Pro Circuit Round-Up: NCAA champs among winners

It was a big week for Americans once again on the USTA Pro Circuit, as U.S. players – including two former NCAA champions – captured singles titles at the three tournaments played last week in Sumter, S.C.,; Fairfield, Calif.; and Houston.

On the men's side, Mackenzie McDonald, who turned pro after sweeping the 2016 NCAA singles and doubles titles his junior year at UCLA, defeated 2010 NCAA singles winner Bradley Klahn (who played for Stanford), 6-4, 6-2, in the final of the $100,000 Northbay Healthcare Men's Pro Championships in Fairfield, Calif. McDonald dropped his only set of the tournament in his opening-round match against No. 6 seed Stefan Kozlov, 6-4, 5-7, 6-1. The 22-year-old California native has now won two USTA Pro Circuit singles titles in 2017. He also took home the championship at the $25,000 Futures event in Los Angeles in January.

Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (pictured above), who won the NCAA singles title in May before graduating from Virginia, defeated Sebastian Korda, 6-2, 6-2, in the final of the $25,000 Texas Tamale Company Houston Cup in Houston for the first USTA Pro Circuit title of his career. The 22-year-old from Charlotte, N.C., reached the final without losing a set and needed less than an hour to defeat the 17-year-old Korda, currently ranked No. 26 in the ITF World Junior Rankings, in the final.

In women's action, Taylor Townsend, the top seed at the $25,000 Sumter's Pink Open in Sumter, S.C., cruised to the title without dropping a set, defeating No. 7 seed Ulrikke Eikeri of Norway, 6-2, 6-1, in Sunday's final. Townsend, a 21-year-old from Atlanta, picked up her fourth USTA Pro Circuit singles championship with the win, previously claiming titles at the $50,000 events in Charlottesville, Va., in 2014 and 2016 and in Indian Harbour Beach, Fla., in 2014.

Townsend also captured the doubles title at the tournament, teaming with Jessica Pegula to upset top seeds Alexandra Mueller and Caitlin Whoriskey, 4-6, 7-6 [10-5], in an all-American final.

Here are some other highlights from Americans competing last week on the USTA Pro Circuit and ITF Pro Circuit:

Men

• Bjorn Fratangelo and Tennys Sandren reached the singles quarterfinals in Fairfield.
• Aron Hiltzik and Dennis Nevolo won the doubles title in Houston, beating Kwiatkowski and Austin Krajicek in an all-American doubles final. Krajicek also reached the singles semifinals at the tournament, and Chris Eubanks and Samuel Shropshire advanced to the singles quarterfinals.
• Nathan Pasha won the doubles title and reached the singles quarterfinals at the $25,000 ITF Pro Circuit Futures event in Cairns, Australia.
• Nate Lammons and Alex Lawson finished runners-up in doubles at the $25,000 ITF Pro Circuit Futures event in Saint-Dizier, France.

Women

• Anna Tatishvili reached the singles semifinals and Pegula reached the singles quarterfinals in Sumter.
• Yuki Chiang advanced to the singles semifinals at the $25,000 ITF Pro Circuit event in Cairns, Australia.
• Chiara Scholl reached the singles semifinals at the $25,000 ITF Pro Circuit event in Santa Margherita di Pula, Italy.
  
• Naomi Cheong was a singles quarterfinalist at the $25,000 ITF Pro Circuit event in Makinohara, Japan.
• Dasha Ivanova reached the singles quarterfinals at the $15,000 ITF Pro Circuit event in Antalya, Turkey.