The University of Tulsa Set to Host Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships

TULSA, Okla. – Over 700 of the nation's top collegiate tennis players will all come together in Tulsa this weekend beginning Saturday, as the Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships starts on Saturday, Oct. 5. The eight-day tournament (Oct. 5-13) will showcase men's and women's tennis players competing at two different venues throughout town. The men are set to play at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center, while the women will begin competition at the Case Tennis Center at LaFortune Park. Once both fields compress, the women will change venues and will play alongside the men.

Last year, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), the University of Tulsa, and the Tulsa Sports Commission announced that the men's and women's championships would be held in one city for the first time. The University of Tulsa has played host to the men's championships for the last 15 years, while the women had competed for nearly three decades at the Riviera Country Club in Calif.

The All-American Championships will feature a pre-qualifying round (Oct. 5-6) and a qualifying round (Oct. 7-8). The singles and doubles main draws are set to take place Oct. 9-13.

The women's singles final will air live on ESPNU beginning at 6 p.m. followed by the men's championship at 8 p.m. on Championship Sunday. The live airing of the finals marks another milestone for the ITA and college tennis as the ITA All-American Championships will air live on broadcast television for the first time. It will also be the first time a tennis match in Tulsa has been shown live on national television.

Nearly 500 men will compete in the singles competition, with almost 90 doubles teams set to take the court in doubles play. For the women, approximately 230 individuals are registered to compete in the singles tournament, while nearly 100 doubles teams enrolled in doubles competition.

Director of Tennis and men's tennis head coach Vince Westbrook will see eight members of his squad compete in singles competition. Sophomore Daniel Siddall and freshman Connor Di Marco are set to compete in the pre-qualifying round. Junior Boriss Kamdem, sophomores Stefan Hampe and Tom Thelwall-Jones, and freshman Ezequiel Santalla will all see their first glimpse of the action in the qualifying round. Sophomore and 96th-ranked Kody Pearson and freshman Juan Pablo Cenoz have secured a spot in the main draw.

The Golden Hurricane will also send out two doubles teams to compete at the championships. The tandem of Pearson and Cenoz will play their first match together in the qualifying round. Hampe and Thelwall-Jones have earned a bid for the main draw.

Women's tennis head coach Dean Orford will have seven Golden Hurricane looking to make their mark at the All-American Championships. Freshmen Lian Benedejcic and Laia Conde Monfort will open competition in the pre-qualifying round. Junior Shura Poppe and sophomore Marina Davtyan have each secured their spots in the qualifying draw. Seniors Martina Okalova and Vera Ploner will each begin play in the main draw. Okalova is currently ranked 73rd in the 2019-20 Preseason ITA Division I Women's Individual National Rankings.

Three Golden Hurricane tandems will compete for the doubles title. Sophomore Megan Hopton will compete with Benedejcic in the qualifying round. Fifth-ranked Okalova and Ploner will compete alongside Davtyan and Poppe in the main draw.

For all Tulsa men's and women's tennis news and information as both teams prepare for the Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships, visit TulsaHurricane.com.

The University of Tulsa Set to Host Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships

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