Casper saves 7 championship points, wins Natl. Clay 16s

Luke Casper, shown last November, earned his second gold
ball of the year and his career. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Saving seven championship points, second-seeded Luke Casper of Santa Cruz outlasted top-seeded Samir Banerjee of Basking Ridge, N.J., 3-6, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (6) Thursday to win the USTA Boys 16 National Clay Court Championships in Delray Beach, Fla.
   Banerjee saved four championship points.
   Casper, 16, earned his second gold ball of the year and his career. He captured the boys 16 title in the USTA National Winter Championships in Orlando, Fla., in January.
   Also in Delray Beach, 17th-seeded Aryan Chaudhary of Santa Clara and Logan Zapp of Fleming Island, Fla., won the USTA Boys 18 National Clay Court doubles title with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over eighth-seeded Luke Vandecasteele and Quinn Vandecasteele of Murray, Utah.
   Chaudhary, seeded 15th in singles, reached the semifinals, losing to top seed and eventual champion Leighton Allen of Austin, Texas, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
   In Fort Lauderdale, Fla., unseeded Nishesh Basavareddy of Carmel, Ind., routed sixth-seeded Dylan Tsoi of El Dorado Hills in the Sacramento area 6-1, 6-0 to win the USTA Boys 14 National Clay Court Championships.