Farren, USC men top Oklahoma for NCAA title

Connor Farren, shown in the 2012 Australian Open
junior boys tournament, and USC beat Oklahoma
for the NCAA men's title. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Connor Farren became an NCAA champion today. 
   Not an individual champion, but he'll take it.
   The freshman from Foster City in the San Francisco Bay Area lost his only match, but the  top-seeded USC men rallied to beat second-seeded Oklahoma 4-2 for the title in Athens, Ga. The Trojans (32-3) overcame a 2-0 deficit.
   Max de Vroome, a sophomore from the Netherlands, provided the clincher with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Andrew Harris at No. 4 singles. Harris, a freshman from Melbourne, Australia, is ranked No. 53, and de Vroome is No. 91.
   The title was the Trojans' fifth in six years and ninth overall. Stanford holds the men's and women's records with 15 and 17, respectively.
   Farren and Roberto Quiroz lost to Guillermo Alcorta and Harris 8-5 at No. 2 doubles.
   Oklahoma (28-4) made its first appearance in the final. The Sooners' John Roddick, Andy's older brother, was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Coach of the Year, the ITA announced today.
   USC's victory completed Southern California's first sweep of the NCAA titles. Fifth-seeded UCLA edged No. 7 North Carolina 4-3 for its second NCAA women's tennis championship and the Bruins' record 111th team title in any sport.
   The Bruins, who finished 27-2, clobbered Sacramento State 4-0 in the first round at UCLA.

Kyle McPhillips, shown in the 2012 Australian Open
junior girls tournament, gave UCLA its second NCAA
women's tennis title. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Kyle McPhillips, ranked 38th, clinched the victory over North Carolina (29-6) with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 decision over No. 59 Caroline Price at No. 3 singles.
   The No. 1 singles match featured the top two players in the nation. UCLA junior Robin Anderson, ranked second, dominated freshman Jamie Loeb 6-2, 6-2 to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead.
   The 5-foot-3 (1.61-meter) Anderson reached two Challenger finals in Northern California last year, one in doubles and one in singles.
   Playing as an amateur, the Matawan, N.J., resident lost with Lauren Embree of Marco Island, Fla., to Naomi Broady of Great Britain and Storm Sanders of Australia in the $50,000 FSP Gold River Women's Challenger in the Sacramento area in July.
   Anderson also fell to Adriana Perez of Venezuela in the $25,000 Ascension Project Women's Challenger in September.
   UCLA won its first women's tennis title in 2008 with the help of sophomore Yasmin Schnack, from the Sacramento suburb of Elk Grove. Schnack played professionally for two-plus years, climbing as high as No. 140 in the world in doubles, before starting nursing school in Phoenix in January.
   The 64-player NCAA men's and women's singles tournaments begin Wednesday, and the 32-team doubles tourneys start on Thursday. All finals are scheduled for Monday.

   Following are first-round matchups of players with Northern California connections:

Women's singles

   Kristie Ahn (3), Stanford, vs. Stephanie Nauta, Virginia.
   Krista Hardebeck, Stanford vs. Julia Elbaba (4), Virginia.
   Carol Zhao, Stanford, vs. Georgiana Patrasc, Mississippi State.
   Taylor Davidson, Stanford, vs. Pleun Burgmans, Auburn.
   Ellen Tsay, Stanford, vs. Quinn Gleason, Notre Dame.
   Caroline Doyle, Stanford vs. Stefanie Tan, Texas Christian.
   Anett Schutting (9-16), Cal, vs. Saska Gavrilovska, Texas A&M.
   Denise Starr, Cal, vs. Ester Goldfeld, Duke.
   Zsofi Susanyi, Cal, vs. Cristina Stancu (9-16).
   Lynn Chi, Cal, vs. Emina Bektas (9-16), Michigan.
   Jenny Jullien (9-16), Saint Mary's, vs. Ronit Yurovsky, Michigan.
   Katie Le, Santa Clara, vs. Olivia Janowicz (9-16), Florida.
   Guiliana Olmos (Fremont resident), USC, vs. Loreta Alonso, South Florida.

Women's doubles

   Kristie Ahn and Carol Zhao, Stanford, vs. Julia Fellerhoff and Rebecca Shine, Louisville.
   Giuliana Olmos and Zoe Scandalis, USC, vs. Stefanie Hristov and Cristina Stancu, Texas A&M.

Men's singles    

   Ben McLachlan, Cal, vs. Jared Hiltzik (8), Illinois.

   Mackenzie McDonald (Piedmont resident), UCLA, vs. Mitchell Frank (4), Virginia. 

Men's doubles

   Gregory Bayane and Chase Melton, Cal, vs. Becker O'Shaughnessey and Daniil Proskura (5-8), Alabama.
   Marcos Giron and Mackenzie McDonald (Piedmont resident), UCLA, vs. Casey MacMaster and Denis Nguyen, Harvard.