STANFORD, Calif.- Freshman Tom Fawcett captured his first career singles title on Tuesday, defeating Santa Clara’s Ashot Khacharyan 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the final of the USTA/ITA Northwest Regional Championships at Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
Making his home debut and playing in just his second collegiate tournament, Fawcett became Stanford’s first singles champion at the regional event since Ryan Thacher outlasted California’s Ben McLachlan 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 back in 2011 in Seattle.
Prior to Tuesday, Fawcett had powered his way through to the final. After receiving a first-round bye, Fawcett won his first five matches in straight sets, including a 6-3, 6-4 semifinal decision over rookie teammate David Tsu in a showcase of Stanford’s talented freshmen.
Fawcett started slowly in the title match, with Khacharyan claiming a 6-3 victory in the opening set. Tied at 4-4 in the second set, Fawcett held serve and then registered a break to even the match.
The third frame was all Fawcett, pounding home winners and relying on his big serve to put away Khacharyan.
“I was a little nervous from the start and it basically took a set before I settled down and finally got into the match,” said Fawcett. “Other than trying to get free points off my serve, I felt like my returns were really on today. I was able to pressure him off the first ball and that allowed me to be more aggressive at different points. My focus was to just stay relaxed and calm and I want to keep doing that moving forward.”
“I’m really proud of Tom’s effort, beginning with the first ball he struck at the start of the tournament,” said Taube Family Director of Men’s Tennis Paul Goldstein. “He was very solid, winning a lot of points with his serve while also creating errors for his opponent. Today was a different match in that his opponent made him play a lot of balls and win points from the baseline. For Tom to be able to make the adjustment midway and win points from the ground, it completely changed the dynamics of the match in the second set. Tom’s will in that third set was outstanding.”
Fawcett clinched a spot in the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships, scheduled for Nov. 6-9 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York.
Goldstein noted that Tuesday’s final will provide Fawcett with added confidence moving forward.
“Tom’s win today is equally important for the culture of our team. Here’s a guy who competed so well today and he’s going to keep pushing the rest of the guys on the team. We’re not where we need to be, Tom’s not where he needs to be and I’m not where I need to be. Don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely proud of this effort and it’s a great positive, but we’ve all got work to do. Tom’s result today is a step in that direction, along with David’s run to the semifinals. The rest of the guys see that and we’ve got a great energy going right now with this group.”
In addition to Stanford, the ITA's Northwest Region schools are comprised of the following: California, Eastern Washington, Fresno State, Gonzaga, Oregon, Pacific, Portland, Portland State, Sacramento State, Saint Mary's, San Francisco, Santa Clara, UC Davis and Washington.
Main Draw Round of 128
Oct. 17: Anthony Tsodikov d. Wil Cochrane (Portland State) 6-2, 6-1
Oct. 17: David Wilczynski d. Lance Ngo (Pacific) 6-2, 6-1
Oct. 17: Brandon Sutter d. Jamie Fisher (Portland) 6-3, 6-2
Oct. 17: Yale Goldberg d. Alec Adamson (UC Davis) 6-4, 6-3
Oct. 17: Trey Strobel d. Brent Chin (Oregon) 6-4, 6-3
Oct. 17: Nolan Paige d. Bernardo Oliveira (Pacific) withdrew (injury)
Oct. 17: Robert Stineman d. Eduardo Bringold (Eastern Washington) 6-3, 6-0
Main Draw Round of 64
Oct. 17: Simon Stevens (Oregon) d. Anthony Tsodikov 7-5, 6-2
Oct. 17: Tom Fawcett d. Pierre Garcia (Portland) 6-3, 7-6
Oct. 17: John Morrissey d. Rishabh Raman (Washington) 6-2, 6-1
Oct. 17: David Hsu d. Brett Bacharach (UC Davis) 6-1, 6-0
Oct. 17: Mitch Stewart (Washington) d. Brandon Sutter 6-0, 6-2
Oct. 17: David Wilczynski d. Daan Maasland (Oregon) 6-4, 6-2
Oct. 17: Alvaro Nazal (Gonzaga) d. Yale Goldberg 4-6, 7-6 (2), 3-1, ret. (injury)
Oct. 17: Emmett Egger (Washington) d. Trey Strobel 6-3, 6-4
Oct. 17: Nolan Paige d. Nils Skajaa (San Francisco) 6-1, 6-1
Oct. 17: Robert Stineman d. Sam Bertram (Santa Clara) 6-1, 6-2
Oct. 17: Maciek Romanowicz d. Daniel Sardu (Oregon) 6-2, 6-2
Main Draw Round of 32
Oct. 18: Tom Fawcett d. Adam Glynn (Fresno State) 6-1, 6-2
Oct. 18: John Morrissey d. Miguel Diaz (Pacific) 6-1, 6-1
Oct. 18: JT Nishimura (California) d. David Wilczynski 6-4, 6-2
Oct. 18: David Hsu d. Jayson Amos (Oregon) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
Oct. 18: Nolan Paige d. Kevin Farin (Oregon) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Oct. 18: Sem Verbeek (Pacific) d. Robert Stineman 6-0, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3)
Oct. 18: Ashot Khacharyan (Santa Clara) d. Maciek Romanowicz 6-2, 6-2
Main Draw Round of 16
Oct. 18: Tom Fawcett d. Daniel Alameh (Pacific) 6-4, 6-4
Oct. 18: JT Nishimura (California) d. John Morrissey 6-4, 6-4
Oct. 18: David Hsu d. Mitch Stewart (Washington) 6-4, 2-6, 6-1
Oct. 18: Nolan Paige d. Oskar Wikberg (California) 6-4, 6-4
Main Draw Quarterfinals
Oct. 19: Tom Fawcett d. Evan McIntosh (Fresno State) 6-2, 6-2
Oct. 19: David Hsu d. JT Nishimura (California) 6-4, 6-2
Oct. 19: Alvaro Nazal (Gonzaga) d. Nolan Paige 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-1
Main Draw Semifinals
Oct. 20: Tom Fawcett d. David Hsu 6-3, 6-4
Main Draw Championship Match
Oct. 21: Tom Fawcett d. Ashot Khacharyan (Santa Clara) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
Main Draw Round of 64
Oct. 17: Nolan Paige/Trey Strobel d. Matthew Campana/Alec Wagner (Saint Mary’s) 8-4
Oct. 17: Yale Goldberg/Robert Stineman d. Samuel Bloore/Alex Hunt (Saint Mary’s) 8-7 (1)
Oct. 17: Alex Hamilton/Sem Verbeek (Pacific) d. Brandon Sutter/Anthony Tsodikov 8-0
Oct. 17: Adam Glynn/Evan McIntosh (Fresno State) d. David Hsu/David Wilczynski 8-7 (2)
Main Draw Round of 32
Oct. 18: Tom Fawcett/John Morrissey d. Wyatt Houghton/Hasier Pastor (California) withdrew (injury)
Oct. 18: Nolan Paige/Trey Strobel d. Ayman Adbulwahab/Tom Miller (Sacramento State) 8-3
Oct. 18: William Griffith/JT Nishimura (California) d. Yale Goldberg/Robert Stineman 8-4
Main Draw Round of 16
Oct. 19: Gregory Bayane/Chase Melton (California) d. Nolan Paige/Trey Strobel 8-7 (4)
Oct. 19: Matthew Pronesti/Stuart Tierney (Portland State) d. Tom Fawcett/John Morrissey withdrew (injury)
Consolation Round of 64
Oct. 19: Joey Swaysland (Oregon) d. Trey Strobel 7-5, 6-3
Oct. 20: David Wilczynski d. Alex Hamilton (Pacific) 6-4, 7-5