ITA Oracle Cup Final Results

ROME, Ga. – Entering as the No. 1 seed in the nation at the ITA Oracle Cup, Academy of Art women's tennis' Alma Thell-Lenntorp and Klara Thell-Lenntorp entered the tournament for the second-consecutive season.
 
With the momentum on their side after a thrilling victory to claim the title at the ITA Regional Tournament on September 30, the twins headed to Rome, Ga. to face Volikova and Kislitskaya from Indianapolis in the first match. After dropping the first set, the Thell-Lenntorps took the second to force a tiebreaker. The twins immediately fell behind in the 10-point set by the score of 9-1, but managed to rally for six straight points to only trail by two (9-7). However, the pair from Indianapolis took the final point to claim the match, sending the twins from ART U into the bracket which battled for fifth-place.
 
In their next match, Alma and Klara took on a doubles team from Charleston, but they proved to be no match for the Knights' duo: the Urban Knights ended up sweeping the match without conceding a single game, finishing with a perfect, 6-0, 6-0 score.
 
The win propelled the Thell-Lenntorps into the championship match for the fifth-place bracket where they faced the No. 2 seed Duff and Coffman from Midwestern State on Saturday afternoon. The match was tightly-contested throughout, but the twins dropped the first set by a mere two games (7-5). Determined to not go down without a fight, Academy of Art pulled themselves together to take the second set 6-4, forcing a tiebreaker (their second of the tournament). The final set of points was close once again, however Alma and Klara were unable to pull through in the final moments, losing the tiebreaker 10-6.
 
Now ranked No. 6 in the country as a doubles team, the twins will return home to San Francisco with more determination than ever to assert their dominance as not only as the premiere doubles team in the PacWest, but as the best in the entire West Region. The duo will have one more fall tuneup at the end of October when they head to the Stanislaus Warrior Invite October 27-29.
 
"I think this tournament showed that Alma and Klara are a great doubles team and they will be very impressive come spring-time," said Acting Coach and Assistant Athletic Trainer Kevin Williams. "When they play to the strengths in their game, including winning balls at the net and playing with determination and focus, it is clear that there are very few teams that will be able to compete with them."