Ena Shibahara needed 11 straight wins to capture the 2016 Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Singles Championship.
She only got 10.
The UCLA freshman dropped only two sets while cruising through the prequalifying, qualifying and main draws in Pacific Palisades. She ran out of steam against third-seeded Ohio State sophomore Francesca Di Lorenzo, however, falling 6-4, 6-3 in the Bruin’s 11th match in nine days.
Shibahara – ranked second in the ITA’s freshman/newcomer standings – had her chances, opening the match with a hold and an early break and having two break points with Di Lorenzo serving up 3-2 in the second set, but couldn’t convert. She would have been the second UCLA player to win the All-American Singles Championship in three years, following Robin Anderson in 2014.
Despite the loss, Shibahara’s run earned her an automatic spot in next month’s 2016 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships.
The men’s team, on the other hand, didn’t have as much success in the 2016 Saint Francis Health System ITA Men’s All-American Championships.
Junior Martin Redlicki and senior Gage Brymer both won their first round matchups, but they also both fell to seeded opponents in the second round. Redlicki claimed the first set against second-seeded Virginia senior and defending champion Thai-Son Kwiatkowski but lost the next two in close fashion 6-7 (3) and 5-7.
Brymer defeated Denver’s senior Diogo Rocha in three sets in his opening match, but fell to sixth-seeded Wake Forest sophomore Petros Chrysochos in straight sets. Chrysochos ended up winning the title, defeating Ohio State junior Hugo Di Feo on Monday.
Bruins compete in Santa Barbara
Sophomores Maxime Cressy and Daniel Gealer, freshman Ben Goldberg and senior Michael Guzman made their way north for the UCSB Classic this past weekend.
In singles play, neither Goldberg nor Guzman won a match, but Cressy and Gealer had more success.
Cressy advanced to the Flight-A singles draw final against UCSB junior Morgan Mays. The sophomore lost the first set and won the second in a tiebreaker but was unable to capitalize on the momentum in the third, falling 6-3, 6-7 (1), 6-3.
Gealer lost his opening match in the Flight-B singles draw to UC Davis junior Everett Maltby, but the sophomore rebounded to win three consecutive consolation matches en route to the consolation title.
In doubles, Cressy and Gealer went undefeated in three matches, culminated by an 8-5 victory over Oregon duo freshman Ty Gentry and junior Simon Stevens in the Flight-A doubles final. Goldberg and Guzman went 1-2 in the Flight-B doubles draw, finishing in fourth place.
The Bruins will continue their fall tournament schedule at next week’s Oracle ITA Masters in Malibu, where Redlicki and Shibahara are scheduled to play.