Men's Doubles Draws
POCATELLO, Idaho – Peter Trhac and David Felix posted a historical run through the 2017 ITA Mountain Regional as they advanced to the championship doubles match Oct. 21 in Provo, Utah. Their runner-up performance was enough to earn an at-large bid to the 2017 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, held No. 1-5 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and other resort locations in Indian Wells, Calif.
"I was surprised, and I was excited too at the same time [to find out they made the tournament]," Head Coach
Mark Rodel said. "I had spoken to NAU's head coach after the match [on Oct. 21] and he had indicated that he thought they would have a shot at it. For the Big Sky, for our region, it was really huge."
Trhac and Felix are the first doubles pair in at least 24 years to perform on the national stage; the last time an ISU doubles pair advanced to a national tournament was when Omer Rashid and Mike Castrilli advanced to the NCAA Championships during the 1993 season.
"I appreciate everyone who went to bat for our team because I feel like they recognize the improvements that have been made, and they recognize the talent and the ability of the two particular doubles players that we have."
The duo is one of 14 teams to earn either an at-large bid or a Wildcard selection to the fall championships. The 2017 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, which serves as the concluding event to the fall portion of the college tennis schedule, is the only intercollegiate event to feature competitors from all five divisions competing for a national championship. At-large selections are based on each players' ITA/UTR Rankings Average; the average is a combination of a players' ITA preseason national ranking, Universal Tennis Rating and ITA mid-season unpublished ranking.
The 2017 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships features a 32-team doubles field, and doubles teams will play just one match a day through the finals match on Sunday, Nov. 5.Trhac and Felix face Columbia's Jack Lin and Will Matheson in the round of 32 Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 5 p.m. MST, and they have four of the top eight doubles teams in the nation on their side of the draw.
"Anything is possible," Rodel said. "I know Peter [Trhac] has an attitude where he doesn't even look at the draws. He doesn't really care who he plays; he says he plays the ball. I think David [Felix] is buying into that concept as well. So they simply go out there and try to execute…They've really embraced what I've asked them to do, and they're willing to take risks."
Fans can access live scoring for the 2017 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships by clicking
here.
