SAN ANTONIO – Trinity University Women's and Men's Tennis send one doubles unit and one singles player, respectively, to the 2022 Intercollegiate Tennis Association's ITA Cup at the Rome Tennis Center in Rome, Georgia Thursday for the chance at respective national-championship runs.
Victorious from the Trinity-hosted ITA Southwest Regional Championship in doubles on September 25, the duo of junior Cate Cushing (Colleyville, Texas / Colleyville Heritage) and first-year Trinity Levy (Camarillo, Calif. / Weil Tennis Academy) of the Tiger women's team begin competition in Thursday's first-round action in Georgia at 4:30 p.m. ET.
The week that followed the women's regional, senior Alessio Azzalini (Rome, Italy / Istituto Visconti) of Trinity Men's Tennis captured the ITA Southwest Regional Championship in singles on the campus of Hardin-Simmons University. Men's singles competition begins at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Since the national small college championship was rebranded to the ITA Cup in 2017, the men's program has sent two singles entries—both Cameron Krimbill '22—and two doubles teams, a streak that began in 2018 and now continued by Azzalini's qualification in this year's event.
On the women's side, Cushing and Levy are the first to qualify for the ITA Cup in Head Coach Drew Cohn's tenure at the helm, in just the second opportunity. The twin duo of Zoe Kaffen and Mary Kaffen qualified as doubles partners for both the 2018 and 2019 events, the last representatives for the women's program.
Since taking the reins of the men's program in the summer of 2009, Head Coach Russell McMindes has amassed 17 entries in the ITA's national event, through a total of 15 players. During that time, the Trinity men have captured three doubles national championships (2010, 2014, 2015) and the 2012 singles national title.
Joining Cushing and Levy on the trip to the Peach State as a doubles alternate is the sophomore duo of Ruth Hill (Abilene, Texas / Abilene) and Olivia Kim (Phoenix, Ariz. / Desert Mountain), the other half of the all-Trinity doubles finale on September 25. Levy, the singles runner up in this year's regional championship, is also listed as an alternate for the ITA Cup women's singles bracket.
The 2022 ITA Cup, comprised of competitors from NCAA divisions II and III, the NAIA and NJCAA, opens at 9:30 a.m. ET with the NCAA III women's singles tournament. Azzalini will be the first of the Tigers to hit the court at 10:00 a.m. ET, followed by the duo of Cushing and Levy at 4:30 p.m. ET.
