Tobita, Iftikhar claim singles titles as PNW Open comes to close

Alyssa Tobita’s winnings from the 126th PNW Open include a trophy, a bouquet of roses and a $4,000 check she can’t fully use.

“It’s kind of bittersweet,” Tobita said Sunday after defeating No. 4 Michelle Okhremchuk, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. “But I won, so I’m proud of that.”

NCAA rules prohibit Tobita, who will be a senior on Oregon’s tennis team this fall, from earning money for personal use in tournaments. Tobita said she’s allowed to spend the money only on expenses.

The championship run at Tacoma Lawn Tennis Club was a bit surprising for Tobita, who was the No. 3 seed in the women’s singles. Until the championship round, Tobita defeated all of her opponents in two sets, including No. 6 Angela Kulikov and two-time PNW Open champion Gail Brodsky, who was seeded second.

“I actually did think about it when I was on the bench, but I feel like I’m pretty good at three-set matches,” Tobita said. “I was kinda starting to figure her out, so starting fresh again was nice.”

Tobita said her coaches wanted her to gain experience heading into her final year at Oregon, so she made her PNW Open debut in search of conditioning and development.

“I got what I wanted,” Tobita said. “I got good matches and played a lot of tennis and got good experience. I mean, it’s not all about the money. But if this is my best finish, then that would kinda suck.”

Top-seeded Dasha Ivanova and Stephanie Kent won 6-3, 0-6, 6-2 against third-seeded Zoe Scandalis and Angela Kulikov for the women’s doubles title.

One of the largest selling points for this year’s tournament was the abundance of quality players. Samir Iftikhar finished second in the men’s singles last year as the No. 7 seed, so he was surprised to see his name among the unranked before the tournament.

Iftikhar said he called the Tacoma Lawn Tennis club to see if there was a mistake.

Iftikhar’s ranking — or lack thereof — was irrelevant. He defeated unseeded Alessandro Ventre, 7-5, 6-3, in the championship.

“I wasn’t expecting that at the beginning of the week, that’s for sure,” Iftikhar said.

“I definitely think the fact that I wasn’t seeded and these guys were, this time, it worked to my favor,” he said. “I know my standard; I know I can compete with these guys. I felt like I had something to prove.”

Iftikhar also advanced to the championship round in men’s doubles, but he and his partner Kyle McMorrow fell to Spencer Furman and Justin Bower, 6-3, 6-3.

Iftikhar, like Tobita, was using the PNW Open to gain conditioning and practice; he has several tournaments coming up in Europe in the coming weeks. One difference between the two, however, is how they view their winnings.

“I try not to think about the money too much when I’m playing, because I think that can be quite crippling for some people,” Iftikhar said. “To an outsider looking in, if you win $4,000 in a weekend, that’s great. I’m super proud just to get the ‘W’ in a field as strong as this. The money is nice, but it’s really an afterthought.”

In the mixed doubles final, the No. 3 duo of Ventre and Okhremchuk defeated No. 4 seed Alexander Day and Daniella Silva, 7-6, 7-5.

Nick Moxley, who completed his third year as the tournament’s director, said he believes this year’s success could help the tournament continue to grow.

“I think, by far, this is the best week of tennis that I’ve seen, and I’ve been either playing in the tournament or running it since I was 15,” Moxley said. “That’s 20 years. I only see it trending up.”

This story was originally published July 30, 2017 at 7:23 PM with the headline "Tobita, Iftikhar claim singles titles as PNW Open comes to close."