Apaches News
Sun, Oct 15, 2006 - [Men's Tennis]
The TJC Doubles Team of Nahom Serekeberhan and Jorge Vasquez lost to NCAA Division II Lynn's Julien Carsuzaa and Dennis Riegraf 4-6, 6-2, 10-1 (match tie-breaker) in the finals of the ITA "Super Bowl".

For Immediate Release
Contact: Casey Angle, ITA (609-672-2269)
October 15, 2006

COLLEGE TENNIS
 
ITA Small College Champs Crowned

Embry-Riddle's Hizak repeats in men's singles


FORT MYERS, Fla. – Embry-Riddle's (Fla.) Mislav Hizak and Fresno Pacific's (Calif.) Jelena Pandzic rolled to the singles titles and Auburn-Montgomery ( Ala.) and Lynn (Fla.) duos captured the doubles titles Sunday at the 2006 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) "Super Bowl" of Small College Tennis at the Florida Gulf Coast University Tennis Complex.  

  
A year after sweeping all four titles, NAIA players claimed three of the four championships today. NAIA Embry-Riddle's Hizak, a junior, is the first player to repeat as ITA men's singles champ, beating NCAA Division III Claremont-Mudd-Scripps' ( Calif.) Mike Starr 6-1, 6-3 in today's final. NAIA Fresno Pacific's Pandzic beat Cowley's (Kan.) Comm. College's Kasia Siwosz 6-0, 6-0 in the women's final. NAIA Auburn-Montgomery's Kamila Dadakhodjeava and Tereza Veverkova edged Hillsborough's (Fla.) Comm. College's Hiroko Nishikawa and Mizuho Nishimura 7-5, 3-6, 10-4 (match tie-breaker) in the women's doubles final. And NCAA Division II Lynn's Julien Carsuzaa and Dennis Riegraf beat Tyler (Texas) Junior College's Nahom Serekeberhan and Jorge Vasquez 4-6, 6-2, 10-1 (match tie-breaker) to win the men's doubles championship.

 

The overall ITA "Super Bowl" of Small College Tennis champions earn wild cards into the Nov. 2-5 ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, hosted by The Ohio State University in Columbus. This tournament is the second of three national championships for Division I tennis and offers the small college participants the opportunity to become champions for all divisions of collegiate tennis.

 
This event is presented by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and administered by the ITA. It dates back to 1986 and determines champions for NCAA Divisions II and III, NAIA and Junior/Community College men's and women's singles and doubles during the first two-and-a-half days of play. Those champions then competed to become the overall national small college champs (for all divisions) this weekend in the ITA "Super Bowl" of Small College Tennis.


Embry-Riddle's Hizak did not lose a set in five victories this week. On Saturday he also became the first men's player to repeat as an NAIA singles champ. He followed up last year's "Super Bowl" title by reaching the quarterfinals of the 2005 ITA National Indoor Championships. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps' Starr is the first Division III player to reach the "Super Bowl" men's final since 1994.

 

AUM's Dadakhodjeava also repeated as a doubles champ today - she won the title last year with a different partner. Lynn and Fresno Pacific claimed their first "Super Bowl" crowns. Lynn's Carsuzaa and Riegraf survived three straight match tie-breakers this week and fought off match point in yesterday's semifinals. Pandzic wins a title for Fresno Pacific in the second year of the program's existence. She reached the NCAA singles final as a freshman at Division I Fresno State in 2004, her only year playing at that level. Last year as a sophomore she finished No. 1 in the Fila national singles rankings for NAIA. She won 50 of 66 points played in today's final and three of her five victories this week came by 6-0, 6-0 scores.


Small College tennis enjoys a rich tradition. Notable small college tennis players include the likes of Billie Jean King (Cal State Los Angeles), Brad Gilbert ( Foothill Comm. College), Mikael Pernfors (Seminole Comm. College), Paul Haarhuis (Armstrong Atlantic State) and doubles greats Ken Flach and Robert Seguso (SIU-Edwardsville). Current ATP top 100 player Wesley Moodie played in the ITA National Small College Championships while at NAIA Auburn-Montgomery. Astronaut Sally Ride (Swarthmore) and actress Lisa Kudrow (Vassar) both played at the NCAA Division III level.

Complete scores and draws are available on www.ITAtennis.com.