TULSA, Okla. – It was a big opening day for Colton Smith and Jay Friend at the ITA All-American Championships, who wrapped the day undefeated in singles and doubles competition.
Kicking off singles for the Cats Wednesday was No. 5 Smith [5] up against No. 42 Kenta Miyoshi of Illinois. Smith faced a challenging first set, winning only two games and falling 2-6. He forced a third set after rising 6-4 in the second. After four games, Smith was down 1-3 in the final set before climbing back to go 3-3, 4-4, 5-5. Smith held off Miyoshi to win the match 2-6, 6-4, 7-5. The victory is especially significant for the Wildcat senior, who fell in the first round of the main draw at last year’s championships.
Over on court nine, No. 15 Jay Friend [9-16] faced off against Anthony Wright of UNC Chapel Hill. Friend, who made a run to the quarterfinals at last season’s All-Americans, took down Wright in straight sets of 6-4, 6-2.
The pair – seeded [5-8] – began doubles competition later that afternoon against Alex Okonwko and Reiya Komagata of Tulsa. The Wildcat duo was looking to go undefeated in the first round, and that they did. Smith and Friend took down their opponents in a gritty fashion with set scores of 6-4, 7-5.
Competition will resume Thursday, Sept. 26 with singles starting at 7:00 a.m. MST and doubles starting at 2:00 p.m. MST.
Thursday, Sept. 26
Singles
7:00 a.m. MST
No. 15 Jay Friend [9-15] vs. No. 75 Rudy Quan (UCLA)
8:30 a.m. MST
No. 5 Colton Smith [5] vs. No. 57 Luca Staeheli (NC State)
Doubles
2:00 p.m. MST
No. 6 Smith/Friend [5-8] vs. No. 23 Oliver Tarvet/Stian Klaassen (San Diego)
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