ANN ARBOR, Mich. – In the history of the ITA Regionals, Wisconsin had never had a doubles team crowned as champion. That changed on Monday when
Josef Dodridge and
Chema Carranza capped off a brilliant weekend by winning the 2017 ITA Midwest Regional doubles championship.
Dodridge and Carranza now advance to the ITA National Fall Championships on Nov. 1-5 in Palm Desert, California. The senior duo will be just the third-ever team to represent Wisconsin in the national championship doubles draw, and the first since Moritz Baumann and Marek Michalicka earned an at-large bid in 2009. The team of Joey Deer and Bryan Nelson also earned an at-large spot in 1990.
"The feeling was unbelievable," Carranza said moments after the match. "I was just so happy because Joe and I are both seniors and this was our last chance to make it to nationals. It's a great feeling and amazing to make history at Wisconsin."
Dodridge and Carranza had already won five consecutive matches to reach the final but faced the top-seeded team of Alex Knight and Runhao Hua from Michigan in the championship match. After the Badgers broke back to pull even at 5-5 in the first set, Michigan claimed the final two points to close out the first set, 7-5.
"We dropped the first set and to be honest I was feeling pretty nervous, it being the final," Dodridge admitted. "We had a great run to get to the final and I think I let it get to me a little. After that first set we regrouped and went into the second set with a positive attitude and managed to play a great second set. We didn't let it phase us."
Indeed, they didn't. The UW tandem broke serve at 4-3 and then used another big serving game from Carranza to close out the second set 6-3 and force a decisive tie-breaker.
"In doubles, the overall attitude between points makes a huge difference," Dodridge explained. "We felt like we had several chances to break, but at 4-3 we told each other to be loose. We got the break and then we had Chema's serve and it's pretty easy to hold his serve. That gave us momentum into the tie-breaker."
The Badgers had the momentum, but still had to outlast some incredible points. Michigan twice staved off match points with impressive rallies, but Dodridge and Carranza never faltered, winning 12-10 in the tie-breaker.
"We had been playing unreal tennis all week, but we knew today we'd have to bring our best," Carranza added. "We started a little tight and we were putting too much pressure on ourselves. But we managed to win every serve game in the second set and we just played how we know how to play. We battled hard."
Dodridge and Carranza have had an impressive start to the 2017-18 season, moving to 13-2 in the young season. The seniors are now 39-21 all-time as a tandem.
Doubles Championships Match
Dodridge/Carranza (UW) def. Knight/Hua (UM), 5-7, 6-3, 12-10
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Wisconsin doubles team of
Chema Carranza and
Josef Dodridge have been turning heads his fall and continued to impress at the ITA Regional Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan on Saturday.
Doubles: Carranza and Dodridge took down Ohio State's Riley Reist and Joseph Thomas, 8-2 to advance to the semifinals.
Carranza and Dodridge are now in the final four doubles teams and will compete Sunday morning against another Buckeye pair, Martin Joyce and John McNally.
Singles: Four Badgers – seniors
Josef Dodridge and
Chema Carranza, along with freshman
Martim Vilela, and junior
Osgar O'Hoisin won their first round matches. However, none of the Badgers advanced beyond the round of 32.
Up Next: The Badgers will continue doubles play at the ITA Regional Championships on Sunday.
Main Draw Doubles
Round of 8
Carranza/Dodridge (UW) def. Riley Reist/Joseph Thomas (OSU), 8-2
Round of 4
Carranza/Dodridge (UW) def. Joyce/McNally (OSU), 7-6 (4), 6-3
Main Draw Singles
Round of 64
Carranza (UW) def. Joshi (NU), 6-3, 6-2
O'Hoisin (UW) def. McCormick (ND), 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
Dodridge (UW) def. Kolaric (ILST), 3-6, 6-0, 6-2
Joyce (OSU) def. Colton (UW), 6-2, 6-1
Vilela (UW) def. Tubert (OSU), 6-4, 2-6, 6-0
Knight (UM) def. Soyfer (UW), 6-2, 7-6 (2)
Round of 32
Hua (UM) def. Carranza (UW), 7-6 (5), 6-3
Lin (UM) def. O'Hoisin (UW), 6-1, 6-2
Thomas (OSU) def. Dodridge (UW), 6-2, 6-1
Brooks (NU) def. Vilela (UW), 6-0, 6-4
Main Draw Consolation Matches
Ciamarra (ND) def. Soyfer (UW), 6-4, 6-2
Qualifying Consolation Matches
Mackenzie (UW) def. Spolidorio (NIU), 6-4, 7-6 (1)
Krill (UW) def. Carlin (MSU), 6-4, 6-2
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Wisconsin crossed Lake Michigan to Ann Arbor for the ITA Regional Championships hosted by Michigan. The Badgers went 3-1 in the first round before filtering out to the last two standing in the doubles draw: seniors Josef Dodridge and Chema Carranza.
Doubles: Dodridge and Carranza raced through the first three rounds of the regional championship, beating their opponents by a combined 18 points.
Their first win came over Michigan State's John Carlin and Ivan Rakic in 8-3 fashion. The two seniors then faced a pair from the UIC, Marcelo Dib and Niko Wasilewicz, and beat them 8-2. The tandem's easiest win would come in the third round, when the Badger pair easily handled Mattias and Kristofer Siimar of Michigan, beating them 8-1. Carranza and Dodridge will now advance to the quarterfinals.
Up Next: The Badgers will continue singles and doubles play at the ITA Regional Championships.
Main Draw Doubles
Round of 64
Carranza/Dodridge (UW) def. Carlin/Rakic (MSU), 8-3
Soyfer/Vilela (UW) def. Vukotic/Teatsorth (Toledo), 8-5
Colton/O'Hoisin (UW) def. Rayl/Somers (ND), 8-6
Forman/Koenen (MSU) def. Mackenzie/Krill (UW), 8-4
Round of 32
Carranza/Dodridge (UW) def. Dib/Wasilewicz (UIC), 8-2
Soyfer/Vilela (UW) def. Kobelt/Seelig (OSU), 8-4
Vandixhorn/Story (NU) def. Colton/O'Hoisin (UW), 8-4
Round of 16
Carranza/Dodridge (UW) def. Siimar/Siimar (UM), 8-1
Knight/Hua (UM) def. Soyfer/Vilela (UW), 8-7 (5)
Qualifying Singles
Nico Mostardi (CSU) def.
Darius Mackenzie (UW), 6-0, 6-1
Boris Spanjaard (DePaul) def.
Robert Krill (UW), 7-5, 6-2
