To say Richard Ciamarra prevailed consistently throughout the ITA National Fall Championships is an understatement. Ciamarra constantly battled throughout, never giving up hope.
In the first round, Ciamarra grasped the win over Ibanez Gallego of BAR, 5-7 7-5 6-3. He moved on the the second round to yet again, win the match. This time, he defeated the No. 2 seed, Keegan Smith of UCLA, 5-7 6-3 6-2.
On Friday morning in the third round of singles play, he beat UGA’s Philip Henning within two sets, 7-6(3) 7-5. Later that night, Ciamarra dominated the quarterfinals as he clinched the victory over Hady Habib of TAMU in two quick sets, 6-3 6-1.
Semifinals play commenced on Saturday afternoon in Newport Beach, CA. Ciamarra was matched up against STM’s Damon Kesaris. Kesaris secured the first set, 6-3, only for Ciamarra to come back and steal the second, 6-4. Once again, it was all tied up as it came down to the third set. After a massive battle, Ciamarra fell to Kesaris in the final set of the Semifinals, 7-5.
It was an amazing effort by Ciamarra in one of the three collegiate grand slams. To make it to the semifinals of the ITA Nationals is a win in itself.
Irish will close out the fall season at the ITF Futures- Tuscaloosa on November 11 and the ITF Futures-East Lansing on November 18.