Freshmen Yuya Ito and Christian Sigsgaard earned spots in the main singles draw at the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Tuesday after staying undefeated through the preliminary rounds. 

The two will join senior teammate George Goldhoff in the main round — Goldhoff qualified for his top–30 preseason individual ranking.

Ito and Sigsgaard mark the first Texas freshmen to advance to the main singles draw at the event since Goldhoff himself did so in 2013. The All-American Championships is the first of four annual individual championship events this year and features some of the strongest competition collegiate tennis has to offer.

“Our guys did a really good job today, and for these guys to get through was very impressive,” head coach Michael Center said. “It’s only October, but we’re competing hard. The guys are excited about getting better.” 

Sigsgaard fought his way through four pre-qualifying draw matches, then an additional three in the qualifying draw to advance to Thursday’s contest. The newcomer from Denmark posted seven victories in four short days, including back-to-back wins on Tuesday against top-120 ITA-ranked players. 

Sigsaard opened the fourth day with a three-set win over No. 52-ranked Andrew Watson of Memphis, putting him a single game away from the main draw berth. In the ensuing matchup, the freshman easily handled Oklahoma’s No. 106-ranked Florin Bragusi in a 7-5, 6-2 win. 

Ito, by contrast, punched his ticket with two victories and a win by retirement in the qualifying draws. On Tuesday, the newcomer from Japan claimed an impressive victory over Duke’s No. 100-ranked Catalin Mateas in three sets. His next opponent, TCU’s Trevor Johnson, dropped the first set 7-5 before conceding the match, giving Ito his spot in the main draw.

Texas will also feature Ito, along with sophomore Harrison Scott, in the main draw of doubles play. The duo posted a two-set win over Florida to advance to the main doubles draw.

Both main draws open on Thursday and run until Sunday evening. All main draw events are live-streamed online.