Liutova Wins First Pro Event at W35 Las Vegas; Korda conquers Delray Beach ATP 250; CMS repeats as Division III Men’s Indoor Champions; Barry Continues D-II Women’s Indoor Domination; No. No. 2 Ohio State women hold on, No. 4 LSU falls

Sixteen-year-old Kristina Liutova, born in Moscow but living in the United States for many years, captured her first professional title, beating wildcard Melije Clarke of Texas 6-2, 6-4 in today’s final at the W35 in Las Vegas. The unseeded Liutova, who didn’t drop a set all week, is 9-1 on the USTA Pro Circuit this year (including qualifying), with her lone loss coming against Eli Mandlik 7-5 in the third in the quarterfinals of W100 in San Diego late last month.

Liutova, No. 34 in the ITF junior rankings, should move into the WTA Top 500 after the points are tallied. She is registered in the Tucson ITF J300which starts in two weeks.

At the WTA 125 Dow Tennis Classic in Midland Michigan, 23-year-old Alina Charaeva of Russia, the No. 5 seed, won the biggest title of her career, although she lost a two-break lead in the second set before pressuring unseeded Hanyu Guo of China 6-4, 7-6(4).

Wild card Hunter Heck (Illinois) fell in the final of the M15 in Naples, Floridalost to No. 2 seed Tommaso Compagnucci of Italy 6-4, 6-3.

At the W15 in Palm Coast, Floridaformer Old Dominion All-American Sofia Johnson of Great Britain, a qualifier, defeated top seed Thaisa Pedretti of Brazil 6-4, 6-2 to win her first ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour title. Johnson dropped just one set as Georgia recruited Bella Payne in the semifinals, in her seven wins.

No. 2 seed Claremont-Mudd-Scripps defended them ITA Division III Men’s National Indoor Team title today in Minnesota, beating No. 4 seed Chicago 4-1. Warren Pham, who had also won CMS’s first-ever men’s indoor title last year, placed 2 again this year. The box score is here; is the CMS release here.

The top-placed Barry women won their sixth Division II National Team Indoor title today in Indianapolis, beating No. 6 seed West Florida 4-0. Barry has won every Team Indoor title they have competed in, with the event starting for D-II in 2020; the only year they didn’t win, 2021, they didn’t play.

Three notable results from the Top 5 Women’s Division I teams in action today, with No. 2 Ohio State surviving the trip to Stillwater where the Cowgirls came short-handed. No. No. 25 Oklahoma State had to give up No. 3 doubles, but still took the point with wins on lines 1 and 2. They also had to give up No. 6 singles, even as Melisa Ercan made her first appearance of the season. Their usual No. 6 Marcela Lopez was out, and Lucia Peyre, back this spring after her torn ACL, suffered a torn Achilles tendon and is out for the season. Ohio State earned wins over Luciana Perry at 1, Teah Chavez at 2 and Audrey Spencer at 4, with Perry earning a 4-2 win, while Oklahoma State’s Rose Marie Nijkamp earned a three-set victory on line 3 after the clinch. For the full box score, see this article from the Ohio State website.

No. No. 4 LSU, playing without their No. 1 Cadence Brace, who qualified for the WTA 500 this weekend in Merida, Mexico, and their No. 2 Kayla Cross, who lost in qualifying, fell 5-2 to unranked Ole Miss in Oxford. Once again the match was played, after Ole Miss secured the clinch with the doubles point and wins on lines 1, 4 and 6. The full box score is available in this article from the Ole Miss website.

No. No. 5 Texas A&M edged past No. 10 Texas in College Station, with the Aggies making it 4-2 with the doubles point and singles wins on lines 2, 5 and 3. Once again, the match was played out, with Texas taking the final point on line 1. See this article from the Texas A&M website for the details.