Arconada Wins Banana Bowl; Stewart Takes Gainesville $10K Title; Gosea Suspended, but Illinois Still Beats Texas and Texas A&M; Mississippi State Shocks Alabama Women

Usue Arconada had reached the finals in a Grade 4, a Grade 3 and two Grade 1s in her junior career, but until today, the 16-year-old from Maryland had not secured an ITF singles title.  In her third final in a Grade 1,  No. 1 seed Arconada got over that hump, defeating No. 9 seed Francesca Di Lorenzo  6-1, 6-7(6), 6-4 at the Banana Bowl in Brazil.

In four of her five victories this week, Arconada needed three sets, and twice she came from a set down.  For Di Lorenzo, a 17-year-old who only began playing ITF junior tournaments regularly last year, it was her first appearance in a Grade 1 final; she won the Grade 4 in Plantation last spring.

The boys championship was won by top seed Orlando Luz of Brazil, who defended his 2014 title with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over unseeded countryman Igor Marcondes.

Like the girls Banana Bowl final, the championship at the Gainesville $10,000 women's Pro Circuit event was between two Americans, with the top seed again prevailing. No. 1 seed Katerina Stewart defeated unseeded qualifier Sonya Kenin 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.  Kenin was serving up 3-2 in the final set, but lost three straight games.  Stewart was broken at love serving for the match, but Kenin went down 15-40 serving at 4-5 and Stewart converted her second match point to claim her fourth $10,000-level title.

At the $15,000 Canadian Futures, two college contemporaries met in today's final, with Ed Corrie(Texas) defeating Tennys Sandgren(Tennessee) 3-6, 6-1, 6-3.  Corrie, the No. 3 seed, ended Sandgren's nine match winning streak in Canada this month.  Former Georgia Tech teammates Kevin King and Dean O'Brien of South Africa, the No. 2 seeds, won the doubles title, beating top seeds Corrie and Dan Smethurst 6-4, 2-6, 10-5.

This week, the women are in Orlando for another $10,000 Pro Circuit event, and the men are in Bakersfield for a $15,000 Futures. Jonathan Kelley of On The Rise, spoke with former Georgia star Wil Spencer, who is the top seed in qualifying in Bakersfield, about his decision to play professionally again after choosing to take a break from competitive tennis for a couple of years after leaving Georgia.

Sunday at the BNP Paribas Open was good to Americans, with Donald Young, Jack Sock and Steve Johnson winning second round matches, while Serena Williams and Sloane Stephens advanced to a fourth round encounter on Tuesday.  Young defeated No. 31 seed Jeremy Chardy of France 6-4, 6-2, Sock came back to down Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(7), saving a match point, and Johnson took out No. 21 seed Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 6-3, 7-6(5).

Top seed Williams defeated No. 21 Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan 6-2, 6-0, while Stephens held on for a 7-6(4), 1-6, 6-4 win over No. 22 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia.

In college tennis, the fourth-ranked University of Illinois men's team picked up two top 10 wins over the weekend, defeating No. 8 Texas 4-2 in Austin on Saturday and beating No. 9 Texas A&M by the same score today in College Station.  Jared Hiltzik played No. 1 for the Fighting Illini, with senior Farris Gosea, who usually has occupied that spot this year, "suspended indefinitely" according to head coach Brad Dancer.

According to College Tennis Today, No. 10 Ohio State's 5-2 loss today to Tulsa means the Buckeyes will be out of the top 10 for the first time in 294 matches when they take on Texas Tuesday.

In Wake Forest's 7-0 sweep of Louisville, freshman Noah Rubin, returning from a wrist injury, picked up a 6-1, 7-6(1) win over Sebastian Stiefelmeyer, currently ranked No. 1 in the ITA singles rankings.

A shocker in SEC women's play today, with No. 41 Mississippi State defeating No. 6 Alabama 4-3 in Starkville, with the match coming down to a third set tiebreaker at line 4, with Louise Ronaldson winning it over Emily Zabor.

Another important SEC women's match saw No. 7 Georgia defeat No. 11 Vanderbilt 5-2 in Athens.

Coppoc, Clark Take Titles at ITF Grade 3 Costa Rica Bowl; All-American Finals Set at Both Gainesville Pro Circuit Event and ITF Grade 1 Banana Bowl

Zeke Clark and Morgan Coppoc led a US sweep of all four titles at this week's ITF Grade 3 in Costa Rica.

The 16-year-old Clark, seeded sixth, defeated unseeded Gianni Ross of the United States 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 to claim his first singles title on the ITF Junior Circuit.  Ross did collect a winner's trophy however, teaming with John Jorgeson to take the doubles title. The No. 3 seeds defeated Filip Duda of the Czech Republic and Sebastian Mermersky, the No. 4 seeds, 6-2, 7-5 in the final.

Coppoc, who will be 16 next month, also collected her first ITF singles title, defeating fellow qualifier Ali Collins of Great Britain 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 in the championship match.  Unseeded Kariann Pierre-Louis and Naomi Waters won the girls doubles title, beating Eliz Maloney of Great Britain and Maria Tanasescu of Canada, who were also unseeded, 6-3, 7-5 in the final.

At the ITF Grade 1 Banana Bowl in Brazil, the girls final will feature two Americans, with top seed Usue Arconada meeting No. 9 seed Francesca Di Lorenzo for the championship.  Di Lorenzo defeated No. 10 seed Jaqueline Cristian of Romania 6-2, 6-0 in Saturday's semifinals, and Arconada topped No. 3 seed Seone Mendez of Australia 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-3.

Di Lorenzo has already secured one title, winning the doubles championship today with Luisa Stefani of Brazil. Stefani, who won the doubles title last year with Renata Zarazua of Mexico, and Di Lorenzo, the No. 3 seeds, defeated Cristian and Maia Lumsden of Great Britain 6-2, 6-0 in the final.

A Brazilian champion is assured in the boys singles, with top seed Orlando Luz facing unseeded Igor Marcondes in the final.  In the boys doubles, No. 3 seeds Marcelo Barrios Vera of Chile and Juan Jose Rosas of Peru took the title with a 7-6(5), 6-7(1), 10-7 win over top seeds Luz and Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia.

Yet another all-American final will take place at the $10,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Gainesville, Florida with 16-year-old Sonya Kenin taking on 17-year-old Katerina Stewart in Sunday's singles final.

Qualifier Kenin advanced to her first Pro Circuit final with a 6-2, 6-7(2), 7-5 win over Kaitlyn McCarthy, while top seed Stewart avenged a loss last year to Katerina Kramperova of the Czech Republic with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 victory over the No. 4 seed.

Stewart has two victories of Kenin, both back in 2013. Stewart beat Kenin in the semifinals of the USTA Girls 16s championships 7-5, 6-3 and in the quarterfinals of the ITF Grade 4 in Plantation 6-3, 6-0.

In the doubles final today, unseeded 16-year-olds Ingrid Neel and Fanni Stollar of Hungary won the title, beating qualifiers Kenin and Marie Norris 6-3, 6-3.

Stewart, Kenin and McCarthy Reach Gainesville $10K Semifinals; Arconada, Di Lorenzo into Semifinals at ITF Grade 1 Banana Bowl

Six of the remaining eight players still competing at the $10,000 Women's Pro Circuit tournament in Gainesville, Florida are American teenagers after Friday's singles quarterfinals and doubles semifinals.

Seventeen-year-old top seed Katerina Stewart will attempt to avenge her loss in last year's Gainesville final when she takes on No. 4 seed Katerina Kramperova of the Czech Republic Saturday.  Stewart defeated lucky loser Ingrid Neel 6-4, 6-3, while the 26-year-old Kramperova downed former Florida Gator Sofia Oyen of Belgium 6-2, 6-1. 

Two qualifiers will meet in the other semifinal, with 17-year-old Kaitlyn McCarthy taking on 16-year-old Sonya Kenin.  McCarthy beat another teen qualifier, Alexa Graham, 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2, while Kenin downed Ellie Halbauer 6-3, 7-5. 

Kenin and Marie Norris, who qualified for the doubles main draw, will play Neel and Fanni Stollar of Hungary in the championship doubles match.

At the ITF Grade 1 Banana Bowl in Brazil, top seed Usue Arconada and No. 9 seed Francesca Di Lorenzo have reached the semifinals. Di Lorenzo is in a Grade 1 semifinal for the first time with her 7-6(2), 6-1 win over Beatrice Torelli of Italy, last week's champion at the Grade 1 Asuncion Bowl in Paraguay.  Di Lorenzo will next face No. 10 seed Jaqueline Cristian of Romania, who beat No. 13 seed Kayla Day 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Arconada defeated No. 12 seed Emilie Francatti of Denmark 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-0 in the quarterfinals and will play No. 3 seed Seone Mendez of Australia in Saturday's semifinal.

Di Lorenzo and her partner Luisa Stefani of Brazil, the No. 3 seeds, earned a place in the doubles final, where they will play No. 4 seed Cristian and Maia Lumsden of Great Britain.

The US boys did not fare well again this week, with only Anudeep Kodali winning a match. He won two to reach the quarterfinals. The semifinalists in the boys draw are top seed Orlando Luz of Brazil, unseeded Renta Tokuda of Japan, unseeded Igor Marcondes of Brazil and No. 7 seed Juan Jose Rosas of Peru.

At the Grade 3 Costa Rica Bowl, No. 6 seed Zeke Clark and unseeded Gianni Ross have reached the boys semifinals, while qualifier Morgan Coppoc has advanced to the last four in the girls draw.

The main draw is now underway at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, with several young US players collecting victories. Taylor Townsend, the ITF 2012 World Junior Champion, beat fellow wild card Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 last night, and Steve Johnson, Jack Sock (back from hip surgery), Donald Young, Sloane Stephens and Varvara Lepchenko(26) were other Americans picking up wins today.

Patriots, Angels Take USTA Spring Team Titles in Soggy Mobile

©Colette Lewis 2015--
Mobile, AL--

The rain that plagued the USTA Spring Team championships continued to wreck havoc on Thursday, but champions were crowned on the final day, with the Angels and the Patriots taking titles, both based on the number of sets won.

Play didn't get underway until after 1 p.m., with overnight rain and occasional drizzle keeping the 60 courts at the Mobile Tennis Center in various phases of damp.  Singles would decide the gold, silver and bronze balls, with all matches starting at 2-2 in each set. With no forecast suggesting any extended window for play, there was no telling how important each match or even each game might be when it was announced that matches, sets and games would decide the winners if play was abandoned due to weather conditions.


The No. 1 players took the courts first for the Angels and the Firecrackers, who were playing for the girls titles.   Jessie Aney posted the Angels first point, beating good friend Savannah Slaysman 6-3, 6-3 in the 18s.  Slaysman and Aney were on the championship team last year, but Aney said she was able to overcome that emotional hurdle.

"She's one of my best friends," said Aney, who has committed to North Carolina. "I'm not saying you have to put the friendship aside, but you've got to compete when you get on the court. So I just got in my zone and forgot she's one of my best friends. It was a little tough though."

The Firecrackers answered back on the 16s court, with Isabella Lorenzini defeating Natasha Subhash 6-2, 7-6(2). They then edged ahead with Saige Roshkoff defeating Jacque Dunyon 6-2, 2-6, 10-5 on the 12s court.  The final No. 1 match went to the Angels, with Victoria Hu winning the 14s match over Shelly Yaloz 6-4, 6-3, making it 2-2.  The Angels Madeline Meredith led Taylor Russo at No. 2 18s 6-4, 2-3; in the No. 2 16s, Maria Ross was up 5-4 on the Firecrackers Sarianna Kuuttila; in the No. 2 14s, the Angels Anna Alons led Nina Gulbransen 5-4, and in the No. 2 12s, the Firecrackers Sonia Maheshwari led Elaine Chervinsky 6-4, 4-4 when play was halted by rain for the final time.

In the boys final, the Patriots and the Eagles had accommodated a player with an early flight and the No. 2 18s played first, with the Patriots Jack Turchetta defeating Kamran Khan 6-4, 6-3 to give his team a 2-0 lead, after Chase Wood had beaten Ignacio Garcia of the Eagles  6-2, 6-2  on the No. 1 16s court for their first point.

The Eagles came back to tie it however, with Anuj Watane beating William Grant 6-3, 7-5 at No. 1 14s, and Eli Gordon defeating Maxwell McKennon 4-6, 6-3, 10-6 at No. 1 12s. In the No. 1 18s match, the Eagles Jacob Hansen led Parker Wynn 3-0; in the No. 2 16s match the Patriots Axel Nefve led Zummy Bauer 7-5; in the No. 2 14s match, Theodore McDonald led the Eagles Griffin Babineaux 6-4, 3-3, and in the No. 2 12s match, the Patriots Thomas Navarro and the Eagles Phillip Dell were tied at 4-4.

That ended the only extended rain-free stretch, with sprinkles causing delays, while play resumed on some courts and not others depending on their drying rate.  In the other matches in the compass draws, players were leaving for the airport and many matches were abandoned, but those playing in the medal round had reason to wait out the drizzle.  Play resumed again and a few games were played in the remaining matches on court, but another rain delay proved too much, and at 4:30 the decision was made to cancel play.

The calculations were then made to determine the gold, silver and bronze medalists, and the bronze balls were decided without much math needed.  The Diamondbacks took the girls bronze match by virtue of leading the completed match count 2-0 over the Devils, and the Panthers won the boys bronze balls by taking the completed match tiebreaker 3-2.

The Angels were announced as the girls champions after they had won six completed sets to the Firecrackers four, and the Patriots took that same tiebreaker seven sets to three.

For Angels coach William Brown, who coached the bronze ball boys team in last year's championship, the rain and its repercussions weren't the story.

"We've had our frustrations this year with the rain this year, but it's a great event. The girls played clean, with great conduct, and they're champions," said Brown, a teaching pro at the Frontenac Racquet Club in St. Louis, Missouri. "They're great examples and this is how junior tennis should be."

Brown said his 18s players set the tone for the team.

"We didn't have any drama, and I attribute that to the leadership of my 18-year-olds," Brown said.  Jessie [Aney]--the girl plays so many out balls, competes so hard, great conduct, great attitude.
It's a fantastic format and I really like the different age groups together.  As the week progresses you work through that awkwardness of the first couple of days, and as things progress, you develop some really unique relationships and I think that's a pretty special part of this event from the coach's perspective."

Jeff Bearup, the Patriots coach, was new to the event this year, but he too appreciated the camaraderie  that developed throughout the week.

"It's always a trying situation when you have eight strangers, trying to create chemistry, but they are all very competitive players and that's a common denominator," said Bearup, a founder of the New England Academy of Tennis in Boston.  "That really kind of bonded them as a team, and everybody contributed. It was just a huge performance all week long."

Bearup saw that effort throughout the week culminate in a title, which he dubbed "huge."

"It wasn't just one match. When it came down to this, the will they demonstrated this week got them the gold balls."

The sportsmanship awards were announced, with Jessie Aney and Oliver Crawford this year's recipients.

Individual scores will be posted on the TennisLink site by Friday.

Girls Gold balls:
18s: Jessie Aney, Rochester MN
18s: Madeline Meredith, Vestavia, AL
16s: Natasha Subhash, Fairfax, VA
16s: Maria Ross, Lakewood Ranch, FL
14s: Victoria Hu, Northborough, MA
14s: Anna Alons, Salix, IA
12s: Jacque Dunyon, South Ogden, UT
12s: Elaine Chervinsky, Reisterstown, MD

Girls Silver balls:
18s: Savannah Slaysman,  Phoenix, AZ
18s: Taylor Russo, Deerfield Beach, FL
16s: Isabella Lorenzini, Clarendon Hills, IL
16s: Sarianna Kuuttila, Albuquerque, NM
14s: Shelly Yaloz, Little Neck, NY
14s: Nina Gulbransen, Boca Raton, FL
12s: Saige Roshkoff, Haverford, PA
12s: Sonia Maheshwari, Morrisville, NC

Boys Gold balls:
18s: Parker Wynn, Keller TX
18s: Jack Turchetta, Pound Ridge, NY
16s: Chase Wood, Heath TX
16s: Axel Nefve, Hinsdale, IL
14s: William Grant, Santa Barbara, CA
14s: Theodore McDonald, Bellvue, WA
12s: Maxwell McKennon, Newport Beach, CA
12s: Thomas Navarro, Williamsville, NY

Boys Silver balls:
18s: Jacob Hansen, Houston, TX
18s: Kamran Khan, Dallas, TX
16s: Ignacio Garcia, San Juan, PR
16s: Zummy Bauer, Suwanee, GA
14s: Anuj Watane, Orlando, FL
14s: Griffin Babineaux, Lafayette, LA
12s: Eli Gordon, Highland Park, IL
12s: Phillip Dell, Bradenton, FL

Patriots and Eagles Reach Boys Final, Firecrackers and Angels to Decide Girls Title at USTA Spring Team Championships; Novikov Qualifies for BNP Paribas Open

©Colette Lewis 2015--
Mobile, AL--

The semifinal round of the USTA Spring Championships was completed as scheduled on Wednesday, even though fog and wet courts delayed the completed on round two until well after noon.

One girls quarterfinal and two boys quarterfinals had to finish before the semifinals could start, and there was a brief 45-minute rain delay mid-afternoon, but after that the weather cooperated, allowing the semifinals to begin.

Will Grant celebrates clinching with his Patriot teammates

The Patriots reached the semifinals without needing any of the match tiebreakers that were instituted to decide ties this year and they continued to dominate in the semifinals, beating the Bears 9-3.  William Grant, playing in the No. 1 14s position, beat Thomas Jahn to give the Patriots an insurmountable seven points.

The Eagles were one of the teams that needed to complete their quarterfinal match Wednesday, after Tuesday night's action left them tied at 4. The Eagles doubles team of Jacob Hansen, No. 1 in the 18s, and Zummy Bauer, No. 2 in the 16s, ran out to an 8-0 lead against the Jaguars' Blaine Boyden and Eric Wagner, the No. 1 and No. 2 18s players, before taking the match tiebreaker 10-6.

With their match not finishing until after the rain delay, the Eagles went much later in the evening than the Patriots, eventually closing out the Panthers 7-5, when Anuj Watane beat Roger Chou 6-0, 6-4 at the No. 1 14s position at 7:45 p.m.

The girls final will feature two gold ball winners from last year's inaugural event, this year on opposing teams.  Jessie Aney of the Angels and Savannah Slaysman of the Firecrackers will play at the No. 1 singles position this year, after winning the title last year with the Tornados.  The Angels defeated the Devils 8-4, with Victoria Hu taking the seventh point at the 14s No. 1 position. The Firecrackers got past the Diamondbacks 7-5, with Isabelle Lorenzini clinching at the No. 1 16s position with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Abigail Chiu.

The pressure was on Lorenzini after Slaysman had dropped her match with Maddie Pothoff at the 18s No. 1 position 10-7 in the tiebreaker in lieu of a third set. But Lorenzini showed some outstanding offense and no nerves to close it out for her team.

The semifinal win, although close, was a far cry from their quarterfinal win on Tuesday against the Stingrays, when all four of Firecracker No. 1s lost to go down 4-0 in the first singles series.  With only singles deciding the second round matches, that meant the Firecrackers had to win at all the No. 2 positions, and they did, forcing a doubles match tiebreaker to decide who would advance to the semifinals. Down 6-1 in that tiebreaker, Slaysman and Taylor Russo, the No. 1 and No. 2 18s players, won the last nine points to win their "miracle match."

"Before the matches yesterday, in the rain delay, we were talking about different things," said Firecracker coach Debra Lloyd. "I asked them if they'd ever seen a miracle match, what they'd seen or heard about. We all know about Michael Chang and Ivan Lendl, and a couple of them had miracle match stories.  Now they all have a miracle match story. They're all excited, pumped up, happy to be here."

Rain played a role in getting Lloyd to Mobile to coach in this year's Spring Team Championships.

"I was talking to one of the refs at Winter Nationals during a rain delay, go figure," said Lloyd, who is at the Chandler (Arizona) Tennis Academy. "We were talking about it, and I hadn't heard of it, because I was moving last year and didn't know about it. I think it's a fantastic format, it's amazing. I'm very happy to be here."

The forecast calls for a better than 50 percent chance of rain on Thursday, but the plan is to begin the matches with doubles at 8 a.m.  The bronze ball matches, featuring the Panthers and Bears and the Diamondbacks and Devils, are also scheduled for 8 a.m., as are the other compass draw matches.

Individual results will eventually be available on the TennisLink site, probably by late Thursday.

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US men went 1-5 in the final round of qualifying at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells with only 2012 Kalamazoo 18s champion Dennis Novikov reaching the main draw.  Novikov, the former UCLA Bruin, defeated No. 5 seed  Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(4) to advance to his first Masters 1000 main draw.  Bjorn Fratangelo held three match points, but fell to No. 1 qualifying seed Borna Coric of Croatia 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(7). Rajeev Ram, Michael Russell, Mackenzie McDonald, Taylor Fritz and Yannick Hanfmann also fell one match short in their attempts to qualify.

In women's main draw action, wild cards Grace Min, Nicole Gibbs and Louisa Chirico lost, while Alison Riske and wild cards Irina Falconi and Sachia Vickery won, with Sloane Stephens still on court this evening.