Hernandez Tong heads to ITA National Fall Championships
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M — After battling some of the top players and teams in the mountain region at the ITA Mountain Regional Championships in Provo, Utah, junior Ricky Hernandez Tong makes his way to the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships in Indian Wells, Calif. The tournament runs Nov. 1-5.
The Oracle ITA National Fall Championships features a 64-player singles draw and doubles consist of a 32-team draw. Matches will take place at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa and the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Players qualified for the tournament through designated placings at earlier ITA National Championships and the ITA Regional Championships. Draws, schedule of play, daily recaps and photo gallery links can be found on the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships event page. Live scoring via Tennis Ticker will be available at both site locations and TempuZ will provide live streaming coverage from two courts at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Links to both live scoring and streaming are also available on the ITA event page. A full breakdown of the selection criteria is available here.
There’s no doubt that Hernandez Tong is one of the top Lobo tennis players to watch this season, posting a 9-3 record the entire fall preseason so far. He was defeated by Sean Hill of BYU 6-2, 6-1 in the final round of Mountain Regionals but still qualified after defeating Utah’s David Micevski 7-5, 7-5 in the semifinals. Last season, Hernandez Tong led the team in wins, posting a 20-10 overall record in singles matches.
“I know Ricky is looking forward to competing this week in Palm Desert” head coach Ben Dunbar said. “He has earned the right to be there and I know it will be a fun week for him. It’s great for Lobo tennis to have a Lobo representing us in the Fall National Championships and we are excited to see Ricky compete and trust the process in his tennis once again.”
As the fall preseason comes to an end, the Lobos look forward training and preparing for the spring season before they open their first match in Lubbock, Texas against UT Rio Grande Valley on Jan. 20, 2018.
Be sure to follow for updates on Ricky’s matches and the team on Facebook (UNM Men’s Tennis Team), Twitter (@UNMLoboMTennis) and Instagram (@unmlobomtennis) for updates and information throughout the week.