ITA Small College Champs Crowned
Embry-Riddle’s Hizak three-peats in men’s singles
MOBILE, Ala. – Embry-Riddle’s (Fla.) Mislav Hizak and Johanna Dahlback from Armstrong Atlantic State (Ga.) won the singles titles and UC San Diego and Fresno Pacific duos captured the doubles titles Sunday at the 2007 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) “Super Bowl” of Small College Tennis at the Copeland-Cox Tennis Center.
NAIA Embry-Riddle’s Hizak is the first player in tournament history to win the “Super Bowl” men’s title three years in a row as he beat Alex Grubin from Division II Concordia (N.Y), 6-3, 6-4 in today’s final. Hizak, a senior, has gone 15-0 in this event over the last three years. Armstrong Atlantic State senior Dahlback beat JuCo champ Monika Lalewicz of Abraham Baldwin (Ga.), 6-3, 6-3 to become the second player from her school to win a “Super Bowl” title. Division II UC San Diego’s Eric Rubens and Blake Meister beat NAIA Fresno Pacific’s Matt Carroll and Vincente Joli in the men’s doubles final, 7-6(6), 7-5. Fresno Pacific did win a doubles title today on the women’s side as Anna Karavayeva and Maria Kolkotsky beat Division II Abilene Christian’s (Texas) Irene Squillaci and Aina Rafolomanantsiatoskia, 6-4, 7-6(4).
This event begins as the ITA National Small College Championships and is presented by Outback Steakhouse and the United States Tennis Association (USTA). 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) in the ITA “Super Bowl” of Small College Tennis during the weekend.
Each small college division featured eight singles players and eight doubles teams who earned spots into this national event by winning their retrospective Wilson/ITA Regional Championships held over the past three weeks throughout the country. All told, nearly 7,000 student-athletes competed in 61 regional tournaments to earn spots in the national event.
Embry-Riddle’s Hizak did not lose a set in five victories this week. On Saturday he also became the first men’s place to win three NAIA men’s singles titles. He followed up his 2005 “Super Bowl” title by reaching the quarterfinals of the 2005 ITA National Indoor Championships and reached the round of 16 there last season. This is the second “Super Bowl” title for Fresno Pacific’s women in as many years; last year Jelena Pandzic captured the singles title in only the second year of the program’s existence. Dahlback is the second player from Armstrong Atlantic to win a “Super Bowl” women’s singles title, joining 2003 champ Zsofia Golopencza
The overall ITA "Super Bowl" of Small College Tennis champions earn wild cards into the November 1-4 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.
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). And past small college players who have enjoyed success on the pro tour in recent years include Wesley Moodie, who played in the ITA National Small College Championships while at Auburn-Montgomery, and another former ITA participant, Eric Butorac of Gustavus Adolphus. Astronaut Sally Ride (Swarthmore) and actress Lisa Kudrow (Vassar) both played at the NCAA Division III level and nine of the first 16 recipients of the prestigious ITA Achievement Award hailed from small colleges.
Full draws, results and news are available on www.ITAtennis.com.