February may be short on days, but it was long on accomplishments, with three college indoor team champions crowned, six recent collegians earning ITF World Tennis Tour titles, and The ITF junior South American swing producing a host of unexpected champions. Breakthrough titles at the Challenger level were also secured by a current collegian and a 17-year-old wild card, while an international trio of teenaged girls got their first titles at entry-level pro events.
The 17-year-old from Ohio received a wild card into the $100,000 Dow Tennis Classic, one of the biggest and longest running women’s tennis tournaments in the country, and a first round win over No. 7 seed Nicole Gibbs was a hint of what was to come. McNally defeated established WTA Top 100 veterans Madison Brengle, seeded No. 3, in the quarterfinals and Rebecca Peterson of Sweden, the top seed, in the semifinal, setting up a championship match with No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula. McNally’s 6-2, 6-4 win over Pegula concluded her run of straight-sets victories, and with the title, her WTA ranking went from 411 to 253. As the month ended, McNally had picked up yet another WTA Top 100 win at the Indian Wells WTA 125 while reaching the third round.
JJ Wolf
The 20-year-old Ohio State junior was an ace in January for capturing his first Challenger title, and when he returned to collegiate tennis last month, Wolf continued his impressive results, leading the top-seeded Buckeyes to their second ITA Men’s Team Indoor title. Wolf dominated the field at No. 1 singles, where matches often go unfinished in the first-to-four-points format, putting up four straight-sets victories to earn the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award. Wolf, now 286 in the ATP rankings, has moved into the top spot in the ITA singles rankings. (Photo credit: Scott Gerber)
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