Tempe, AZ – Reimagined at the start of the 2024 calendar year, the ITA Summer Series powered by WTN has clearly shown its benefits when it comes to competitive matchplay, earning prize money, and providing opportunities to improve a player’s WTN rating. However, this fall, it was also evident the immense developmental potential of the ITA Summer Series with several high-level college tennis players earning births into the 2024-25 NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships this past November in Waco.
As the premiere opportunity for players to compete in level-based matches over the summer months, the 2024 ITA Summer Series provided over 45 tournaments across more than 20 states for competing players. Additionally, over $60,000 in prize money was handed out to athletes this past summer, including a $20,000 prize pool at the ITA Summer National Championships powered by WTN which were played at the award-winning Leftwich Tennis Center in Memphis, Tennessee.
This year, eleven players with ties to the ITA Summer Seris (formerly the ITA Summer Circuit) competed in the 2024-25 NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships. Read more about some of them and how they grew their game over the summer months below.
Julia Fliegner | University of Michigan | 10.0 WTN
As the champion of the 2022 ITA National Summer Championship and the finalist of the 2023 ITA National Summer Championship, Julia Fliegner has been a shining example of the developmental opportunities the Summer Series offers. Behind countless hours spent bettering her craft during the college tennis season and high-level competition through the Summer Series during the 2022 and 2023 summers, Fliegner has quickly become one of the top players in all of Division I Women’s tennis.
Entering the 2024 fall season as the No. 12 ranked singles player in the ITA Preseason Singles Rankings. After a strong fall, Fliegner entered the 2024-25 NCAA Singles Championship as the No. 7 seed and did not disappoint. Reaching the semifinals, Fliegner fell to eventual National Champion, Dasha Vidmanova (Georgia), but still earned ITA All-American status and became just the second Michigan player to reach the NCAA semifinals in program history. Fliegner ended the fall season ranked No. 5 in the ITA Singles Rankings.
Kenta Miyoshi | University of Illinois | 3.6 WTN
Winning back-to-back ITA National Summer Championships in 2023 and 2024, Kenta Miyoshi has climbed up the Illinois lineup each of the past two seasons and has quickly become one of the top players in the nation. Finishing the fall ranked No. 14 in the ITA Singles Rankings, Miyoshi went 12-5 during this fall, including finishing runner-up at his ITA Regional Championship to qualify for the NCAA Singles Championship.
In Waco, Miyoshi would advance to the round of sixteen with wins over Jack Loutit (Kentucky) and Radu Papoe (Cornell). Miyoshi’s impressive fall season included wins over Sebastian Dominko (Notre Dame), Alexander Bernard (Ohio State), and Pedro Vives (TCU) who all rank in the Top 50 of the ITA Fall Rankings.
Marko Miladinovic & Oskar Poulsen | Baylor University | 7.3 WTN & 6.6 WTN
Pairing up for the first time at the 2024 ITA National Summer Championships, Marko Miladinovic and Oskar Poulsen quickly showed their connection on the court, winning the men’s doubles championship in Memphis. Using the ITA All-American main draw wild card by virtue of winning the Summer Championships, Miladinovic and Poulsen would reach the finals and qualify for the NCAA Doubles Championships.
Being one of the biggest risers in the fall, Miladinovic and Poulsen entered the NCAA Doubles Championship as the No. 2 seed and reached the round of sixteen on their home courts. In the final fall rankings, Miladinovic and Poulsen ranked as the No. 3 ranked doubles team in the country.
Eleana Yu | Duke University | 11.8 WTN
As the nation’s top-ranked recruit coming out of high school, Eleana Yu has found her footing this summer and fall at Duke earning her first berth to the NCAA Singles Championship this fall. As the winner of the 2024 ITA National Summer Championships, Yu entered the fall ranked No. 73 in the ITA Singles Rankings before ascending to No. 30 by the end of the fall.
Earning a berth into the NCAA Singles Championship through the ITA Carolina Regional Championships, Yu fell to former ITA All-American Championship winner and seeded opponent, Sarah Hamner (South Carolina) in the first round. Yu finished the fall with a 7-3 record and is set to contribute greatly to the very deep Duke team this spring.
Jamie Connel | Florida State University | 5.0 WTN
Finishing as the ITA National Summer Championship runner-up the past two years, Jamie Connel had a breakthrough this fall reaching his first-ever NCAA Singles Championship. At the ITA Southeast Regional, Connel finished as the Co-Champion earning wins over Thomas Paulsell (Georgia) and Martin Katz (Miami) in the quarterfinals and semifinals to qualify for the NCAA Championship.
In Waco, Connel earned his first NCAA Singles Championship win in the opening round before falling to a familiar foe in Paulsell in the round of 32. In total, Connel went 7-2 this fall and finished with an ITA Ranking of No. 22, the highest singles ranking of his career.
Lily Jones | University of Michigan | 11.5 WTN
The champion at the 2023 ITA National Summer Championships and a competitor at the 2024 ITA National Summer Championships, Lily Jones is one of numerous Michigan players who have found success playing in the ITA Summer Series. Reaching the semifinals at the ITA Sectional Championships, Jones earned her first berth into the NCAA Singles Championship this fall, continuing her climb up the ranks of college tennis during her junior year.
Earning a fist-round win over Sara Ziodato (Virginia), Jones would eventually fall to NCAA quarterfinalist, Valerie Glozman (Stanford) in the second round. In total, Jones finished 11-5 in the fall and is ranked as No. 40 in the ITA Singles Rankings.
