Tournament Singles Results
Tournament Doubles Results
Ojai Valley, CA – The Academy of Art University's women's tennis team traveled to southern California to compete in one of the most competitive and challenging tournaments of the season. The OJAI tournament consists of tennis players from all across the country, in all divisions, and they compete individually and as doubles for top national rankings. The Urban Knights began their play on Thursday, April 28th, and have concluded two days of competition.
The OJAI tournament began with 256 contestants, and several matches played in each of the nine rounds. ART U competed in the round of 64 which three of their players had battled their way into. But that round proved difficult for the young Knights, and two of their three singles players were defeated.
No. 13 ranked Kunkanda "Cartoon" Phukchampa was defeated in her match bringing a big upset because of her high expected finish. Phukchampa fell to Vanessa Reibstein in two sets, 7-5, 6-3. Another big upset for ART U came when Laone "Lala" Botshoma was edged out in her singles match. She fell in two sets to Johanna Sceresini with scores of 6-3, 6-3.
However, the Urban Knights did see some success in singles play in the tournament when Amal Ben El Hadj came up with a big win over her singles opponent. Ben El Hadj easily defeated her challenger, Kia Choi, in two sets winning 6-1, 6-0. Amal then competed in the round of 32 where she again came up with a huge victory. This time she defeated No.15 in the nation, Yumiko Justin, after three well fought sets. Ben El Hadj came away on top winning with scores of 6-4, 7-6, (7-5).
Making it all the way to the round of 16, Ben El Hadj was again challenged in singles play when she faced another nationally ranked opponent. This time she faced No. 5 Verena Preikschas. Although she played extremely well and put up a very impressive outing against her competitor, Amal fell just short of the victory with final scores of 7-5, 6-4.
In the doubles division, Ben El Hadj teamed up with Phukchampa and they proved to be a powerhouse in the tournament acting together. They began in the round of 32 and they quickly outplayed their opponents. The duo defeated Calbeck/Hansen with scores of 6-1, 6-1. Moving right along, the pair next competed in the round of 16 where they faced nationally ranked opponents. But Amal and Kunkanda did not let that phase them as they came out attacking, showing their strength as a team. After three sets, the ART U duo came out victorious over the No.3 ranked team of Justin/Vallardes, winning 6-1, 4-6, (10-8).
Ben El Hadj and Phukchampa kept things rolling when they worked their way to the quarterfinal round. There, the team again faced national ranked opponents as they took on the No.5 doubles team. The two Knights left their hearts out on the court but were just edged out as they dropped their match to Lim/Lim with scores of 6-1, 7-5.
After two days of hard competition, the Urban Knights conclude their play in the OJAI tournament. Each year the team continues to improve, and this year they defeated several nationally ranked opponents. The Academy of Art University played very well in both doubles and singles play, and continue to wow opponents throughout the country.
