2025 ITA Cup information
NEW ORLEANS — Four tennis players
from Xavier University of Louisiana — including 2024 champion
McKenna Wheatley —
will compete next week in the ITA Cup at Rome, Ga.
The ITA announced Tuesday the qualifiers, seeds
and alternates for the event, which will be played Oct. 16-19
at Rome Tennis Center at Berry College (100 Match Point Way, zip 30185, phone 706-236-4490).
XULA's qualifiers in the NAIA division:
• Wheatley and Maja Brnic, an automatic qualifier
in women's doubles after
their 2-6, 6-3, [12-10] victory against Avery Frierson and Adele Fereres of city rival Loyola in a regional final Sept. 28 at Thibodaux, La.
Wheatley and Brnic are seeded fourth at the ITA Cup.
•
Ivan Vazquez, an automatic qualifier in men's singles
after his 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 regional-final victory against teammate
Nereo Suarez.
• Brnic with an at-large bid in women's singles.
The freshman lost 6-4, 7-5 in the regional final to William Carey's Victoria Vieten.
• Suarez with an at-large singles bid.
• Suarez and Vazquez with an at-large doubles bid.
Our Lady of the Lake's Jaroslav Majsajdr and Joao Santos defeated them 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 in the regional final.
Wheatley will play ITA Cup doubles for the third consecutive year.
She played with
Mbali Langa the past two years, reaching the semifinals in 2023 and winning the
title in 2024 with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 victory in the final against SCAD Atlanta's
Shalimar Talbi and Adrianna Kluska.
Talbi and Kluska will compete next week as the No. 2 seed.
XULA's head coach is Alan Green, who's in his 23rd season at his alma mater
and is a five-time ITA NAIA national coach of the year.
