WACO, Texas — Texas junior Oliver Ojakaar locked up a place in the NCAA Division I singles championships on Saturday by winning his quarterfinal at the ITA Central Sectional Championships.
Ojakaar, the No. 2 seed and No. 43 in the national rankings, beat Oklahoma’s Tito Chavez 7-6 (4), 6-1. Getting to the sectional semifinals clinched the national berth. He was set to meet fourth-seeded Cooper Woestendick of TCU, ranked 21st, in Sunday’s semifinal.
Two Longhorn sophomores also won extra matches against Texas A&M players: Abel Forger got past Lathan Skrobarcek 7-5, 7-6 (8), and Lucas Marionneau topped Alexander Frusina 6-4, 7-6 (4). In doubles, Oklahoma’s Chavez and Alejandro Melero knocked out the fourth-seeded Texas pair of Forger and Mariano Dedura-Palomero 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals.
Players qualify for the national singles and doubles fields through approved ITA pathway events like the sectionals. Each gender’s draw holds 64 singles players and 32 doubles teams in single-elimination brackets.
The NCAA will post its selections Monday, Nov. 9, at 4 p.m. ET, with the draw to follow by Saturday, Nov. 14. Play runs from the round of 32 on Nov. 18 through the finals on Sunday, Nov. 22.
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