College Players Dominate in LA; Tang Falls In Hong Kong; Lin Loring Retires at IU with Ramiro Azcui Named His Replacement

There were a lot of close battles on Thursday at the $25K USC/Los Angeles USA F1 Futures with all eight second round matches played between players with collegiate ties and a few played between players from the same school. Virginia freshman Carl Soderlund held off Virginia senior Thai-Son Kwiatkowski in a match that’ll probably be repeated in practice for weeks and months to come. The match started off with back-to-back holds and was then followed by six consecutive breaks before Soderlund held for 5-4. After another pair of holds Soderlund broke from 30/40 to close out the set 7-5. The server did much better in the second set with only one break in the first nine games which came when Kwiatkowski broke 3-2. Kwiatkowski led 5-3 and served for the set up 5-4 but Soderlund broke from 15/40, held from 40/30, and broke from 15/40 to close it out 7-5, 7-5 in 2 hours and 4 minutes.  

Soderlund will now face another Virginia teammate after Collin Altamirano defeated recent UCLA graduate Karue Sell in straight sets. Sell jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first set but Altamirano won the next five to go in front 5-3. Sell won the next three to take a 6-5 lead but Altamirano held to send it to a tiebreak. Altamirano went up an early mini break and made it hold up as he took the set 7-6(5). Sell would go up an early break in the second set but Altamirano broke back and eventually broke Sell again from 30/40 to close it out 7-6(5), 7-5.

Former USC Trojan Emilio Gomez won an All-LA Battle with former UCLA Bruin Clay Thompson in a lengthy 2 hour and 42 minute match. Gomez was broke serving for the first set up 5-4 but he broke back and held to take the set 7-5. There were no breaks in the second set which Thompson took in a tiebreak 7-6(5). The third set started off with three consecutive breaks and Thompson was eventually able to extend his lead to 4-2 after coming back from 0/40 down to get the hold. Gomez held and broke from 30/40 to even it at 4-4 and then he would serve for the match up 6-5 after breaking again from 30/40. Thompson broke back from 30/40 to send it to a match deciding tiebreak. Gomez went up a mini-break at 4-2* but Thompson took the next two to even it at 4-4. Gomez reclaimed the mini-break at 6-4* and closed it out 7-5. 

Gomez will now face Evan King after the former Michigan Wolverine fought off Virginia senior JC Aragone in just under two and a half hours. After splitting sets Aragone went up a break at 2-1 but King broke back in the next game to even it at 2-2. Aragone had a pair of break points to go up 6-5 but King managed to hold and then he broke from 30/40 to win 6-3, 2-6, 7-5.

Mackenzie McDonald won the All-Bruin, All-NCAA Singles Champ match against former teammate Marcos Giron. Giron won the first set in a tiebreak 7-6(4) but McDonald dominated the next two sets closing it out 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-2 in 2 hours and 6 minutes. McDonald will meet Roberto Quiroz (USC ’15) in the quarterfinals after Quiroz defeated Virginia junior Henrik Wiersholm in straight sets. 

The other two second round matches both finished fairly quickly with former USC Trojan Yannick Hanfmann and former Pepperdine Wave Sebastian Fanselow each winning comfortably in straight sets. 

You can rewatch these matches at these links – Altamirano/Sell (Part 1/Part 2), Gomez/Thompson (Part 1/Part 2), King/Aragone (Part 1/Part 2), McDonald/Giron (Part 1/Part 2), Quiroz/Wiersholm (Part 1/Part 2), Hanfmann/Brymer, Soderlund/Kwiatkowski, Fanselow/Nevolo. USC turned it’s cameras on when play was supposed to begin but rain pushed the start back several hours so on the ones with Part 1 and 2 you have to fast forward a ways on Part 1. 

$25K Los Angles USA F1 Futures Second Round