Friday, 05/15/2020

TEMPE, Ariz. – Junior Keegan Smith of the UCLA men's tennis team was named a 2020 ITA Division I All-American, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced Tuesday.

Due to the shortened season, the ITA awarded All-American status based on the unpublished, double run of ITA Singles and Doubles Rankings. Twenty singles players and 10 doubles teams received the honor.

Smith was honored for the third time, but first as a singles player.

One season removed from collecting the NCAA doubles championship with partner Maxime Cressy, Smith's game took another step forward. The San Diego native assumed the top spot in the singles lineup and completed the campaign with a 16-5 record, including an 8-3 mark in dual matches. Smith was a regular in the ITA's national tournaments during the fall and made the most of the opportunities. His first of two wins versus 23rd-ranked Alex Brown of Illinois in September earned him a spot in the final round of the Oracle ITA Masters event to kick off the season. Three top-30 victories elevated Smith to No. 7 in the Oracle/ITA singles rankings to start the spring.

Smith continued to flourish as dual matches began. His marquee win came in UCLA's penultimate match, as he defeated No. 19 Joshua Charlton of Oregon, 6-2, 6-2, to help the Bruins earn a 4-3 win. Smith was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for his performance, which also included a three-set decision over No. 119 Ewen Lumsden of Washington. As a result of his showing on the team's conference-opening road trip, Smith shot up to a career-high No. 4, nationally, where he sat in the last published rankings. In all, he went 8-4 versus nationally-ranked singles opponents.

Smith also had success on the top doubles court, where he teamed with sophomore Govind Nanda to go 12-4 (9-3 in dual matches). The pair clinched a team-high five doubles points, including a 6-4 result over No. 12 Tadas Babelis/Yannai Barkai of No. 10 NC State at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in Madison, Wis.