Tempe, Ariz., Nov. 18, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oracle and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) jointly announced today the creation of wild card linkages between major college tennis championships and the Oracle Pro Series. The champions and finalists from the Oracle ITA Masters, the ITA All-American Championships and the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships will be awarded wild card entries into Oracle Pro Series events beginning with the 2020 season.
The opportunity to earn wild card entries into Oracle Pro Series tournaments is available to college players from all five divisions (NCAA DI, DII, DIII, NAIA and Junior College). Singles and doubles champions from The All-American Championships and the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships as well as the Oracle ITA Masters singles champions will earn wild cards into Oracle Challenger level events. Singles and doubles finalists from the All-American Championships and the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships will earn wild cards into Oracle $25k tournaments. ITA Cup singles champions (from NCAA DII, DIII, NAIA and Junior College) will also earn wild card entries into Oracle $25K tournaments.
Eighteen individuals and eight doubles teams have already secured wild cards for Oracle Pro Series tournaments in 2020 following their play at the 2019 Oracle ITA Masters, 2019 ITA All-American Championships, 2019 ITA Cup, and 2019 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships. The list includes:
Oracle ITA MastersMen’s Singles Champion – Daniel Cukierman (USC)
Men’s Singles Finalist – Keegan Smith (UCLA)
Women’s Singles Champion – Ashley Lahey (Pepperdine)
Women’s Singles Finalist – Jada Hart (UCLA)
Oracle ITA National Fall Championships
Men’s Singles Champion – Yuya Ito (Texas)
Men’s Singles Finalist – Damon Kesaris (Saint Mary’s)
Women’s Singles Champion – Sara Daavettila (North Carolina)
Women’s Singles Finalist – Anna Turati (Texas)
Men’s Doubles Champions – Dominik Kellovsky/Matej Vocel (Oklahoma State)
Men’s Doubles Finalists – Robert Cash/John McNally (Ohio State)
Women’s Doubles Champions – Elysia Bolton/Jada Hart (UCLA)
Women’s Doubles Finalists – Anna Rogers/Alana Smith (NC State)
ITA All-American Championships
Men’s Singles Champion – Yuya Ito (Texas)
Men’s Singles Finalist – Sam Riffice (Florida)
Men’s Doubles Champions – Jack Lin/Jackie Tang (Columbia)
Men’s Doubles Finalists – Gabriel Decamps/Juan Pablo Mazzuchi (UCF)
Women’s Singles Champion – Ashley Lahey (Pepperdine)
Women’s Singles Finalist – Alexa Graham (North Carolina)
Women’s Doubles Champions – Jessie Gong/Samantha Martinelli (Yale)
Women’s Doubles Finalists – Tenika McGiffin/Kaitlin Staines (Tennessee)
ITA Cup
Men’s Division II Singles Champion – Alejandro Gallego (Barry)
Men’s Division III Singles Champion – Boris Sorkin Tufts)
Men’s NAIA Singles Champion – Jose Dugo (Georgia Gwinnett)
Men’s Junior College Singles Champion – Oscar Gabriel Ortiz (Seward County)
Women’s Division II Singles Champion – Berta Bonardi (West Florida)
Women’s Division III Singles Champion – Justine Leong (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps)
Women’s NAIA Singles Champion – Elyse Lavender (Brenau)
Women’s Junior College Singles Champion – Tatiana Simova (ASA Miami)
“This is yet another exciting step forward for all of college tennis as we build upon our ever-growing partnership with Oracle,” said ITA Chief Executive Officer Timothy Russell. “We are forever grateful to our colleagues at Oracle for both their vision and execution of these fabulous opportunities.”
Oracle is partnering with InsideOut Sports & Entertainment, led by former World No. 1 and Hall of Famer Jim Courier and his business partner Jon Venison, to manage the Oracle Pro Series. InsideOut will work with the college players and their respective coaches to coordinate scheduling in respect to their participation in the Pro Series events.
The final schedule for the 2020 Oracle Pro Series will include more than 35 tournaments, most of which will be combined men’s and women’s events. Dates and locations are listed at https://oracleproseries.com/. Follow on social media through #OracleProSeries.
The expanding partnership between Oracle and the ITA builds upon their collaborative efforts to provide playing opportunities and their goal of raising the profile of college tennis and the sport in general. Oracle supports collegiate tennis through sponsorship of the ITA, including hosting marquee events throughout the year such as the Oracle ITA Masters and the Oracle ITA Fall Championships.
Through that partnership, the ITA has been able to showcase its top events to a national audience as the Oracle ITA Masters, ITA All-American Championships and Oracle ITA National Fall Championships singles finals have been broadcast live with rebroadcasts on the ESPN family of networks.
About the Intercollegiate Tennis Association
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) is committed to serving college tennis and returning the leaders of tomorrow. As the governing body of college tennis, the ITA oversees men’s and women’s varsity tennis at NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and Junior/Community College divisions. The ITA administers a comprehensive awards and rankings program for men’s and women’s varsity players, coaches and teams in all divisions, providing recognition for their accomplishments on and off the court. For more information on the ITA, visit the ITA website at www.itatennis.com, like the ITA on Facebook or follow @ITA_Tennis on Twitter and Instagram.
About Oracle Tennis
Oracle is committed to supporting American tennis for all players across the collegiate and professional levels. Through sponsorship of tournaments, players, ranking, organizations and more, Oracle has infused the sport with vital resources and increased opportunities for players to further their careers. For more information, visit www.oracle.com/corporate/tennis/. Follow @OracleTennis on Twitter and Instagram.
About Oracle
The Oracle Cloud offers a complete suite of integrated applications for Sales, Service, Marketing, Human Resources, Finance, Supply Chain and Manufacturing, plus Highly Automated and Secure Generation 2 Infrastructure featuring the Oracle Autonomous Database. For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), please visit us at www.oracle.com.
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ITA Contact: Al Barba
Phone: 602.687.6379
Email: abarba@itatennis.com
Oracle Contact: Mindi Bach
Phone: 650.506.3221
Email: mindi.bach@oracle.com