Fearnley wins NCAAs, doubles titles for Mackinlay and Stewart, Reid victorious in Rome

Jacob Fearnley made history in the US, becoming the first Scot to win the NCAA Division I title.

The team travelled to Stillwater, Oklahoma, where they faced University of Kentucky in the quarter-final, dispatching them 4-0 to make the final four. 

TCU got one back on Ohio State, who denied them a third consecutive National Indoor title earlier in the season. Fearnley went undefeated in upsetting the top seeds 4-2 as he picked up wins at the top doubles spot and second singles position. 

The final saw TCU play in-state rivals the University of Texas. The Texas Longhorns had also denied the Horned Frogs a title in the Big 12 conference final last month.  

The final was nothing short of thrilling as TCU picked up the doubles point thanks to another win from Fearnley and his partner Pedro Vives.  

In singles at the second spot, Jacob conceded only his third loss of the season to fifth-ranked singles player Micah Braswell. 

However, TCU rallied from 3-2 down to clinch the tie 4-3 and win their first ever national championship, making Jacob the first Scot to win the NCAA Division I Championship title. 

This concludes Jacob’s exceptional team dual career for TCU, where he has been a pivotal part of TCU’s rise to the top of college tennis and has contributed to the programme’s first ever National Indoor and NCAA titles. 

Jacob remains in Stillwater this week as he prepares to continue his success in the NCAA singles and doubles championships.

Doubles titles for Mackinlay and Stewart 

Hamish Stewart and James Mackinlay won titles over the weekend on the ITF pro tour. 

Stewart partnered with Charles Broom at the M25 Kachreti, Georgia, and entered as the second seeds. 

After a first round win against Erik Arutiunian Aliaksandr Liaonenka 6-4 6-1, the pair then got through a tight quarter-final against Turkish duo Altug Celikbilek and Cem Ilkel 6-7 6-1 10-5. 

In the semi-final, Stewart and Broom kept their momentum going as they dispatched fourth seeds Egor Agafonov and Illia Simakin 6-2 6-4. 

The final saw them play Denis Istomin and Evgeny Karlovskiy, who had just knocked out the top seeds in the previous round. Stewart and Broom put together another impressive performance to take home the title 6-4 6-4. 

The win in Georgia was Hamish’s first doubles title of the season. 

Meanwhile in Spain, James Mackinlay and University of Stirling’s Liam Hignett made an impressive title run at the M25 Vic.  

Mackinlay and Hignett came into the tournament unseeded and kicked off their week with a 6-1 6-4 win over Jordi Mas de Ugarte and Kenneth Vila.  

Next, they took out Alvaro Gill and Ignasi Forcano 6-1 6-1. Gill and Forcano had upset the top seeds in the previous round. 

In the semi-final, Mackinlay and Hignett played fourth seeds Max Gurri and Alejo Quilez. The pair saved a match point in the third set tie-break before taking their chance on the fifth time of asking to secure a spot in the final 7-6 1-6 14-12. 

Mackinlay and Hignett kept their momentum as they bested Imanol Morillo of Spain and Richard Zusman of the USA 7-5 7-6(1).  

The win was the first title for both players this season, constituting Mackinlay’s third career title and Hignett’s first.

Reid wins in Rome 

Gordon Reid was victorious once again as he and Alfie Hewett paired up to win the Internazionali BNL D’Italia doubles title in Rome. 

As the top seeds, the pair received a bye in the first round before a commanding 6-0 6-0 win over Dutch pair Tom Egberink and Maikel Scheffers. 

In the final, Reid and Hewett took on Spain’s Martin De la Puente and Belgium’s Joachim Gerard for the title. The pair carried on their form beating the second seeds 6-1 6-4 to lift the trophy. 

The Rome title is the first clay court tournament of 2024 for Gordon and Alfie as they look ahead to Roland Garros at the beginning of June.

Junior County Cup round-up 

West and North of Scotland 10U Boys’ teams competed in the North Area Group A County Cup. As they travelled down to Lancashire. 

The West of Scotland team, made up of Alec Brodie, James Crowther, James Huang, Ben Scott and Louis Taylor posted wins over Lancashire and Cumbria.  

The North team made up of David Collins, Murray Draine, Callum Edward, Finn Hutton, and Callum Steven also put together a strong weekend, beating Cumbria before losing out to Lancashire in a shootout. 

North came out on top against West by the tightest of margins but the result was enough to see West finish top of the group.

Troon LTC was the venue for the 10U Boys North Area Group B. 

The East of Scotland Boys’ team made up of Frank Atkins, Fraser Dick, Remi Gonzalez Rochefort, Kian Khochfar and Alfie O’Brien emerged victorious as they posted dominant performances throughout. 

East beat Northumberland 4-2, which they followed up with two clean sweeps over Durham and Cleveland and South of Scotland to finish top of the group.

In the Girls’ event, West of Scotland and South of Scotland 10U teams finished behind Lancashire in North Area Group A in Uddingston whilst North of Scotland finished third in North Area Group B.