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The NCAA team championship saw two champions get crowned on Sunday at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. Upsets were predominant at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex over the weekend before Virginia and Texas finished on top.
Virginia Returns to Winner's Podium
In the men’s final, No. 7 seed Virginia (Power 6 UTR 80.97) eased past No. 8 Kentucky (80.67), 4-0 for its first title since 2017 and fifth in program history. The Hoos end the season 28-5 on a 23-match win streak.
The Wildcats were playing in its first-ever NCAA final. Kentucky upset No. 1 TCU to reach their first-ever Final Four and dismissed Ohio State 4-1 in Final Four with Liam Draxl clinching at the No 1 position.
Virginia stunned defending champion and No. 2 seeded Florida 4-1 in the Elite Eight and dominated No. 6 seed Tennessee 5-0 with simultaneous clinches on Saturday. On Sunday, Virginia won the doubles point over Kentucky before getting wins from Bar Botzer at No. 6 and Inaki Montes at No. 2. Most Outstanding Player Gianni Ross secured the title with a straight-set win at No. 5.
Texas Defends Women's Crown
No. 4 Texas (64.83) defeated No. 2 seed Oklahoma (63.98), 4-1 to defend its NCAA title and finish the season 26-4. Oklahoma (32-3) was seeking its first NCAA title in history and had enjoyed its best post-season ever. The rival schools faced off three times before the NCAAs with Oklahoma leading 2-1.
In the Elite Eight on Friday, Oklahoma came back from 2-3 for a dramatic win over No. 6 seed Texas A&M, clinched by a third set victory at No. 6 by freshman Emma Staker. Staker also clinched the Sooners’ Final Four win over the Duke Blue Devils by bouncing back for a 6-0,5-7,6-0 win over fifth-year senior Eliza Omirou
In Sunday’s final, Texas simply proved too strong. The Longhorns won the doubles point and dropped the match at No. 6 before Universal Tennis ambassador Peyton Stearns dismissed Layne Sleeth 6-0,6-2. For the third day in a row, Allura Zamirripa clinched the match at No. 5 to seal the title for the Longhorns and earn Most Outstanding Player honors.
Texas has been dominant in NCAA action, winning Friday and Saturday's matches 4-2 including an upset over No. 1 UNC. Zamarripa clinched both the Elite Eight and Final Four wins for Texas.
There's no time to rest for the champions: NCAA individual singles and doubles tournaments begin Monday. Three Virginia men’s players are in the singles draw: Chris Rodesch, Inaki Montes, and Jeffrey von der Schulenburg. Texas’ Stearns is the No. 2 seed in the women's draw and Kyle Collins opens against No. 3 seed Florida State's Petra Hule.
Download TennisONE for the full live-streaming schedule, brackets, results, and more through the individual and doubles tournaments from May 23-28.