Valparaiso University men’s tennis senior Brandon Ancona (Belvidere, Ill. / Rockford Christian) is set to participate in the 2019 Oracle ITA Masters this week at the Malibu Racquet Club and Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif.
The event, which is now in its fifth year, features many of the top collegiate tennis players in the country. The tournament will begin on Thursday utilizing a 32-player singles draw. Invitations are sent based on conference affiliation, with each conference having the opportunity to send its top returning player. Ancona was selected to represent the Summit League based on his status as 2019 Summit League Player of the Year.
Seven of the Top 25 men’s players in the 2019-20 Oracle ITA Division I Preseason national rankings are scheduled to compete, including USC’s Daniel Cukierman (No. 8), Jack Lin (Columbia; No. 9), Carlos Aguilar (Texas A&M; No. 13), Matias Soto (Baylor; No. 14), Hady Habib (Texas A&M; No. 16), Keegan Smith (UCLA; No. 20) and Alex Brown (Illinois; No. 23).
Mixed doubles Round 1 will begin at 8 a.m. Pacific Time / 10 a.m. Central Time on Thursday morning, with women’s singles Round 1 and men’s singles Round 1 to follow. All matches will use no-ad scoring. Singles matches will play best two of three sets, each set to six games with a tiebreak at 6-all. A first match loser consolation draw will be held so everyone is guaranteed two singles matches.
