Tournament Page | Draws & Results | Live Stream Recordings | Photo Library
SAN DIEGO, CA – It will be a star-studded final at the Barnes Tennis Center tomorrow as the singles and doubles finalists have now been determined for the 2023 ITA National Fall Championships.
After three days of play, today’s semifinal action featured numerous top-seeded players and teams, as at least two seeded players remained across all draws. These players and teams have all outlasted three rounds of highly competitive play throughout the week to advance to today’s semifinals where we saw several heavy-hitting matches.
Beginning in singles, Ayana Akli (South Carolina) became the first player in South Carolina women’s tennis history to reach the ITA National Fall Championship Finals. Taking on Emma Charney (USC) on the day, Akli took care of business in straight sets, defeating Charney 6-3, 6-4 to advance to tomorrow’s championship match.
Joining Akli in the women’s singles final will be Reese Brantmeier (North Carolina) who will look to be the fourth Tar Heel in the past five National Fall Championships to lift the title. For Brantmeier, she made quick work of Ange Oby Kajuru (Oklahoma State), winning 6-2, 6-1 as the sophomore has yet to lose a set here in San Diego.
For the men, Micah Braswell (Texas) had his birthday wishes come true as he fought past JJ Tracy (Ohio State) 7-6, 6-2 to earn his spot in the finals. The Texas senior makes it two straight years in which a Longhorn has been in the finals and will look to join Yuya Ito (2019) as the only Texas men’s singles champion at this event.
Also reaching the men’s singles finals was Jack Pinnington Jones (TCU). The sophomore had a grueling three-set match against Jack Anthrop (Ohio State), winning 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 to advance to the finals. With a win tomorrow, Pinnington Jones can become the first Horned Frog to lift the National Fall Championship trophy since David Pate did so in 1982.
Meanwhile, in doubles, the women’s final will pin the top-seeded duo of Brantmeier and Scotty (North Carolina) against Kajuru and Komar (Oklahoma State). For Brantmeier and Scotty, they defeated the All-American Champions Guzman and Shcherbinina 7-6, 6-3 to make it three straight years with North Carolina in the finals. Finishing just before them, Kajuru and Komar took down last year’s champions, Broadus and Tjen, and will be the first team in program history to reach the finals.
The men’s doubles final will feature third-seeded Baris and Sheldon (Michigan State) as well as Van Schalkwyk and Van Schalkwyk (Old Dominion). On the day, Baris and Sheldon took down Bouchelaghem and Zharyn (Washington) 7-6, 6-3 as the Spartans first appearance at the Fall Championships continues to be a good one. Similarly, for Van Schalkwyk and Van Schalkwyk, they had a straight-set win over Gorzny and Vives (TCU), winning 7-6, 6-4 to clinch their spot in the finals.
The finals will take place tomorrow at the Barnes Tennis Center. Action will begin at 11 a.m. (PDT) with singles taking to the court first with doubles to follow. All of the action can be watched on the Cracked Racquets YouTube Channel and all of the stats will be on iOnCourt.
