Luke Simkiss claimed the programs first-ever ITA Cup National Championship on Sunday with a 6-2, 6-4, victory over No. 2 Valentino Caratini of Georgia Gwinnett.
At the conclusion of the tournament, Simkiss was named the James O'Hara Sargent Sportsmanship award winner.
Simkiss will now advance to the Oracle ITA Fall National Championships in Orlando, Fla., on Nov. 5-8.
Head Coach
Daniel Finn said, "Really proud of Luke becoming our first-ever National Champion. This was a great run by him. Sine his lost to Fred in the regional semifinals, he has really put in the work to get locked in for this tournament. To top it off, he received the Sportsmanship award which says everything you need to know about him. There is not a nicer kid who deserves this more then him. I am also happy about all the guys that competed this week. This team has a very high ceiling and we look forward to the spring. Now Luke can rest up and get ready for the ITA Fall National Championships in November.
Singles
Luke Simkiss
Round 1: def. Artem Vasheshnikov (RU) (3-6, 6-0, 6-0)
Quarters: def. Christopher Papa (SDC) (6-2, 7-6)
Semis: def. Martin Carrizo (IWU) (6-4, 2-6, 6-3)
Champ: def. No. 2 Valentino Caratini (GGC) (6-4, 6-4)
Charly Zick
Round 1: Lost to No. 2 Valentino Caratini (GGC) (4-6, 6-3, 2-6)
Round 2: def. Ivan Smith (SDC) (6-2, 6-2)
Round 3: def. Nick Nienhaus (SDC) (2-1, ret.)
Doubles
No. 2
Luke Simkiss/
Geronimo Barrios
Round 1: Lost to Federico Gomez/Jordi Puig (RU) (6-7, 6-4, 7-10)
Round 2: def. Thomas Golden/Claudio Quinones (OU) (6-4, 6-3)
Round 3: def. Maximillan Kendler/Jhoann Osorio (TWU) (6-2, 6-4)
Riccardo Ferraris/
Bart Nouws
Round 1: def. Mariano Jalif/Eli Steiner (IWU) (6-4, 6-3)
Round 2: Lost to No. 3 Christopher Papa/Ivan Smith (SDC) (6-4, 4-6, 7-10)
Round 3: Lost to Maximillan Kendler/Jhoann Osorio (TWU)( 7-6, 3-6, 12-14)
