The first national championship of the fall college tennis season is nearly here as the ITA Men’s All-American Championships and ITA Women’s All-American Championships are set to begin this Saturday in Tulsa and Cary.
Here is everything you need to know before play from the All-American Championships begin later this week:
What Are The ITA All-American Championships:
The University of Tulsa is hosting the ITA Men’s All-American Championship for the 18th straight season, with all main draw matches taking place on the courts of the Michael D. Case Tennis Center and LaFortune Tennis Park. The 2023 event marks the second year that the women will hold their championship in Cary, North Carolina. For the first 34 years of the ITA Women’s All-American Championships, the Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, California, hosted the nation’s top Division I women’s players to compete in the Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships.
In addition to vying for All-American National Titles, competing players are looking to secure berths into the 2023 ITA National Fall Championships, which will take place from November 1-5, at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, California.
When Are The ITA All-All American Championships:
The pre-qualifying draw will begin on Saturday, September 30th and will run through Sunday, October 1st. The qualifying draw will begin on Monday, October 2nd and will run through Tuesday, October 3rd. The main draw will begin on Wednesday, October 4th and will run through Sunday, October 8th.
How To Watch The Action:
Cracked Racquets is set to provide a simulcast of both championships once main draw play begins on October 4th. Fans can watch the streams by searching Cracked Racquets on YouTube or subscribing to the Cracked Racquets page to stay up to date with all of the college tennis coverage they are set to provide this season.
For the pre-qualifying and qualifying draws, fans can catch the action in Tulsa (Men’s) via the Track Tennis cameras at the Case Tennis Center and in Cary (Women’s) via the PlaySight cameras at Cary Tennis Park.
Planning On Attending In Person:
Play from the 2023 ITA All-American Championships will take place at the Cary Tennis Park for the women and the Michael D. Case Tennis Center/LaFortune Tennis Park for the men. Fans are encouraged to attend and admission will be free of charge. Addresses for each location can be found below:
Cary Tennis Park
2727 Louis Stephens Dr.
Cary, NC 27519
Michael D. Case Tennis Center
712 South Delaware Ave.
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104
LaFortune Tennis Park
5302 S Hudson Ave.
Tulsa, OK 74135
Who Are Previous Winners:
In 2022 Ethan Quinn (Georgia, Men’s) and Fiona Crawley (North Carolina, Women’s) took home the singles titles, while in doubles, Toby Samuel and Connor Thomson (South Carolina, Men’s) as well as Nell Miller and Amelia Rajecki (NC State, Women’s) were crowned All-American Champions.
These players joined the prestigious list of previous champions which includes the likes of James Blake (Harvard, 1998), John Isner (Georgia, 2005), Jamie Loeb (North Carolina, 2013), Robin Anderon (UCLA, 2014), Danielle Collins (Virginia, 2015), Fernanda Contreras (Vanderbilt, 2017), JJ Wolf (Ohio State, 2018), and Ben Shelton (Florida, 2021).
For a complete list of previous singles and doubles champions, take a look at the ITA All-American Championship Record Book.
What Does It Mean To Win The ITA All-American Championships:
Outside of the prestige it means to be crowned the All-American Champions, winners of this tournament have historically gone on to have great seasons, climbing up the ITA Tennis-Point Collegiate Tennis National Rankings and being crowned National Players of the Year and NCAA Singles Champions in the spring.
In 2022, Fiona Crawley would go on to be ranked as the No. 1 ranked singles player throughout the year and was named the ITA National Player of the Year. Similarly, Ethan Quinn enjoyed a great freshman season after the All-American Championships, winning the 2023 NCAA Singles Championship en route to earning a US Open main draw wildcard.
