Levine rolls to Vitale singles title

Duke freshman Robert Levine finished his weekend of tennis at the Dick Vitale Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic by winning a best-of-three-set final against Alexandru Gozun of the University of South Florida, 7-6, 2-6, 6-3, on Sunday at Lakewood Ranch Golf & Country Club.

“The first set was huge for me,” Levine said. “He played unbelievably, but I was able to stick around and that built my confidence.”

Anna Danilina of the University of Florida defeated Elena Cerezo-Codina of Viginia Tech to take the women’s title, 6-3, 6-4.

“It’s just an amazing experience to play the game I love while raising money for such a great cause,” Danilina said. “It’s an event I look forward to each year.”

Danilina also took home her second doubles crown in two years with teammate Spencer Liang, knocking off Fernanda Navarro and Constanza Gorches of Clemson, 8-3. While Mariano Porter and Harrison Richmond won the men’s doubles, 8-6 over Louisville.

The tournament, which is in its seventh year, has raised more than $250,000 for pediatric cancer research.

“It’s truly amazing what we’ve all been able to accomplish, and Larry Wade is the guy that’s made that happen,” Dick Vitale said. “Not only that, but we get some fantastic tennis that the area gets to come out and watch.”

While most of the funds will go to help kids battling cancer, a portion will also be donated to the John Saunders fund, named after the ESPN broadcaster who passed away at the age of 61 earlier this year.

This story was originally published November 6, 2016 at 11:02 PM with the headline "Levine rolls to Vitale singles title."