Ruiz and Hofbauer Claim ITA Summer Circuit Title at Furman University

Greenville, S.C. – East Carolina’s Celia Ruiz and Lisa Hofbauer claimed the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Summer Circuit doubles title at Furman University Monday. Additionally, Ruiz defeated Clemson’s Maria Navarro 7-5, 6-4 in the singles finals to earn the first Summer Circuit crown of her career.

“I want to congratulate both Celia and Lisa for a great end to a solid summer in the ITA Summer Circuit,” head women’s tennis coach Tom Morris said. “They played three tournaments and showed improvement in each event. This is the first time in our history that our players have won an ITA event and we won this one both in singles and doubles. I appreciate that we have a team playing tournaments during the summer. It’s great for two of our players to win at this level!”

Hofbauer and Ruiz cruised through the doubles competition, allowing their opponents to win just three combined sets through the first three rounds after a first-round bye. The Pirate duo faced Navarro and Furman’s Gabby Rodriguez in the finals where they won, 8-4.

Ruiz defeated Peyton Pesavento 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) in the semifinals before facing Navarro in the finals. Hofbauer also had a successful singles run before falling to Olga Zavarotnaya in three sets, 6-3, 4-6, 10-8 in the quarterfinals.

The ITA Summer Circuit was created to provide college players the opportunity to compete in organized events virtually year-round. Although the primary purpose of the circuit is to provide incoming freshman and collegiate players the chance to compete in the summer months for NCAA compliance purposes, the events are categorized as “open”; therefore, anyone (including high level juniors and adults) is eligible to compete in these events as long as he/she is a current ITA member. The ITA Summer Circuit is currently made up of 52 events over six consecutive weekends, beginning the last weekend in June and continuing through the last weekend in July.