duo beat two of their fellow teammates in the championship match.
JUCO Men
At the JUCO Southern Regional Championship, Paul Gayk from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College took home the top title in Men’s Singles. The Sophomore for the Bulldogs took down the tournament’s top seed in the finals, winning 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 to punch his ticket to Rome, Georgia. In doubles, Gayk teamed up with teammate Owen Stice to win the second Flight A Title for the Bulldogs at the 2022 Southern Regional Championship. Coming in as the top seed, Gayk and Stice took down the No. 2 seeded Hernandez and Hiss in straight sets to win the Championship.
JUCO Women
It was hosts Meridian College taking home the Women’s Singles Title at the JUCO Southern Regional Championship, as Ann Julissa De Mata cruised through the Flight A Draw en route to the Title. The now sophomore for the Eagles came in as the tournament’s top seed and only dropped seven games over three matches at the Regional Championship. Doubles play saw Guadalupe Tocci and Daniela Tovar of Jones College come out with the victory. The tandem was the top-seeded duo and fought their way back in the Championship Match to earn their spot into the ITA Cup.
A complete list of Week One ITA Regional Small College Championship flight winners can be found below:
Division II
Bloomsburg University (M/W):
- Men’s Singles, Flight A: Jorge Perez (Charleston)
- Women’s Singles, Flight A: Prinkle Singh (Charleston)
- Men’s Doubles, Flight A: Jowan Rawson/Lennert Stevens (Charleston)
- Women’s Doubles, Flight A: Alyssa Cameron/Sofiia Krasikova (Charleston)
University of Indianapolis (M):
- Men’s Singles, Flight A: Mario Aleksic (Maryville)
- Men’s Singles, Flight B: Alexander Stage (Wayne State)
- Men’s Singles, Flight C: Ivan Esguerra (Illinois-Springfield)
- Men’s Doubles, Flight A: Edgar Destouet/Tom Niklas Zeuch (UIndy)
- Men’s Doubles, Flight B: Pedro Romano Franca/Jason Noah Gerweck (UIndy)
- Men’s Doubles, Flight C: Ryan Fung/Jordi Leston (McKendree)
NAIA
Georgia Gwinnett (M/W):
- Men’s Singles, Flight A: Alex Gurmendi (Georgia Gwinnett)
- Women’s Singles, Flight A: Iryna Lysykh (Georgia Gwinnett)
- Men’s Doubles, Flight A: Paras Dahiya/Dhakshineswar Suresh (Georgia Gwinnett)
- Women’s Doubles, Flight A: Stephanie Fernandez/Iryna Lysykh (Georgia Gwinnett)
JUCO
Meridian Community College (M/W):
- Men’s Singles, Flight A: Paul Gayk (Mississippi Gulf Coast)
- Men’s Singles, Flight B: Jackson Peoples (Jones College)
- Men’s Singles, Flight C: Hiram Havard (Mississippi Gulf Coast)
- Women’s Singles, Flight A: Ann Julissa De Mata (Meridian)
- Women’s Singles, Flight B: Bayley Askin (Mississippi Gulf Coast)
- Women’s Singles, Flight C: Annalyn Housley (Jones)
- Men’s Doubles, Flight A: Paul Gayk/Owen Stice (Mississippi Gulf Coast)
- Men’s Doubles, Flight B: Anderson Dulaney/Orren Lander (Mississippi Gulf Coast)
- Men’s Doubles, Flight C: Chace Bolan/Tucker Smith (Mississippi Gulf Coast)
- Women’s Doubles, Flight A: Guadalupe Tocci/Daniela Tovar (Jones)
- Women’s Doubles, Flight B: Kendall Burn/Hayden Hensarling (Mississippi Gulf Coast)
- Women’s Doubles, Flight C: Niyah Strickland/Ashlegh Wine (Mississippi Gulf Coast)
