TULSA, Okla. – Illinois senior Kenta Miyoshi punched his ticket into the NCAA Singles Championship following his run at the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla. The Japan native earned five ranked wins over the course of the week, capped off by a victory over No. 28 Jack Loutit on Sunday morning.
Miyoshi has now qualified for the NCAA Singles Championship for the second time in his career after also advancing to the national tournament last fall.
"I'm super proud of Kenta," said head coach Brad Dancer. "It was a difficult week for him, to be honest. He's going through an immense growing period. There were challenges for him every single match this week, but he was able to rise to those moments."
Miyoshi opened his tournament run with a three-set victory over Princeton's No. 35-ranked Top Nidunjianzan on Wednesday. The Illini senior secured the opening frame by a 7-5 margin via a break in the 12th game, though Nidunjianzan responded by taking the second set. In the third frame, Miyoshi overcame an early break by breaking back immediately in the second game before breaking again in the sixth game to establish a 4-2 edge. Holding serve the rest of the way, the Japan native advanced to the second round with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 victory.
Facing No. 26 Loren Byers of Ohio State on Thursday, Miyoshi earned his second three-set win in as many days. Miyoshi cruised to a 6-1 decision in the opening frame before Byers battled back to win the second set. In the third set, the Illini senior broke twice within the first four games to jump out to a 4-0 advantage. Despite being broken in the seventh game, Miyoshi broke right back to close out his 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 triumph, sending him into the third round of the singles main draw.
In the third round, Miyoshi faced another Big Ten opponent in Michigan State's No. 66 Matthew Forbes. After the Spartan sophomore secured the opening set, Miyoshi battled to a 7-6(3) decision in the second frame. Despite fighting off three match points in the 10th game of the third set to hold serve, Miyoshi was broken in the 12th game and moved into consolation play.
Shifting into the singles consolation bracket, Miyoshi played his highest-ranked opponent of the week on Saturday with a showdown versus No. 18 Paul Inchauspe of Princeton. The players split the opening two sets, with Miyoshi posting a 6-3 first-set decision before Inchauspe bounced back by grabbing the second frame, 7-5. The Illini senior stepped up once again in the third set, winning the frame by a 6-1 margin to advance to the consolation quarterfinals.
Against Yale's No. 33 Vignesh Gogineni in his second match of the day on Saturday, Miyoshi prevailed in three sets once again to extend his time in Tulsa. After the Bulldog senior secured the opening set, Miyoshi used a break in the second frame to even the match at one set apiece. In the third set, Miyoshi ultimately won the final five games, breaking twice to progress to Sunday's consolation semifinals.
Miyoshi's final match of the competition came against Kentucky's No. 28-ranked Jack Loutit, marking the Illini senior's fifth match of the week against a player ranked in the top 40. After getting broken in the first game of the opening set, Miyoshi broke back immediately before breaking again in the fourth and eighth games to take the frame, 6-2. Going ahead 4-1 in the second set, Loutit was forced to retire due to injury, which saw Miyoshi officially qualify for the NCAA Individual Championships.
Adam Jilly, competing in the singles prequalifying draw, fell on Sept. 20 in his opening match to Arizona's Pepijn Bastiaansen, the No. 20-ranked newcomer in the ITA's preseason rankings. Jilly took the opening frame, 6-3, but fell in the next two sets as his tournament run came to a close.
RESULTS
Saturday, Sept. 20
PQ First Round: Pepijn Bastiaansen (Arizona) def. Adam Jilly (Illinois), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
Wednesday, Sept. 24
MD First Round: [4] #6 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) def. #35 Top Nidunjianzan (Princeton), 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
Thursday, Sept. 25Â
MD Second Round: [4] #6 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) def. #26 Loren Byers (Ohio State), 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
Friday, Sept. 26
MD Third Round: #66 Matthew Forbes (Michigan State) def. [4] #6 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois), 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-5
Saturday, Sept. 27
Con. Round of 16: [4] #6 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) def. [9] #18 Paul Inchauspe (Princeton), 6-3, 5-7, 6-1
Con. Quarterfinals: [4] #6 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) def. #33 Vignesh Gogineni (Yale), 1-6, 6-4, 6-2
Sunday, Sept. 28
Con. Semifinals: [4] #6 Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) def. #28 Jack Loutit (Kentucky), 6-2, 4-1, ret.
