Connor Smith Wins Again in Israel, Fanselow Too Good in Claremont, McGee Takes Cary, Doubles Success, College ATP Rankings

Connor Smith (Ohio State '13) swept both the singles and doubles titles at the Israel F12 Futures in Ashkelon.  Smith crushed #600 Neil Pauffley 6-1, 6-0 in the singles final and then he and Danny Thomas defeated Nate Lammons (SMU '16) and Dane Webb (Oklahoma '15) 6-0, 7-6(3) to win the doubles title. Smith also won both the singles and doubles title the previous week in Israel so that means he now has a 10-match winning streak in singles and an 8-match winning streak in doubles. The singles title was Smith's second of the year, six of his career, while the doubles title was his 11th and third with Thomas.

Pro Circuit Recap - Connor Smith Doubles Up In Israel, Maden Takes Belgium, Ghorbel Rules Egypt, & More

Last weekend was a very successful weekend on the Pro Circuit as seven former collegians won pro titles while another eleven finished as runner-up.

The third seed #502 Connor Smith (Ohio State '13) swept both the singles and doubles titles at the $10K Israel F11 Futures in Herzliya. Smith won his first singles title of the year, fifth of his career, with a straight set win over the top seed #321 Yannick Jankovits. There were no breaks of serve in the opening set but Smith earned a mini-break to start the tiebreak and managed to pull it out 8-6. The only break of the second set came when Smith broke from 15/40 to go ahead 5-3 and then he served it out from 40/30 to win it 7-6(6), 6-3.

Brayden Schnur Wins in Calgary; Mizzou Removes Interim Tag From Colt Gaston, Pro Circuit Recap, US Open Continues

Brayden Schnur won his second career pro singles title on Sunday with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Tim van Rijthoven at the $25K Canada F6 Futures in Calgary. Schnur, who turned pro in July after completing his junior year at North Carolina, broke van Rijthoven from 30/40 to go up 5-3 in the first set before serving it out from 40/15 to take the set 6-3. Van Rijthoven broke twice in the second set in route to a 6-3 set but Schnur would come back in the third. Schnur broke from 15/40 to go up 4-2 and he'd serve it out a few games later to close out the match.

Petr Michnev Rallies To Win Austria F7 & US Open Doubles Draws Released, NCAA Doubles Champs US Open Results

#471 Petr Michnev (Hawaii-Pacific '14) won his second singles title this year, and third of his career, with a come from behind win over #542 Corentin Denolly in the finals of the $10K Austria F7 Futures in Poertschach. Denolly broke Michnev in a two-deuce after trailing 40/0 to go ahead 3-2 in the first and then only dropped two more points on serve in route to taking the set 6-4. Michnev broke Denolly in a one-deuce game to go ahead 3-1 in the second and then he broke him again in a four-deuce game to take the set 6-2. Denolly went ahead 4-2 in the third set after breaking from 15/40 and then holding from 40/15 but it was all Michnev in the next four games. Michnev held at love, broke in a one-deuce game, held at love, and broke from 15/40 to close out the 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 win.

Coaching Updates, US Open Qualies Wrap Up/Main Draw Released, USONP Mixed Doubles, Pro Circuit

Bucknell Athletics Director John Hardt announced the hiring of Bruce Myers as the new men's head coach of the Bison. Myers comes to Lewisburg after spending last season as the women's head coach at Longwood before departing to become the men's head coach at Delaware. Myers went 16-21 (.432) in one and half seasons at Longwood and 3-5 (.375) in his brief stay at Delaware. Myers also coached at North Carolina A&T in 2014 and prior to that was at Randolph-Macon for two seasons. He replaces Craig Schwartz who stepped down after four seasons to relocate to Boone, North Carolina, to be with his wife (Appalachian State head field hockey coach) and son.

USONP Update, Torpegaard Sweeps Finland, Eshmade Wins First Title, Begemann Wins Dubs Challenger in Italy

The US Open National Playoff is down to the final four with the top two seeds still alive on the men's side and only one seed left on the women's side. Nick Meister (UCLA '12) and Gage Brymer (UCLA Sr) both won in straight sets and will face off in the top half semifinal while Evan King (Michigan '13) will meet Jose Statham in the bottom half. Statham fought off match points in his 7-6(6) win in the third over Jesse Witten.

Three of the four semifinalists on the women's side have college ties with the bottom semifinals set to be an All-ACC affair. Sanaz Marand (North Carolina '11) will meet Julia Elbaba (Virginia '16) after each won in straight sets while Nika Kukharchuk (Ole Miss '08) meets Sophie Chang with Chang winning the only three-set match of the day. Chang was originally committed to Virginia but chose to go pro instead.

Mmoh Wins Big in Kzoo & Titles Galore on the Pro Circuit

Michael Mmoh came into this year's USTA Boys 18 National Championships as the top seed and he definitely lived up to the billing. Mmoh only needed about 90 minutes to win the best of five sets final over the No. 7 seed Vasil Kirkov 6-1, 6-2, 6-3. Mmoh only lost 35 games in seven matches and didn't drop a set all week. Colette Lewis has all the quotes from today's winners over at ZooTennis.  

Mmoh and Kirkov To Meet in Zoo Finals (Tale of the Tape), McNally/Wolf Win Zoo Dubs, Pro Circuit Update

The Kalamazoo Boys 18 singles final is set and it will match up the top seed Michael Mmoh and the seventh seed Vasil Kirkov. Mmoh cruised into the finals with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Trent Bryde while Vasil Kirkov came back from a 4-0 first set deficit to win 12 straight games to defeat Zeke Clark 6-4, 6-0.

Cincinnati's John McNally and JJ Wolf, the fourth seed, won the Boys 18 doubles title with a 6-2, 6-3 win over unseeded Sean Sculley and Nick Stachowiak. McNally and Wolf earned a main draw wild card into this year's US Open with the win.

Roberto Quiroz Guts Out a Title in Decatur

After spending the day in Kalamazoo yesterday I made my way down to Decatur, Illinois, today to watch the finals of the Ursula Beck Pro Tennis Classic/USA F26 Futures. I was hoping to catch the second and possibly third sets of the doubles final but Jared Hiltzik and Rhyne Williams weren't very accommodating and finished off Nathan Pasha and Dane Webb 6-0, 6-1 in just 43 minutes. It was Hiltzik's second career pro doubles title and Williams's seventh though it was Rhyne's first since 2013.

Kalamazoo Nationals, Futures Update

All the top seeds took the court today in Kalamazoo for the second round of the Boys 18 National Championships and for the most part they had very little trouble. Each of the top 22 seeds won with 19 of them winning in straight sets however 6 of the bottom 10 were knocked out. Below were the seeded losers with college commitments listed in parenthesis.

Seeded Upsets
Aleksandar Kovacevic (Illinois) def. [23] Matthew Lord 6-7(3), 6-0, 6-2
John Carlin def. [24] Ryan Seggerman 2-6, 6-3, 6-1
Robert Krill (Wisconsin) def. [25] Jason Lui (Columbia) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
Kristopher Ortega (Illinois) def. [28] Maxwell Freeman 6-4, 6-1
Payton Holden (Princeton) def. [31] Brenden Volk (Northwestern) 6-1, 6-0
Galen Lee (Harvard) def. [32] Casey Ross 6-2, 6-3

Wooten-Quijada to New Mexico, Assistant Updates, Bucca to Court, Decatur Futures, Maryland Eastern Shore Drops Men's Tennis

New Mexico VP of Athletics Paul Krebs named Stephanie Wooten-Quijada as the Lobo's new women's coach. Wooten-Quijada, a 2009 Purdue graduate, resigned as the women's coach at UTRGV on July 24 after leading the program to an 11-11 record and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Wooten-Quijada replaces Kelsey McKenna who left after one year to take the head coaching position at Wisconsin.

Coaching News, Eubanks/Kennedy Win Opener in Atlanta, Roster Additions, College ATP Rankings

Florida State head coach Dwayne Hultquist announced the hiring of Ryler DeHeart as the Seminoles new associate head coach. DeHeart played collegiately at Illinois from 2003 to 2006 and then spent the five years afterwards on the pro tour. DeHeart had been the assistant coach under George Husack at Alabama for the last four years so now that means the Crimson Tide are on the market for an assistant.

St. Leo Director of Athletics Francis Reidy announced the hiring of Pablo Montana as the Lions new men's and women's head coach. Montana, who is a two-time National Coach of the Year, spent the last 12 seasons as the women's head coach of D2's California University of Pennsylvania racking up 259 wins and leading the squad to seven NCAA D2 quarterfinals. Montana replaces Chris Frusci who departed after two seasons to become the new women's assistant coach at Baylor. Frusci was named the 2016 ITA D2 National Coach of the Year after leading the men's team to a runner-up finish while the women's team made the semifinals.

Eubanks Qualifies for BB&T, Sandgren Wins Again in Illinois, Withrow/Smith Wins Dubs Title

What had already been a good week for Chris Eubanks turned into a great week after the Georgia Tech rising junior upset world #104 Thiago Monteiro to qualify for the main draw at the BB&T ATP 250 Atlanta Open. Eubanks had to earn a spot in the qualifying field by winning a Wild Card playoff over teammate Cole Fiegel and 2013 Samford graduate Zac Dunkle and then he had to beat world #210 Tommy Paul in the opening round of qualies just to get to today's match against Monteiro.

Eubanks earned the only break of the first set when he broke Monteiro's 2-2 service game to go ahead 3-2 and three holds later he had the opening set 6-4. Eubanks broke Monteiro's 3-3 service game in the second set but Monteiro broke back to even it at 4-4. Eubanks fought off a set point to hold for 5-5 and then he broke from 30/40 to go up 6-5. Eubanks went up 40/15 on his serve and held from 40/30 to win it 6-4, 7-5.

Pro Circuit Update - Plenty of Doubles Success and Libietis Wins Again

#474 Mikelis Libietis (Tennessee '15) won his tenth straight match and second straight Futures after defeating #1626 Alberto Brizzi 7-6(6), 7-6(6) in the finals of the $10K Futures in Parnu, Estonia. Libietis broke Brizzi to start the match and then held in a four-deuce game to go ahead 2-0. Brizzi took the next four games to open up a 4-2 lead but Libietis took the next two to even it at 4-4. It stayed on serve until the tiebreak and then Libietis won the pivotal 6-6 point on Brizzi's serve and then took the next point to take the opening set tiebreak 8-6. The second set started with six straight holds then Brizzi broke from 15/40 to go up 4-3. Libietis broke back at love to even it at 4-4 and then it was all holds until the tiebreak. Libietis led 6-3 in the tiebreak but Brizzi fought off three match points (two on his own serve and one on Libietis's serve) to even it at 6-6. Libietis took the last two points to close out the title.

Coaching Changes, Kentucky Planning a $20M Facility, Pro Circuit Update

Friday was a busy day for the coaching carousel with Cal Irvine, Old Dominion, and Iowa each announcing head coaching hires.

UC Irvine announced that Mike Saunders, who served as the interim men's head coach last season, has been named as the permanent men's head coach. Saunders, who is a 1990 UC Irvine graduate, took over as the interim coach last October after Trevor Kronemann, 117-126 (.481), stepped down to become the Director of Junior Tennis at the Southern California Tennis Association (SCTA). Saunders led the Anteaters to a 17-9 record last season before they bowed out to UCSB in the Big West semifinals.

Mai-Ly Tran to Drake, Sabogal New Assistant at Kentucky, Pro Circuit Update

Drake Associate Athletic Director Brian Brown announced the hiring of Mai-Ly Tran as the Bulldogs new women's coach. Tran, who played at Cal State Fullerton from 2004 to 2007, comes to Des Moines after serving as an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton for the last three seasons. John Hollimon was the interim coach last season and led Drake to a 15-12 record and a semifinal appearance at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

Sandgren, Hanfmann, and Shaffer Win Futures Singles Titles while JP Smith Wins a Challenger in Dubs

Tennys Sandgren (Tennessee '11) won his 11th career pro singles title with a straight set win over Facundo Mena in the finals of the $25K USA F24 Futures in Godfrey, Illinois. The match started just after 10 a.m. central with temperatures already approaching 90 degrees and the heat index just short of 100.

Sandgren dominated the opening set winning 29 of 41 points in route to taking a 6-0 set in 31 minutes. More than 5 of those minutes came when Sandgren took a medical timeout, after going up 3-0, due to a blister ripping open on his right hand during the opening game of the match. The opening game tied for the longest game of the match with Sandgren holding in a five-deuce ten-minute service game. Mena had one break point at 30/40 but he couldn't convert and he was unable to convert much of anything the rest of the set. Mena gave away too many points with an unforced error count that was in the double digits.

Luke Siegel Update, Bellis Commits to Stanford, Libietis and Dima Win Pro Singles Titles, Doubles Success

There was plenty of action today on the pro circuit but before I get into those results I wanted to give everyone an update on Luke Siegel who is the 10-year old son of former Texas Tech men's coach Tim Siegel. I'm sure many know the story but for those that don't Luke was involved in a golf cart accident almost a year ago (July 28, 2015) which caused serious head and chest trauma and left Luke with an anoxic brain injury. The Siegels were told that Luke would never regain the use of his limbs, eyes, or voice but he has managed to make progress over the last several months. KAMC TV in Lubbock did a story on Luke and the community support earlier this week with Tim talking about the kind of progress that Luke has made in the last couple of weeks - make sure you check out that story here.

The Lubbock and tennis community has rallied around the Siegels and raised almost $100,000 to help with medical expenses and care through this GoFundMe page. There is a Facebook page, Pray for Luke Siegel, that gives updates and posts videos about Luke's progress so if you are able to help in any way please do and make sure you keep Luke and the Siegels in your prayers.

Schnur Turns Pro, Reinberg/Ponwith Win First Title, Mariana Cobra Heading to UNF, Blumberg to UNC in January

North Carolina junior Brayden Schnur announced today that he would be foregoing his final year of eligibility and turning pro effective immediately. Schnur compiled a 49-25 overall singles record, 38-22 in dual-match play, with all but three dual-matches coming at the top spot in the singles lineup. Schnur battled injuries in each of the last two seasons but when he was healthy he was a very tough out. Brayden's top individual accomplishments came during the fall of 2014 (only fall he played) when he went 11-0 and won the prestigious USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships. Brayden will make his pro debut on Saturday afternoon against Radek Stepanek in qualies at the ATP Masters Series Rogers Cup in Toronto.

Chang Streaking in Godfrey, Perez Wins Another Doubles Title, Kirchheimer Gets E-Ville WC, Ole Miss Schedule

The weather in Greater St. Louis has been extremely hot and humid this week but that hasn't slowed down 2013 Rice graduate Jonathan Chang as he has blazed his way into the quarterfinals at the $25K Godfrey, Illinois, USA F24 Futures. Chang came into this week's Futures event having won just one main draw match but he's managed to come through qualies and knock off a pair off a pair of guys that spent most of last year in the ITA top 10. Chang defeated Georgia Tech's Chris Eubanks 6-2, 6-3 in the opening round then today he came back from a 5-2 third set deficit to beat recent Tulane graduate Dominik Koepfer 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5 in a match that lasted 3 hours and 2 minutes. Chang's quarterfinal opponent will be former Tennessee All-American Rhyne Williams while the other quarterfinal match in the top half of the draw will be between former Tennessee Vol Tennys Sandgren and former Georgia Bulldog Wil Spencer.