ITA All-American Championships
Lubbe Earns Three-Set Opening Win Before Falling to No. 8 Seed at ITA All-Americans
9/22/2026 12:30:00 PM | Men's Tennis
TULSA, Okla. — Cal Poly men's tennis sophomore Jovan Lubbe turned in a gritty two-match performance at this week's ITA All-American Championships hosted by the University of Tulsa, highlighted by a come-from-behind three-set victory before falling to a nationally-ranked opponent.
Lubbe opened his tournament run in the Round of 256 against Santa Clara's Luca Lemaitre Vilchis and dropped a tight opening set, 4-6.
Unfazed, the Hazyview, South Africa native responded by taking the second set 6-4 to force a decisive third. Lubbe carried that momentum through the final frame, grinding out a 6-3 win to complete the 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 comeback and advance in the draw.
His run came to an end in the next round against No. 8 seed Kriish Tyagi of Texas A&M. Tyagi, one of the tournament's top-seeded players, held off Lubbe's fierce pushback in the second set, taking the match 6-3, 7-5.
Next weekend, from September 25-27, Head Coach Nick Carless will travel with four Mustangs in tow to Westlake Villa, Calif. for the Sherwood Collegiate Cup.
Senior Raz Haviv and sophomore Leo Matthysen, both returning top-6 players from last season, as well as newcomers Ernst Gouws (Liberty transfer) and Evan Simon (5-star ranked freshman) will make an appearance at the tournament under the hidden dual format - one singles, one doubles every day, each against different teams.
Last season at this same event, the team was represented by Jovan Lubbe, Raz Haviv, Jack Cross, Sean Kamyshev, Denzel Seetso, and now-volunteer coach Luc Hoeijmans, as the Mustangs put together a 14-8 singles run which included victories over multiple opponents from top-40 ranked programs.
