SoCal Teams Gear Up for NCAA Division 1 Tournament, Players Prepare for Individual Championships - USTA Southern California

SOCAL TEAMS GEAR UP FOR NCAA DIVISION 1 TOURNAMENT,
PLAYERS PREPARE FOR INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

COLLEGE TENNIS  |  USTA SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

MAY 3, 2024  |  BRENDEN FISHER

Pepperdine

SOCAL TEAMS GEAR UP FOR NCAA DIVISION 1 TOURNAMENT, PLAYERS PREPARE FOR INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

USTA SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

MAY 3, 2024
BRENDEN FISHER

UC-Irvine
Pepperdine
UC-Irvine

Top: Pepperdine Women’s Tennis qualified for the NCAA tournament as WCC champions for the 10th consecutive year.

Bottom: UC-Irvine Men’s Tennis qualified for the tournament by winning the Big West Championship in San Diego.

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With the conclusion of Conference Championships over the final week of April, teams all across the country recently found out if they punched their ticket into the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Team Championships. In addition, players were also informed if they qualified for the Men’s and Women’s NCAA Division I Singles and Doubles Championships.

Kicking off the action on Friday, May 3rd, the Men’s and Women’s Team Championships begin at the sites of the top-16 seeded schools. Playing in single-elimination format, the 16 universities that are crowned the winner of each site will advance to super-regional play over May 10th and 11th. The super-regional winners will then advance to the Greenwood Tennis Center in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where the eight remaining teams will compete for the National Championship between May 16-19. Following the finale of the Team Championships, the Singles and Doubles Championships will be conducted from May 20th to 25th, also in Stillwater. 

MEN’S TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

In the Men’s bracket, four of the 64 total teams selected were from Southern California universities. Earning automatic entries into the tournament as winners of their respective conference championships were UC Irvine and USD, while Pepperdine and UCLA received at-large bids.

Pepperdine University – Although losing to eventual champion University of San Diego in the West Coast Conference Championship, Pepperdine (14-11) secured a bid into the NCAA Team Championships. Winners of their last three first-round matches in the NCAA tournament, the Waves are eager to secure their first super-regional appearance over this period. Led by WCC freshman of the year Edward Winter, Pepperdine will travel to Tucson, Arizona and take on Auburn University (17-11) in their first-round matchup. The standout first-year has manned the No.1 spot in singles all season long for Pepperdine. Integral pieces to the Waves’ success have been George Davis, Pietro Fellin and Linus Halldin, who alongside Winter, have been exceptional in doubles play. The eventual winner of this match will face either the University of Arizona (24-3) or Boise State (20-10).

University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine) – Winners of the Big West Championships a week ago, UC Irvine (17-6) is set to take on No. 4 seeded TCU (22-4) in Fort Worth, Texas. Irvine’s 13th Division I Championship appearance comes on the heels of their fifth conference tournament title, and their second in the last three years. The Anteaters have shined all year within singles play, compiling a dual win percentage of .735, with a .760 clip coming in conference play. The team has seen contributions all throughout the lineup, as six players have double-digit wins on the year. Noah Zamora (San Diego) leads the squad with 15 wins, while SoCal talent Andy Nguyen (Long Beach), Lawee Sherif (Huntington Beach) and Rithvik Krishna (Irvine) have 12, 10 and 10 respectively. Rounding out the group are Enrique Luque Rico and Hiroki Sakagawa with 11 wins a piece. The winner of this match will be awaited by either the University of Arkansas (21-11) or Cornell University (18-6) the next day.

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) – While falling short in the Pac-12 Championships, the Bruins (14-7) dominant play throughout the season earned them a ticket into the NCAA tournament. Heading to Texas, UCLA will match up against LSU (16-13) in a regional hosted by the No. 2 seed University of Texas. History remains on the Bruins side in their first-round matchup, as they have won all six of their previous matches against LSU, with two of which occurring in postseason play. Leading the charge for the squad is SoCal native Govind Nanda (Redlands) and teammate Spencer Johnson, who have been more than impressive at the top lineup of singles and doubles play throughout the season. The winner of this match will take on the victor of the Texas (22-3) and Sacramento State (17-6) match the following day.

University of San Diego (USD) – Securing the WCC Tournament Championship with a win over fellow tournament team Pepperdine, the University of San Diego (22-3) clinched an automatic bid into the big dance. In the College Station regional hosted by 15th seeded Texas A&M, USD will battle it out against Baylor (18-11) in the first-round. In a record-setting year for the program, the Torreros captured both the WCC regular season and tournament titles as Oliver Tarvet was named the conference player of the year. Going international, USD’s recruiting has paid dividends, with eight of the team’s ten players hailing from overseas. Alongside Tarvet, multiple players have played vital roles in the squad’s successIn singles play, Stian Klaassen went an astonishing 17-0, leading the way for the Toreros who have five players with double-digit wins. USD’s .766 win percentage in singles accompanied by its .746 in doubles has paid dividends for the team that only lost three matches all season. If able to take down the Bears, USD will match up against either Texas A&M (17-8) or Rice University (18-10) a day later. 

WOMEN’S TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

On the Women’s side, six Southern California universities help make up the field of the NCAA tournament. Three conference champions in the form of Cal Poly SLO, Pepperdine, and San Diego State earned automatic entry into the tournament, with UCLA, USC, and USD claiming at-large bids.

California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly SLO) – Big West Champions for the first time since 2003, Cal Poly SLO (13-8-1) punched its ticket into the NCAA tournament this past weekend. Marking the school’s third tournament appearance in its history, the Mustangs will travel south to Los Angeles for an all-SoCal battle as they face No. 11 seeded USC (18-8). The Mustangs have been strong at both singles and doubles all season, with four players in each with double digit wins. Romane Mosse leads the squad with 17 singles victories, followed by Alexandra Ozerets (Mission Viejo), Peyton Dunkle (Arroyo Grande), and Kennedy Buntrock each with 14, 12, and 12. Picking up 13 wins this season in doubles play have been the team of Peyton and her sister, Delanie Dunkle (Mission Viejo), while the duo Mosse and Melissa LaMette have allotted 10. LaMette proved to be the difference maker this past weekend, clinching three consecutive matches for Cal Poly SLO en route to its conference title. The victor between the Mustangs and Trojans will face USD (16-7) or Grand Canyon University (22-2). 

Pepperdine University (No. 6) – The highest seeded Southern California school in both the Men’s and Women’s tournament, Pepperdine (17-6) is ready to do damage in the NCAA tournament. West Coast Conference (WCC) Tournament Champions for the tenth consecutive year, the SoCal powerhouse enters postseason play as winners of their last six matches. In the program’s remarkable now 36 consecutive tournament appearances among 40 total, the Waves are hungrier than ever for their first National Championship title. Finishing as runners up in 2021, Pepperdine’s path to glory this year begins as they host Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (18-3) on Friday. In singles play, every member of the team’s roster holds a positive win percentage, with Janice Tjen, Lisa Zaar, Savannah Broadus, Jasmine Conway and Nikki Redelijk all in double-figures. The duo of Broadus and Tjen anchor the ship for the women in doubles, boasting a phenomenal record of 17-2 at the No. 1 position. The winner of this first-round match will duke it out against Arizona State University (14-9) or Northwestern University (19-7) the following day. 

San Diego State University (SDSU) – Defeating UNLV this past weekend,  San Diego State (17-6) was crowned the Mountain West Champions, earning their bid into the NCAA Tournament. With another SoCal-filled bout on the horizon, the Aztecs will travel north to Westwood, taking on No. 8 seed UCLA (18-5). San Diego State is led by its top two singles players, Yasmine Kabbaj and Andjela Skrobonja, both of whom were named as all-conference selections. The conference player of the year, Kabbaj boasts a dominant record in singles play of 12-2, all of which have come from the No. 1 position. With 15 wins at the No. 2 position, Skrobonja leads a roster that does not have a player with a losing record in singles. In doubles, the duo of Kabbaj and Myah Petchey carry an 8-5 record into play at the No. 1 position, while Skrobonja and Andreea Velcea hold an undefeated record of 11-0 from the No. 2 spot. Entering the match, the Aztecs are looking for just their second win in the tournament since they moved to the Mountain West in 1999. The winner of Friday’s match will advance to face either Texas Tech University (19-8) or the University of Denver (17-6).

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA, No. 8) – A top team in the nation, No. 8 seed UCLA enters play beside Stanford as one of two schools to reach the NCAA Championships each year since 1982, the year in which the tournament’s format was implemented. Tournament finalists in 2012 and 2015 with championship titles to boot in 2014 and 2008, the Bruins are known for their dominance on court over the last two decades. Hosting the regional, UCLA will take on SDSU at home in the team’s first round of play. The 2023 NCAA Women’s Singles Champion Tian Fangran, who has played the majority of matches for the squad out of the No. 1 position, leads the Bruins. Her 16 wins in singles play are joined by Bianca Fernandez, Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer (Irvine) and Elise Wagle, who have contributed 12, 11 and 10 wins of their own. Five Bruins have secured double-digit wins in doubles play, with a majority of the wins coming from the highest positions in the lineup. Playing beside Wagle in doubles, Fangran has accumulated a record of 8-3 from the No. 1 spot, while the SoCal pairing of Lutkemeyer and Kimmi Hance (Torrance) have put together an impressive 11-1 record at the No. 2 position. Ahmani Guichard has contributed 14 wins of her own in doubles, anchoring down the third doubles spot beside multiple partners.

University of Southern California (USC, No. 11) – Staying home, the No. 11 seed USC hosts Cal Poly SLO on Friday to kick off its quest for its seventh National Championship. The Trojans are led by Emma Charney, who highlights a singles lineup that possesses four players within the top-100 in the ITA singles rankings. Charney’s 14 wins in dual play is joined by fellow ranked players Grace Piper and Eryn Cayetano (Long Beach) who have 15 and 16 of their own. Doubles play is highlighted by two top-100 pairings in the form of Cayetano and Charney along with Piper and Parker Fry (Rolling Hills). Piper and Fry’s record of 13-8 in play ranks highest on the squad. The Trojans are seeking first-round wins in back to back years, as they swept UNLV just a year ago in their opening match.

University of San Diego (USD) – In a year that saw the team reach as high as No. 12 in the rankings, the Toreros have earned a berth into the NCAA Championships, heading to Los Angeles. Taking on Grand Canyon University for the first time in the program’s history, USD looks to earn a victory in the first-round of the tournament for the second straight year. USD presents an extremely balanced, yet dominant lineup, as every player on its roster has a record of .500 or better both in singles and doubles play. Elizabeth Goldsmith (13, Chula Vista), Kailey Evans (11), Filippa Bruu-Syversen (11), Claudia De Las Heras (11) and Abigail Desiatnikov (10) represent the five members of the team who have double-digit wins in singles play. As for doubles, Evans, De Las Heras and Mia Mack all hold 10 wins, while SoCal talent Jordyn McBrdie (Thousand Oaks) and Kristina Nordikyan (Panorama City) each have nine.

MEN’S SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIPS

In the Men’s Singles Championships, five players with Southern California ties help make up the 64 man field. Earning automatic entries into the tournament as the top player from their conference were Trevor Svajda (AAC), Pablo Masjuan (Big West), and Oliver Tarvet (WCC), while Edward Winter and Govind Nanda earned at-large bids.

Edward Winter (Pepperdine) – The WCC freshman of the year, Winter is one of just two players from the conference to earn a bid into the Singles Championships. Occupying the No. 1 position for the Waves all season, Winter has a dual record of 10-10, while competing in 16 overall matches against ranked opponents. Throughout the year, Winter has maintained his position as a top-50 player in the ITA singles rankings.

Govind Nanda (Redlands, UCLA) – Capping off his Redshirt Senior season at UCLA, Nanda is making his second career appearance in the NCAA Singles Championships. Manning the No. 1 position all season long for the Bruins, Nanda produced a record of 9-8 in dual matches.

Oliver Tarvet (USD) – The WCC player of the year, Tarvet has built quite the resume for himself over his two years in San Diego, now adding a trip to the Singles Championships. This season, Tarvet went 13-3 in dual play from the No. 1 position while maintaining an undefeated record of 3-0 in conference play. Holding the No. 7 seed of the tournament, Tarvet looks to build on his already accomplished career in Southern California.

Pablo Masjuan (UC Santa Barbara) – An All-Big West first team selection in his previous two seasons, Masjuan has now been awarded a berth to the Singles Championships following his impressive 2024 campaign. With a record of 13-6 in dual play from the No. 1 position, Masjuan has led the way for the Gauchos all year long.

Trevor Svajda (San Diego, SMU) – The No. 1 recruit in the nation just a year ago, Svajda has not disappointed in his freshman season at Southern Methodist. With a record of 16-6 in dual play and an undefeated record of 2-0 in conference play from the No. 1 position, Svajda looks to keep making his presence felt come late May.

WOMEN’S SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIPS

Southern California women are of no shortage in the Singles Championships, as eleven players with connection to the area help make up the 64 woman bracket. Amelia Honer (Big West), Andjela Skrobonja (Mountain West) and Savannah Broadus (WCC) earned three of the twelve automatic qualifications as the best players in their conferences, while Casie Wooten, Emma Charney, Grace Piper, Janice Tjen, Kimmi Hance, Lisa Zaar, Rachel Gailis, and Tian Fangran round out the group that earned at-large bids.

Amelia Honer (UC Santa Barbara) – Earning Big West Player of the Year honors among many other awards just a year ago, Honer was a force to be reckoned with in 2024. This season, Honer owns a 20-2 record in dual play at the No. 1 position, with a 9-0 record in conference play. Honer now takes her remarkable ten consecutive singles victories into the NCAA Singles Championships, where she is the sole player to emerge from the Big West.

Andjela Skrobonja (SDSU) – In her second season with the Aztecs since transferring from FIU, Skrobonja has followed up a year in which she earned all-conference singles honors with a notable 2024 season. This year, the senior sported a record of 13-2 in dual matches from the No. 2 position and a record of 2-0 from the No. 1 position.

Casie Wooten (Torrance, Wake Forest) – Just a year after stepping into the No. 1 position for the Demon Deacons, Wooten has looked more than comfortable playing against the best competition in the nation. Atop her teams leaderboard in wins, Wooten holds a record of 15-7 in dual play, with a 5-5 record in conference.

Emma Charney (USC) – One of two Trojans selected to the Singles Championships, Emma Charney has been the top singles player on one of the premier teams in the nation. The sophomore, Charney compiled a 14-6 record in dual play between the No. 1 and 2 positions. Reaching as high as No. 20 in the ITA rankings, Charney looks to make a deep run in her first appearance in the tournament.

Grace Piper (USC) – Joining Charney as USC’s second representative, Grace Piper enters her first NCAA Singles Championships. In her junior season with the Trojans, Piper reached as high as No. 43 in the singles rankings, assisted by a 15-4 record in dual play.

Janice Tjen (Pepperdine) – The leader in singles victories for the No. 6 seed in the nation, Janice Tjen returns to the NCAA Singles Championships. Coming off a season in which she was the WCC player of the year as well as an ITA All-American in singles play, Tjen has put together an extremely strong senior season. With a record of 17-2 in dual play from the No. 1 position, and a 6-0 record in WCC play, Tjen looks to keep proving herself as one of the top singles players in the country.

Kimmi Hance (Torrance, UCLA) – The second Bruin to qualify for the Singles Championships, Hance enters the tournament for the first time in her collegiate career. With a dual play record of 9-5 while going 5-1 in conference, Hance was a main reason that UCLA remained as a top-10 team in the nation throughout the season.

Lisa Zaar (Pepperdine) – Earning all conference singles honors the last two seasons, Zaar showed out over her year as a graduate student for the Waves. In 2024, Zaar went 14-4 in dual play with a conference record of 4-0, helping the Waves en route to their conference title.

Rachel Gailis (Studio City, Florida) – Following a stellar freshman year, Gailis has proved herself as one of the best singles players in the nation atop the Gators lineup. Awarded the No. 7 overall seed of the tournament, Gailis carries a record of 15-5 in dual play with a 9-2 record in conference play. Gailis has not shied away from competition, amassing seven victories against nationally ranked talent.

Savannah Broadus (Pepperdine) – Recognized as the top singles player from the conference, Broadus earned herself an automatic bid into the tournament. Possessing a more than impressive collegiate resume with many of her accolades coming from doubles, Broadus hopes to keep bolstering her singles resume with another appearance in the NCAA Championships. Over the season, Broadus was dominant, tallying records of 15-4 in dual play to go with her undefeated record of 5-0 in conference.

Tian Fangran (UCLA) – The 2023 NCAA Singles Champion, the pressure is on for all opposition as Tian Fangran looks to retain her crown. Fangran followed up her phenomenal freshman season by putting together a stellar sophomore campaign, helping lead the Bruins throughout the year. Over the course of the season, she accumulated a record of 16-4 in dual matches, all of which were played at the No. 1 position.

MEN’S DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIPS

Of the 32 teams to battle it out in the Doubles Championships, four of which contain talent with connection to Southern California. All four teams earned automatic entry into the tournament as the pairings of GIanluca Brunkow and Pablo Masjuan (Big West), Jacob Bullard and Murphy Cassone (PAC-12), Pedro Marcos & Sebastian Gorzny (Big 12) and the duo of Sacchitt Sharrma and Stian Klaassen (WCC) were the top ranked team from their conference.

Gianluca Brunkow (Topanga Canyon, UC Santa Barbara) & Pablo Masjuan (UC Santa Barbara) – Playing out of the No.1 position together all season, the pair of Brunkow and Masjuan finished the year with a 9-3 record in dual play, going 1-1 in conference action. The first Doubles Championship appearance for the two, Brunkow and Masjuan hope to keep their winning ways alive, victors in six of their last eight matches.

Jacob Bullard (Calabasas, ASU) & Murphy Cassone (ASU) – Winners of their last seven matches alongside one another, Bullard and Cassone are eager to make a deep push in the Doubles Championships. Playing primarily in the No. 1 and 2 spots all season, the Arizona State University Sun Devil pairing honed a record of 11-1 in dual play, going 4-0 in conference matches.

Pedro Marcos (TCU) & Sebastian Gorzny (Fountain Valley, TCU) – A mainstay at the top of the Horned Frogs doubles lineup, the duo of Marcos and Gorzny have been dominant all season. Following their run to the semifinals at the ITA National Fall Championships, the duo produced a record of 8-2 in dual play in the spring season. This marks the first qualification for either player into the Doubles Championships.

Sacchitt Sharrma & Stian Klaassen (USD) – The first Toreros to represent the school in the Doubles Championships since 2022, Sharrma and Klaassen hope to right the ship on what has been an up and down season together. Although owning a 1-4 record as a team in dual play, they secured an impressive ranked win over the No. 24 ranked doubles team at the time from South Florida. The No. 60 ranked pairing hope to secure the first victories of their collegiate careers in this event come later this month.

WOMEN’S DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIPS

Securing four of the 32 spots in the Women’s Doubles Championships, teams from four different Southern California Universities punched their tickets into the brackets this past week. Earning automatic qualifications were Amelia Honer & Kira Reuter (Big West), Elise Wagle & Fangran Tian  (Pac-12), as well as Savannah Broadus & Janice Tjen (WCC). Closing out the group with an at-large bid is the team of Emma Charney & Eryn Cayetano. In addition, SoCal native Taylor Johnson secured an automatic bid alongside her partner Lana Mavor (AAC).

Amelia Honer & Kira Reuter (UC Santa Barbara) – Returning to the Doubles Championships for their second consecutive year, Honer and Reuter enter the bracket winners of their last eleven matches together. Over the course of the season, the pair amassed a dual record of 13-2 with a 7-0 record in conference. 

Elise Wagle & Fangran Tian (UCLA) – In her second straight year playing in the Doubles Championships, Wagle is now joined by Fangran Tian. Only playing in two matches beside one another this season, the duo went 1-1 in dual play, with both of those matches occurring within conference. Playing with multiple partners throughout the year, Wagle amassed a 10-4 record to Tian’s 11-3.

Emma Charney (USC) & Eryn Cayetano (Long Beach, USC) – The top doubles pairing out of USC, Charney and Cayetano have played integral roles in the teams success over the year, both in singles and doubles play. The No. 23 ranked duo, Charney and Cayetano boast a 6-7 record in dual play alongside one another. This event marks the first for Charney, while Cayetano is back just a year removed from teaming with Maddy Sieg.

Lana Mavor (SMU)  & Taylor Johnson (Redondo Beach, SMU) – Earning all-conference player of the year honors, Johnson hopes to add to her more than successful season thus far with a trip to the Doubles Championships alongside Mavor. As a pairing from the No. 1 position all year, the Mustangs held a 10-5 record in dual play.

Savannah Broadus & Janice Tjen (Pepperdine) – Earning the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament, Broadus and Tjen look to cap off amazing seasons at Pepperdine with a deep run in the Doubles Championships. Automatically qualifying for the event for the second consecutive year, the pair have become a known name in the collegiate tennis landscape. As a team, the women have put together one of the best double’s seasons in school history with a record of 17-2 in dual play. In doing so, they have compiled nine wins against ranked opponents thus far, helping them stay within the top-four of the ITA doubles ranks all season.

SELECTIONS, BRACKETS, AND SCHEDULES

For those looking to follow along throughout the tournaments, you can view the interactive Team brackets for both the Men and the Women, and watch along with the livestreams linked on each page. To find out all of the collegiate talent represented in Singles and Doubles play, you can view comprehensive lists of the full D1 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Selections.

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