Top College Players Come Out for USTA Eastern Collegiate Series

Top College Players Come Out for

Liam Krall won the Men’s Singles division in the first installment of the USTA Eastern Collegiate Series.

Jessica Livianu (left) and Valencia Xu (right), the two finalists of the Women’s Singles division. Evan Lee (left) and Gab the finals of the Collegia

or USTA Eastern Collegiate Series

briele Brancatelli (right) squared off in ate Series’ second weekend.

UCLA’s Elysia Bolton (left) defeated top junior Ariana Pursoo (right) in the Women’s Singles final.

After months away from competitive tennis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the area’s top current, incoming collegiate and junior players competed in the USTA Eastern Collegiate Series, a four-weekend long string of

tournaments at the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning in the Bronx.

The first two of those tournaments were played in August, with the final two to be played in mid-September.

In the opening weekend tournament, St. John’s senior Jessica Livianu took home the title in the Women’s Singles division by way of a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Valencia Xu, who will be heading to Stanford for her college career. "It was exciting. I was really happy to be back on court competing, but of course you’re a little rusty," said Livianu. "So it was about shaking off that rust so I could play better with every match."

In the Men’s Singles, Liam Krall, who will be a freshman at Southern Methodist University, came through the draw to claim the title.

“It was really fun to compete again. It’s something that was lacking this summer for sure. And I was really happy that I could get out and compete before I left for college,” said Krall. “It’s great that I was able to win the tournament and hopefully become a better player. I think this helped my confidence in playing college players and it is hopefully a stepping stone to the next level.”

The following weekend, Purduecommit Gabriele Brancatelli defeated Evan Lee 6-3, 6-3 in the finals of the Men’s Singles division, while UCLA’s Elysia Bolton notched a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Ariana Pursoo to take home the Women’s Singles title.