NCAA

NCAA Division II and III Team Champs Crowned At Historic NCAA Tennis Championship at USTA National Campus

May 17, 2023 by Admin

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Claremont, Calif.) won the 2023 NCAA DIII women’s tennis national championship at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, securing the program’s second consecutive national title by defeating the University of Chicago in a rematch of the 2022 final.

The match concluded the DII and DIII team event portion of the 2023 NCAA Tennis Championships as four national team champions were crowned over the past three days in Orlando.

The celebrations began Monday night as the Barry University men (Miami-Dade County, Florida) won their fourth consecutive DII national title, coming from behind to defeat Columbus State (Columbus, Georgia) in the championship match. The Barry women completed the school’s sweep of the DII titles, defeating Nova Southeastern (Davie, Florida) Tuesday night to secure the program’s sixth consecutive national title while winning their 90th consecutive match dating back to 2019.

Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio) also prevailed on Tuesday night over Tufts (Somerville, Mass.), winning the university’s first national title in any sport as they claimed the DIII men’s crown. CWRU had reached the national championship match in each of the past two seasons, coming up short in their previous two attempts.

This is the first time in NCAA history that all three divisions will compete for men’s and women’s season-ending trophies—in any sport—at a single site. The 17-day event began last week and concludes on May 27. For more information on the 2023 NCAA Tennis Championships, click here.

UGA’s Ethan Quinn, With His “Hammer, Cannon, Beast” Forehand, Eyes College Tennis Mantle Vacated By Ben Shelton

August 23, 2022 by Admin

By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

On the day that reigning NCAA singles champion Ben Shelton from the University of Florida announced he was turning pro, another big-hitting teenager from the Southeastern Conference started to make more noises that he wants to be the guy to fill that void in college tennis.

Ethan Quinn is an 18-year-old from Fresno, California and red-shirt freshman at the University of Georgia, who received a wild card entry into the U.S. Open qualifying tournament by virtue of finishing as runner-up at the USTA National Boys’ 18 Championship in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He took advantage of his opportunity and rose to this much bigger occasion by posting a first-round 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 175-ranked Ernesto Escobedo of California, who has been ranked as high as No. 67 and played in the main draw of nine Grand Slam tournaments that includes a singles victory over now world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev at the 2017 Australian Open.

“That’s the hammer! That’s the cannon! Unleash the beast” is how former top college player and 1993 French Open doubles champ Luke Jensen described the Quinn forehand while commentating the match for ESPNews. Quinn sets up this superlative groundstroke with his big first serve, which was consistently clocking in the mid-120s while his kick second-serve jumped so high and wide that it had a familiarity to another Georgia Bulldog, all-time great server John Isner.

After losing in the first round of the Orange Bowl junior championships in late 2021, Quinn decided to enroll at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia early in January where he trained with the Bulldog team, but not yet competing for the team and retaining his four years of eligibility so he will be able to play the NCAA Championships in Athens in his senior year in 2026. The guidance and mentorship of Bulldog head coach Manny Diaz and associate coach Jamie Hunt, the intense training and the use of the University of Georgia athletic facilities paid dividends as Quinn progressively improved his results while playing in entry-level ITF World Tennis Tour U.S. Tennis Association Pro Circuit events.

“All the training helped him,” said Diaz. “He has also been very competitive but he most importantly has been very disciplined and motivated. He is always wanting information and processes it very well. He’s like a sponge.”

In April, he earned his first ATP points by reaching the semifinals of the $25,000 ITF event in Bakersfield, Calif., and reached his first pro final at the $15,000 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships event in Vero Beach, Florida. In June, he beat the NCAA singles finalist August Holmgren from Denmark and the University of San Diego to win the $15,000 ITF event in San Diego, then in July won the $25,000 event in Champaign, Illinois, beating Ohio State standout Cannon Kingsley and USC Trojan Stefan Dostanic in the semifinals and finals, respectively. He then had his fruitful trip to Kalamazoo, Michigan where he picked up the runner-up trophy in singles, falling a tight four-set final to Learner Tien, and won the doubles title, and a main draw U.S. Open doubles wild card, with partner Nico Godsick. To boot, he earned the event’s prestigious sportsmanship award.

“The biggest thing that has impressed me this summer has been his maturity on the court and his poise and composure,” said Diaz. “He got to Georgia and really stressed how he wanted to have four full years and finish playing the NCAA Championships in Athens his senior year. I think this summer has opened his eyes to the fact that he has an opportunity to play at the highest level and it is our job as coaches to expand our kid’s dreams. That’s what we did with John (Isner) and that’s what we do when we recruit kids. We want them to shoot for the stars and realize that there is a price to be paid. Ethan is paying that price. He has a bright future.”

Quinn went from never having an ATP ranking in April to moving on the cusp of the top 500 at No. 507. He is the No. 4 ranked American teenager behind Shelton, Zach Svajda and Martin Damm. That ranking will make him one of the top players in collegiate tennis, even before he officially hits a ball for the Georgia Bulldogs.

He has stated that his goal was to gun for Ben Shelton and Georgia’s arch rival Florida Gators for superiority in the SEC and college tennis (as he does here in his post-match interview in Vero Beach here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvW3Fl1a4jg). However, while that goal will have to be altered with Shelton now jumping to the pros, bringing NCAA team, singles and doubles titles back to Athens, Georgia will certainly be his next long-term targets.

“I Wouldn’t Deny It” – Britain’s NCAA Champ Paul Jubb On Wimbledon Wild Card

May 26, 2019 by Admin

By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

Paul Jubb of the University of South Carolina, the first ever player from Britain to win an NCAA singles title, will likely not get a main draw wild card entry into the U.S Open. While the winner of this event had traditionally earned this right, over the last 15 years, the U.S. Tennis Association has only awarded the winner of the ultimate tournament in American collegiate tennis an entry into its national championship event when it was won by an American.

Given that Jubb hails from another Grand Slam tournament nation, does he feel he should get a wild card into Wimbledon?

“I wouldn’t deny it,” said Jubb after his 6-3, 7-6(2) win over Nuno Borges of Mississippi State and Portugal Saturday in the NCAA final at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.

“It is what it is,” he said regarding the U.S. Open wild card reality. “I’m obviously hoping this is not the peak of my career by any means. I’m going to do that best I can to just keep striving forward. I do not want this to be the peak of my career whatsoever, so I’ve just got to keep working so hard, to try and make the transition into the pro game.”

Jubb, a junior from Hull, England, is the first player from the University of South Carolina to win an NCAA title. The six-foot, 141-pound player has overcome much adversity in his short life, being orphaned at the age of 4 and raised by his grandmother.

Jubb has only played in nine career events on the ITF Futures/World Tennis Tour in his career. Last summer, the last time he played on the entry-level circuit, he reached two semifinals as a qualifier in Slovakia and a final as a qualifier in Vilnius, Lithuania. Those results earned him an ATP singles ranking of No. 717 at the time. Jubb will continue to play more pro events this summer, with likely increased opportunities presented to him based on his NCAA singles championship, even if one of them may not be a main draw slot in the U.S. Open.

Jubb’s post-NCAA final comments can be found below.

QUESTION: So, you just knocked off the number one seed, number one player in the country, Player of the Year, to win a national championship. How does that feel?

PAUL JUBB: Unbelievable. I think just overcoming the mental part of it today, just believing I could win after losing to him two times already this season, I think that was the biggest part. But yeah, it feels unbelievable.

QUESTION: You said lost to him twice this year. He hadn’t dropped a set all tournament, yet you take him in two sets. What was working for you today, and what was your game plan coming in? How did you execute it so well?

PAUL JUBB: Being aggressive with my feet was the main thing. Because I’m always playing my best when I’m so intense with my feet going into the ball. My tempo’s so high, and the last two times I played him, I had him on the edge, so close, and that was what was working for me last time. I just had to sustain it longer. And be a bit more aggressive, when I could take control of the match. That’s what I tried to do today, and did it.

QUESTION: What were you feeling on that first match point you had, were you, it was a decisive point, you rain around backhand on the second serve return, and then you basically hit it off your frame, what were you thinking at that point?

PAUL JUBB: A lot of things. I told myself straight after, sort of being confident, just have to hit the backhand, but yeah, forehand’s my weapon and I was just half in, half out of committing. Yeah, that’s what happened. Had to just block it out of my mind and just get straight back on the horse and luckily I managed to do that.

QUESTION: Talk about how you got to South Carolina from Britain. What was the process of how you got to Columbia?

PAUL JUBB: One of the main LTA coaches, [James Frommen 00:01:58] Kyle Edmund’s old coach. I was working with him at the time. He knew (USC) Josh Goffi. He told him about me and Josh was recruiting in England, down in London at the time. And I was up Hull just training, and he said, “Come visit me.” And Josh took some time out of his schedule to come up to Hull, to come watch me train and come talk to me, and then things just got rolling from there. Luckily, and I’m so thankful, Josh took a chance with me, because I wasn’t a top junior in the world or anything like that. I’m forever grateful for that.

QUESTION: In your previous two matches against him, you had also taken the first set. Did you have to remind yourself of anything after winning the first set again today?

PAUL JUBB: Yeah, well, the last time I played him, well, the first time we played, I took the first set. It was like the awkward match because we had the day in between, things got postponed with the weather. The second set went by really, really quick, and I had lost all momentum, but the second time we played, it was a bit half in, half out, and I could have been more aggressive. And after the match, the one thing I said was, if I ever get in that stage again with him, if I’m going to lose a second set, it’s going to be from me being aggressive and taking it to him. And there I could have no regrets, and that’s what I did well today. Some parts I could have been a bit more proactive, but for the main part it was an improvement from last time, for sure.

QUESTION: I was just going to say, you let out a few screams there at the end. What was going through your mind and what kind of brought that bubbling out of you?

PAUL JUBB: Just, it’s been a long week, and long, long season. Worked so hard. Just being, working so hard throughout the whole year and get better, and not let off the gas. And losing to someone twice and beating him when it matters the most, just so much relief and emotions coming out, and just so thankful I could get the win in front of all the people who came out and watched me today, and I know so many people are supporting me back home. Yeah, just so happy.

QUESTION: Shows the on again, off again relationship with this tournament in receiving a U.S. Open wild card, but mainly for American winners, do you feel like you should get a wild card into Wimbledon for winning this tournament?

PAUL JUBB: I wouldn’t deny it, but I know that’s not the case. But, yeah, it is what it is. I’m obviously hoping this is not the peak of my career by any means. I’m going to do that best I can to just keep striving forward. I do not want this to be the peak of my career whatsoever, so I’ve just got to keep working so hard, to try and make the transition into the pro game, so that’s what I’m going to do, yeah.

QUESTION: You’ve played some ITF’s, right?

PAUL JUBB: Yeah, last year, last summer, I played a few futures. I won one and semi finaled twice. Yeah, so I’ve played a few. And that was a great experience, and I’m just looking to do that again this summer.

QUESTION: Did any of that help you as you went into this season?

PAUL JUBB: Yeah, I mean, after last spring season, I had a great season at two, finishing up one, and going into the summer, I built of that really well and had an even better summer, and it helped me come back in the fall confident, and I came back in the fall and had some good results, and won regionals. Just kept things moving in the right direction, so that’s been the story, really, ever since, last spring season, just, things have been moving really well, and I’ve just stayed on myself.

QUESTION: What are your immediate plans after this? I know you want to enjoy this, but do you have a plan what you’re doing this summer and going forward?

PAUL JUBB: Just got to plan, schedule, to see what tournaments I can play and stuff. I’m literally flying back to England in two days, Monday, so I’ve got to go back to pack all my bags and stuff. But yeah, just, I’ve to got to plan out what tournaments to play and stuff like that. But yeah, definitely looking to play on the pro circuit.

QUESTION: Could you also talk about how you got started in tennis in Britain?

PAUL JUBB: Yeah, around four or five years old in primary school, very first year, there was a local tennis coach, came in, did after school tennis club. And I attended that, and then they asked me to go to train at the club for a few sessions, because they saw some potential. And yeah, started going there twice a week, and then one of the coaches there at the time, Johnny Carmichael, I’ve known him ever since five years old, four or five years old. He moved to Northfield, which is the main club where I trained until I came to college. I moved there after a few years at the local tennis club, to take it a bit more serious. Worked with Johnny ever since, ever since I came to South Carolina, he was my rock and still is my rock ever since. So yeah.

NCAA Tennis Now Wedged Perfectly Before Roland Garros

May 23, 2019 by Admin

By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

College Football has its post-season presence with its National Championship game. College basketball has its March Madness. College golf is featured prominently on Golf Channel. Now, college tennis and its NCAA Championships has its proper platform.

Starting with this year’s NCAA tennis championships at the U.S. Tennis Association National Campus, Tennis Channel, the USTA and the NCAA entered a three-year partnership for Tennis Channel to televise more than 50 hours of live matches over each day of the 10-day singles, doubles and team competition for men and women. In all, the network will provide the most hours of NCAA Tennis Championships coverage in television history.

With this important partnership, the tournament has now been perfectly wedged into this week before the French Open window of attention. While the pros are quietly waiting for Roland Garros to start, with the exception of minor prep events in Lyon, Geneva, Nurnberg and Strasbourg and French Open qualifying, the NCAAs receive a grander stage of exposure. The scheduling of the matches have worked perfectly – on purpose – where in the morning in the United States, Tennis Channel airs ATP and WTA tournament play and then at 4 pm, it airs the pinnacle of college tennis into the night. With the matches starting later in the day in Lake Nona, it provides not only for prime time TV viewing, but also an easier environment for fan attendance on site as patrons can enjoy an evening of tennis after work. Cooler evening temperatures later in the day in Orlando are also player and fan friendly.

The scheduling of match days was also changed in 2019 to provide for better viewing on television and for fans on site. In the past, the team tournament started on a Wednesday/Thursday and was played through the weekend and into the next week with the team finals being played on a Tuesday. A Tuesday afternoon team final was not the best day to showcase your exciting dramatic team finals, but a Sunday final again provides for more eyeballs on TV and in person as fans can make it a weekend to watch the men’s and women’s team finals (and semifinals the day before). All of these matches were again played in the afternoon and early evening, after the morning tennis from Europe was completed on television.

The individual tournament started on a Monday and perfectly ending on Saturday, May 25, the day before the entire tennis world focuses on the start of Roland Garros, broadcast on Tennis Channel. In the past, prior to Tennis Channel’s involvement this year in the NCAAs, the tournament stretched all the way through the Memorial Day weekend with the last two days overlapping the start of the French Open and the NCAAs receiving very little attention in the tennis world once the tennis started at Roland Garros.

After this year at the USTA National Campus, the NCAA tennis tournament will return to an actual college campus at Oklahoma State in 2020 and then back to the USTA National Campus again in 2021. In 2022, the event will be held at the University of Illinois. Many college tennis fans and observers are hoping that after 2022, the tournament will return to its spiritual home, the University of Georgia, where the event became one of the great spectacles in the sport when it majestically staged the event every year from 1977 to 1989 and for many alternating years after that.

Stevie Johnson Says In “Trojan Tennis” Book That Hard Work, Character, Respect Makes The Difference In Tennis, Life

December 9, 2018 by Admin

No matter what he achieves in professional tennis, Stevie Johnson will likely be most notable for his achievements in college tennis playing for the University of Southern California Trojans. Johnson won four straight NCAA team titles for USC and two NCAA singles titles, winning his last 72 college singles matches. Johnson is a true Trojan to the core and contributed the foreword to the book “Trojan Tennis: A History of the Storied Men’s Tennis Program at the University of Southern California” by USC men’s tennis historian and Marshall School of Business professor S. Mark Young, the first-ever book about a college tennis program. The book is available for sale here https://www.amazon.com/dp/1937559823/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_o5vdCb5D8R28Y via Amazon.com. Writes Johnson in the foreword excerpted below, “At USC I learned a lot more than how to be a better tennis player. I learned that talent doesn’t always win out; that it’s hard work, character and respect for the people on your team that makes the difference. These aren’t just lessons that apply only on the court, but to life in general.”

I came to USC in 2009 to fulfill a dream of becoming a Trojan and playing for Coach Peter Smith. I really had no idea what was in store for me, but I knew that I wanted to be part of something great.

When we won our first NCAA National Team Championship in 2009, we were all elated, but thought we were capable of more. Then we won the title again in 2010 and 2011. People ask me all the time how this was possible. I tell them that several factors were responsible. The first was the immense skill of our coaching staff – they are in a class of their own. The second was that we put the team ahead of each player’s individual needs, and the third was we couldn’t have been more motivated. After winning three national titles in row, it occurred to me to turn pro, but my heart told me that I had to go back to try for the four-peat. Few college teams ever win one national championship let alone four, so it was a gamble–but we did it.

At USC I learned a lot more than how to be a better tennis player. I learned that talent doesn’t always win out; that it’s hard work, character and respect for the people on your team that makes the difference. These aren’t just lessons that apply only on the court, but to life in general. I made lifelong friendships with Kaes Van’t Hof, Robert Farah, Daniel Nguyen, Ray Sarmiento, and so many of my other teammates. These guys are my brothers and I learned so much from them. My father, Steve Johnson Sr., will always be my first mentor and coach, but I also owe so much of my growth to Peter Smith. My close friendship with Peter was forged through all of the great times and struggles we had on and off the court. Peter is a truly great mentor, and in my opinion, the best tennis coach in the country.

Some question whether top junior players should skip college and go directly to the pros. My experience tells me that this might be the pathway for some, but for me, I received a first-class education and I was able to more than achieve my tennis goals. The tour is exciting, but grueling. While the average age of top professional players has crept up a bit lately, most players are thinking of retiring in their early 30s — so having a college degree provides you with more options when the time comes to leave the circuit.

I first met Mark Young in 2012 while we were on our way to the four-peat. Mark told me that he wanted to write a book about the entire history of the men’s tennis team, a history that began well over a hundred years ago. Every time I saw Mark he would give me an update.

Now the book is a reality, and I am really excited about it. It’s a fascinating read that I think will be of great interest, not just to Trojan tennis fans, but also to everyone who loves tennis. I was aware of bits and pieces of USC men’s tennis and knew many of the biggest names, like Alex Olmedo, Stan Smith, Bob Lutz, Dennis Ralston and Rick Leach. But, as I discovered, USC’s history consists of hundreds of teams and players and thousands of contests. What I like most about this book are the stories of the greatest matches, the rivalries, and the funniest moments. I am very proud that my story is now part of this illustrious history.

—Stevie Johnson

“Trojan Tennis: A History of the Storied Men’s Tennis Program at the University of Southern California” by USC men’s tennis historian and Marshall School of Business professor S. Mark Young, is the first-ever book about a college tennis program.

Published by New Chapter Press, “Trojan Tennis” documents the most successful college tennis program, dating from 1899 through the end of the 2016-17 season. USC tennis legends Stan Smith and Stevie Johnson both contributed forewords to the hardcover book that features interviews with many of the program’s greatest players also including Alex Olmedo, Dennis Ralston, Bob Lutz, Rick Leach, Luke Jensen as well as legendary coaches George Toley, Dick Leach and Peter Smith. While the progress of the team is central, readers will be fascinated by the biographical details of the key figures in each time period, which are enhanced by extensive footnotes drawing from archival materials, including personal letters, scrapbooks, published news stories, and original interviews.

The book is available where books are sold for $27.95, including here on Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1937559823/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_Uwj6AbAFSMSJN

“We are so lucky Dr. Mark Young found us,” said Peter Smith, the USC men’s tennis coach. “He had a dream to write the story of the USC men’s tennis team. Little did any of us know what a the grand that lay ahead of him. Mark looked into every detail and every character – the story is a great read. He is the perfect person to tell our story and we can’t wait to share it with the world.”

Said former USC coach Dick Leach, “This book on the history of USC tennis is a very heavily researched endeavor by Professor Mark Young who poured through many archives and interviewed scores of Trojans. The result is a truly comprehensive volume about the legacy of USC tennis. Mark has played competitive tennis all of his life and knows the game. I am very glad that he has written this great book so that all of these memories can be forever preserved.”

Said International Tennis Hall of Famer and former Trojan Dennis Ralston, “Even though it has been many years, I still follow SC tennis. Every time the Trojans play the Bruins, I am transported back to the days of our great rivalry. Mark Young’s book brings back so many wonderful memories and I will always treasure my time as a Trojan at USC.”

Said Bob Lutz, former NCAA singles and doubles champion for USC, “Many of my best tennis memories occurred while I was playing for USC under Coach George Toley. I was very proud to be on teams that would be the first to win four consecutive NCAA Team Championships. My contribution to the history of USC tennis, though, is just part of a much larger story and thanks to Mark Young’s Trojan Tennis, the entire history has now been captured I highly recommend this book.”

Said two-time U.S. Open champion Tracy Austin, whose son Brandon plays for USC, “Trojan Tennis is the only comprehensive book about college tennis. As someone who has been a life-long devotee to tennis, I was only aware of parts of SC tennis history. I am so glad that Mark Young has been able to capture recollections of so many luminaries of the sport. The book is a fun read with amazing photos and I know tennis and sports fans everywhere will thoroughly enjoy it.”