HONOLULU – University of Hawai'i men's tennis player Jeremy Tweedt captured the USTA Wildcard Tournament after defeating Rong Ma Sunday at the Central O'ahu Regional Park. In a grueling match that took more than three hours, Tweedt out-lasted Ma 6-3, 6-7 (1), 7-5.

 

With the win, Tweedt earned an automatic entry into this year's main draw of the Honolulu Challenger running January 23-30 also at Central O'ahu Regional Park. The event includes several players ranked in the top 100 on the ATP tour. Last year's Honolulu Challenger winner was Michael Russell who is currently ranked No. 103 in the world. UH senior Dennis Lajola has already earned a wildcard spot by winning the Honolulu Masters Open the past fall.

 

Tweedt, a senior from Paris, defeated the top two seeds en route to the tourney win. In the quarterfinals, Tweedt, upset No. 1 seed John P. Fruttero, 7-6 (3), 6-4. Fruttero was a top player for Cal and is a current ATP professional. In the semifinals, Tweedt defeated Hawai'i Pacific University's Sebastian Bader, 6-1, 6-2. Tweedt then took down the No. 2 seed Ma in the finals. Ma was ranked as the top West Region player in Division II last season while competing for  BYU-Hawai'i.

 

The qualifying rounds and the main draw of the Honolulu Challenger will each consist of 32 player draws with participants from around the world. Numerous players who compete in the Australian Open travel to Hawai'i to participate in the Challenger. .