HOUSTON – Rice’s Divna Ratkovic and Tulsa’s Alex Okonkwo claimed singles championships, while tandems from Tulsa and Charlotte earned doubles titles to close the 2024 American Athletic Conference Individual Tennis Championships Sunday at the George R. Brown Tennis Center.
 
Ratkovic scored a three-hour, three-set win to claim the women’s singles championship, while Okonkwo was a straight-set winner in the men’s singles final.
 
Tulsa’s duo of Mariana Manyoma Velasquez and Ana Naranjo Martinez overcame an early deficit to win a three-set decision in the women’s doubles final, while Charlotte’s top-seeded tandem of Vasco Prata and Matias Iturbe pulled out a three-set win to claim the men’s doubles final.
 
Ratkovic, the No. 4 seed in the women’s bracket, battled back from a 6-4 loss in the first set against the No. 2 seed, Memphis’ Leonie Moeller. Ratkovic rallied for a 7-5 second-set win and gained an pivotal break in the third to build a 3-1 lead on her way to a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory.
 
Okonkwo, meanwhile, closed out his singles final by winning the last 11 games in his 6-2, 6-0 victory against UTSA’s Danijal Muminovic. The championship capped a week in which Okonkwo won five singles matches and played in two doubles contests in four days. Four of Okonkow’s five singles wins came in straight sets, while he saved his most impressive performance for the final as he dropped only two games.
 
The men’s singles consolation final was also contested Sunday as Rice’s Arthus de la Bassetiere took a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 win against Luc Hoeijmans of Tulane. Leigh Van Zyl of Tulane had taken the women’s singles consolation final Saturday with a 4-6, 6-3, [11-9] victory against Tulsa’s Lily Hutchings.
 
The American’s singles and doubles champions earn automatic qualification to the ITA Conference Masters Championships, which take place Nov. 7-10 in Rome, Georgia. The Conference Masters event, in turn, will qualify four players for the NCAA Singles Championship and three tandems for the NCAA Doubles Championship for each gender. 
 
 
American Athletic Conference Individual Tennis Championships
George R. Brown Tennis Center | Houston, Texas
 
Championship Finals | Sunday, Oct. 27
 
Men’s Doubles
(1) Vasco Prata/Matias Iturbe (Charlotte) def. (3) Luka Petrovic/Luc Hoeijmans (Tulane)
6-7 (5), 6-2, [10-6]
 
Women’s Doubles
(3) Marianna Manyoma Velasquez/Ana Naranjo Martinez (Tulsa) def. (1) Mille-Mae Matthews/Malwina Rowinska (Florida Atlantic)
 5-7, 6-1, [10-7]
 
Men’s Singles
Alex Okonkwo (Tulsa) def. Danijal Muminovic (UTSA)
 6-2, 6-0

Women’s Singles

(4) Divna Ratkovic (Rice) def. (2) Leonie Moeller (Memphis)

 4-6, 7-5, 6-2