SURPRISE, Ariz. — The Oracle ITA Fall Nationals came to an end this weekend with another trophy being added to the Notre Dame collection. After dropping his first match, against David Volfson of Cornell, 6-3, 3-6, 1-6, senior Alex Lebedev entered the consolation draw hoping for better results.
Through the remaining rounds of competition, Lebedev managed to win all but one set to claim the 2018 Oracle ITA Fall Nationals consolation title. He defeated Yancy Dennis in the opening round of 32 by a score of 6-2, 6-3 before being forced to a set three by Kareem Allaf of Iowa. Lebedev took the deciding set 6-3 to finish the round of 16 with a 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3 victory.
The 16th seed in the competition, Lebedev continued his run into the quarterfinals where he beat Tim Ruehl (Arizona State) by a 7-5, 6-3 match score. He breezed past his New Mexico opponent, Ricky Hernandez-Tong, in the semifinals, taking the match 6-4, 6-3 to earn a spot in the championship match.
The final competition came down to Lebedev and Stanford’s Sameer Kumar. Lebedev took the first set 6-4 in a tight race. After claiming set one, he had all the momentum in his favor, carrying him to a 6-1 final score in the second set to claim the draw title.
Lebedev returns to campus with another trophy to add to the Irish collection, having acquired seven through their last four tournaments.
–ND–