University of Houston wins team title at ITA National Wheelchair Tennis Championships

History was made this week at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, as the University of Houston Cougars captured the team title at the 2024 ITA National Wheelchair Tennis Championships.

The third-seeded Cougars' 2-1 win over top-seeded San Diego State University in Saturday's final ended the seven-year reign of the University of Alabama as team champions in the event, which was rebranded the ITA National Wheelchair Tennis Championships this year. 

Houston was the class of the team event all weekend. Prior to the knockout rounds, the Cougars beat both Clemson University and Michigan State University in round-robin play without losing a single set, and going a near-perfect 64-1 in games won. SDSU and second-seeded Auburn University also went 2-0 in the round-robin, and the semifinals were rounded out by unseeded Virginia Tech University, which squeaked in out of three teams (including Alabama) with a 1-1 record based off its percentage of games won. 

However, Houston was forced to rally in its semifinal win over Auburn after dropping a tight doubles match, 9-7. In singles, there was no such trouble. No. 1 player Jose Arriaga beat Gabe Puthoff, 6-3, 6-0, and Nicholas Tijerina also dropped just three games at No. 2 in a 6-2, 6-1 win over Jude Hiley.

SDSU, meanwhile, was a 3-0 winner over Virginia Tech in the semis, losing just five games across the three matches. 

In the best-of-three match final, Houston raced out to the early lead by taking the doubles point: Jose Arriaga and Nicholas Tijerina defeated Manuel Gomez and Ryotaro Sakaguchi, 8-6. There was equally little to separate the two teams in the singles matches, which saw Arriaga face Gomez and Tijerina face Sakaguchi.

At No. 2 singles, Sakaguchi defeated Tijerina, rolling to a 7-6(5), 6-1 victory after a tight first set, while the No. 1 singles match result, and trophy, came down to a matter of points. In the end, Arriaga edged Gomez in a match tiebreak, 6-2, 5-7, [10-6], to earn Houston its historic title.

Champions were also crowned in the individual singles events. In the 'B' draw, Virginia’s Jacob Wald defeated Auburn’s Evan Heller 5-7, 6-4, [10-4] to win his second national title; he also won in 2023 competing in the 'C' flight. This year's 'C' flight final was also decided in a match tiebreak, as teammates, Arizona’s Den Baseda and Anthony Lue, squared off. Competing in just his third wheelchair tennis tournament, Baseda rallied from a set down to win 5-7, 6-4, [10-6] over his fellow Wildcat.

In the 'A' flight, the Top 4 competitors at the event—Eric Court (Arizona), Martha Harris (Alabama), Gabe Puthoff (Auburn) and Tijerina—will travel to Stillwater, Okla. next month to compete alongside the NCAA Division I Championships as a part of the NCAA's newly-formed commitment to elevate Paralympic sports.