Justine Leong Wins UTR/ITA National Player of the Week Honors

CLAREMONT, Calif. - After a statement performance at the ITA Indoor Nationals this weekend, first-year Justine Leong captured the UTR/ITA Division III National Player of the Week Award, the organization announced this afternoon.

Leong was undefeated on the weekend, with a 2-0 record in singles and a 3-0 mark in doubles, as CMS defeated Centre 9-0, No. 7 Carnegie Mellon 9-0 and No. 3 Emory 5-4 to take the Indoor Nationals championship. The Emory win came against an Eagles team that had won the last five Indoor Nationals tournaments it competed in, including the last three from 2017-19. 

In the Emory match, Leong helped provide the swing point in doubles, teaming with Crystal Juan for an 8-6 win at No. 2 after the two teams split the first two doubles matches. In singles, Leong faced the defending national singles champion, Ysabel Gonzalez Rico, in the showcase match of the weekend, featuring the player who ended No. 1 last year and the one currently ranked No. 1 this year (Leong took over the top spot after winning the ITA Cup in the fall). 

Leong was able to get the better of Gonzalez Rico in the first of what will likely be several meetings between the two stalwarts over the next two seasons, taking a 6-3, 6-3 win to put CMS ahead 4-3 in the match. The victory improved her record this season to 18-1 in singles, with the only defeat coming to Jada Hart of UCLA at the ITA Fall Nationals, while the only other set she has dropped this season came in a three-set win over Ghazal Pakbaten of Division II Concordia Irvine at her debut tournament in September.

CMS will be back in action this weekend when it hosts three home matches, taking on Cal Lutheran on Friday at 3 p.m. and then Army (10 a.m.) and Swarthmore (2 p.m.) on Sunday.