The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Ito claims singles title at ITA All-American Championships
10.13.2019 | Men's Tennis
Senior Yuya Ito took a 6-4, 6-4 victory over No. 10 Sam Riffice of Florida to win the championship.
Tulsa, Okla. – Men's Tennis senior Yuya Ito claimed the men's singles title at the Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over No. 10 Sam Riffice of Florida on Sunday in Tulsa, Okla. Ito becomes the second Longhorn to win the tournament after an all Texas final in 1993 where Chad Clark defeated teammate Ian Williams.
"In this tournament, in the past two years I've lost in the first round, and I thought it might be one of the unlucky tournaments for me, but obviously here I am," Ito said. "I was just very dedicated with this being my last time here. This is just a great tournament. I'm really happy that I came out with a win today, but I'd like to thank everyone that supported this tournament.
"It was a very tough match, but I think I played aggressively on big points and it worked out well. Congrats to Sam (Riffice) on a great tournament, he still has two more years in college after this if he decides to stay, and I know he has a great future ahead of him."
The match between Ito and Riffice was a rematch of No. 2 singles of last year's team national semifinal, which Ito also won, 6-2, 6-2, to help lift Texas to the 2019 National Championship.
"Everyone associated with our program is extremely proud of and happy for Yuya," head coach Bruce Berque said. "Not only did he play great tennis and come up big in the big moments, but he was an outstanding example for our younger players, and represented The University of Texas in a first-class manner throughout the week."
Ito got out quickly on Riffice, picking up a break in the opening game of the match. He followed that with a deuce-point win to establish a 2-0 lead. Riffice held in the next game, but so did Ito, along with picking up a second break for a 4-1 lead. Riffice broke back in the next game, but from there the first set remained on serve to the 6-4 win for Ito.
In the second set, it was Riffice who got out to a fast start, winning the first three games, the last two of which were on deuce points, including a game-two break. However, Ito returned the favor and fought back with a 3-0 run of his own, the last two of which were also on deuce points. The next two games stayed on serve with Ito's win coming on a deuce point to even the set, 4-4. After that, Ito picked up the break he needed to take his first lead of the set, 5-4, and then held in the final game to capture the 6-4 win and the title.
"Yuya set the tone early that he was going to play an aggressive style of tennis, and that was no doubt one of the keys to the match," Berque said. "He used his great speed and defense when he had to, but overall, he was willing to dictate and finish at the net. It was nice to see him weather the storm of falling behind 3-0 in the second set, and close out the match the way he started it – by attacking."
The Longhorns are next scheduled to return to the courts at the ITA Texas Regional Championships from Oct. 25-28 in Waco, Texas.
Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships
Main Draw
Singles Final
No. 4 Yuya Ito (Texas) def. No. 10 Sam Riffice (Florida), 6-4, 6-4
Texas Tournament Results
Nevin Arimilli
Singles
W, Eric Biscoveanu (Temple), 6-1, 6-3
L, Yannai Barkai (NC State), 6-3, 1-6, 7-5
Jacob Bullard
Singles
W, Matteo De Vincentis (Auburn), 6-4, 7-6 (4)
L, Orel Ovil (Wichita State), 7-5, 7-6 (5)
Cleeve Harper
Singles
L, Alex Kotzen (Columbia), 6-4, 6-4
Chih Chi Huang
Singles
L, Bjorn Hoffman (Cal), 6-1, 1-1, ret.
Yuya Ito
Singles
W, Josh Charlton (Oregon), 6-3, 6-1
W, No. 25 Tim Sandkaulen (Ole Miss), 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
W, No. 14 Matias Soto (Baylor), 6-4, 6-3
W, No. 17 Adam Walton (Tennessee), 7-5, 6-2
W, No. 33 Alex Rotsaert (Stanford), 6-3, 6-4
W, No. 10 Sam Riffice (Florida), 6-4, 6-4
Doubles (with Christian Sigsgaard)
W, No. 5 Mukerl Dellien/Marius Frosa (Wichita State), 6-1, 6-4
L, No. 17 Dominik Kellovsky/Matej Vocel (Oklahoma State), 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (8)
Christian Sigsgaard
Singles
W, Siphosothando Montsi (Illinois), 6-2, 6-1
L, No. 32 Gui Osorio (San Diego), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
Doubles (with Yuya Ito)
W, No. 5 Mukerl Dellien/Marius Frosa (Wichita State), 6-1, 6-4
L, No. 17 Dominik Kellovsky/Matej Vocel (Oklahoma State), 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (8)
Siem Woldeab
Singles
L, Josh Charlton (Oregon), 6-7 (5), 6-0, 6-4
L, No. 72 Barnaby Smith (Texas A&M), 6-2, 7-6 (4)
Players Mentioned
