Allura and Maribella Zamarripa surprised even themselves by verbally committing to enroll at the University of Texas in 2021.
The identical twins from Saint Helena in the Napa area are "total California girls," Allura said in the May/June issue of Inside Tennis. "We wanted to stay in California. SoCal, NorCal ... it didn't matter. We just wanted to be in California close to our family. Our initial schools were Stanford, UCLA, Pepperdine, USC. Texas wasn't even on the radar."
The Zamarripas changed their minds after visiting the University of Texas in Austin.
"We decided to do a last-minute visit in February," Maribella said, "and we were pleasantly surprised. We chose Texas because we wanted to go pro after college, and Texas had the best opportunities. They play the most pro tournaments, and the resources there are unbelievable."
In the class of 2020, Aryan Chaudhary of Santa Clara and India Houghton of Belvedere Tiburon will head to nearby Stanford, Katherine Duong of Cupertino will play at Illinois, and Dean Babb of Roseville will attend Columbia.
Santa Clara, Belvedere Tiburon and Cupertino are in the San Francisco Bay Area. Roseville is a suburb of Sacramento.
Assuming the Zamarripas follow through on their commitment, they will follow Jenson Brooksby as top Northern California juniors to choose a Texas school. Brooksby, the 2018 USTA boys 18 national champion from Carmichael in the Sacramento region, originally committed to Texas Christian in Fort Worth for 2020 before following renowned coach Brian Boland to Baylor in Waco. Boland won four NCAA team titles in five years (2013-17) at Virginia.
The Zamarripas almost stunned eventual champions Madison Brengle and Sachia Vickery in the first round of the $60,000 Berkeley Tennis Club Women's Challenge last July, falling 6-7 (5), 6-2 [10-5]. Brengle also won the singles title.
In 2018, the Zamarripas swept the girls 16 doubles titles in the Easter Bowl at Indian Wells, Calif., and the USTA International Spring Championships in Carson, Calif., in consecutive weeks.
Veteran journalist Paul Bauman, based in Sacramento, covers Northern California professional, collegiate and junior tennis. Contact him at norcaltennisczar@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @norcaltenczar.
Showing posts with label Duong. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Duong. Show all posts
Saturday, June 13, 2020
Sunday, November 4, 2018
Ma subdued, Jackson 'excited' after winning Sectionals
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| Second-seeded Connie Ma, left, beat fifth-seeded Katherine Duong 6-2, 6-4 for the girls 18 title in the NorCal Junior Fall Singles Sectional Championships. Photo by Paul Bauman |
The tiny 15-year-old's subdued reaction today was understandable, considering that she excelled in low-level professional tournaments over the summer and helped the United States win the Junior Fed Cup in Budapest, Hungary, in late September.
In comparison, Ma's march to the NorCal title was easy.
"Maybe, but the competition was still pretty good from the quarters until the final," the second-seeded Ma, only 5-foot-3 (1.60 meters) and 95 pounds (43.1 kilograms), said diplomatically after beating fifth-seeded Katherine Duong 6-2, 6-4 in a matchup of San Francisco Bay Area players at the Broadstone Racquet Club. "The last set of the final was pretty tight."
That was the only time in the tournament that Ma lost as many as four games in a set. She dismissed fifth-seeded Vivian Ovrootsky, ranked fifth nationally in the 14s, 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinals and fourth-seeded Amber Marie Lee 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals.
In contrast to Ma, winning the Sectional boys 18 title for the fourth consecutive time (in the summer and fall) was a big deal for Ryder Jackson. The second-seeded Jackson, a 17-year-old resident of Nicasio in the Bay Area, downed ninth-seeded Luke Casper, 15, of Santa Cruz 6-2, 6-4 in the final.
"I think this is my last one, so I'm real excited to go out on top and play as well as I could," said Jackson, who will head to USC next year. "It's a lot of pressure to deal with because everybody wants to beat you. To handle the pressure and play as well as I did, I'm really happy about that."
Casper, ranked 16th nationally in the 16s, sprained his left ankle when Jackson wrong-footed him while serving at 3-4, 30-15 in the second set. Casper favored the ankle the rest of the way.
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| Second-seeded Ryder Jackson, left, downed ninth-seeded Luke Casper 6-2, 6-4 for his fourth consecutive NorCal Sectional boys 18 title. Photo by Paul Bauman |
Ma then qualified for the $60,000 Berkeley Tennis Club Challenge before losing in the first round to eighth-seeded Mayo Hibi, then ranked No. 187, advanced to the final of a $15,000 event in Evansville, Ind., and won the Evansville doubles title.
So why play in the NorCal Sectionals?
"To keep playing tournaments," Ma explained. "I need to work on match play and get a feel for competing still."
Duong, from Cupertino, almost had to hit a perfect shot to win a point against Ma. Sometimes, even that wasn't enough. Ma generally kept the ball in play until Duong, ranked third in the 16s and fifth in the 18s in Northern California, made a mistake.
"Connie is probably one of the best movers out there, so it's really hard to hit winners against her," said the 16-year-old Duong, who eliminated top-seeded Ashley Yeah in the quarterfinals and third-seeded Klara Kosan in the semifinals. "She's also really consistent, so you have to out-rally her, which is one of the hardest things to do as a tennis player. That's what makes her one of the best players in the nation."
Jackson also did not lose a set in the tournament, although third-seeded Daniel Baturyn of San Leandro extended him to a tiebreaker in the semifinals.
The 6-foot-2 (1.88-meter) Jackson overpowered the 5-foot-9 (1.75-meter) Casper in the first set, but Casper worked his way back into the match in the second set before his injury.
"His serve was way more consistent than mine, and he got more balls back," lamented Casper, who demolished top-seeded Aryan Chaudhary 6-0, 6-1 in the round of 16.
Third-seeded Brian Chong and fifth-seeded Rhea Rai, both of Cupertino, won the boys and girls 16 titles, respectively.
Chong outlasted top-seeded Brian Bilsey of Belmont 1-6, 6-4, 7-5, and Rai beat unseeded Maryia Hrynashka of Rancho Cordova 6-4, 6-4.
Saturday, November 3, 2018
Tiny 15-year-old reaches Fall Sectional girls 18 final
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| Connie Ma, playing in the $60,000 Berkeley Tennis Club Challenge in July, will face Katherine Duong on Sunday in the NorCal Fall Sectional girls 18 final. Photo by Paul Bauman |
Fifteen-year-old Connie Ma, only 5-foot-3 (1.60 meters) and 95 pounds (43.1 kilograms), excelled in professional tournaments over the summer to earn a women's world ranking of No. 763.
So it's no surprise that Ma, an amateur from Dublin in the San Francisco Bay Area, has coasted to the final in the NorCal 18s at the Broadstone Racquet Club. Seeded second, she dispatched fifth-seeded Vivian Ovrootsky of San Jose 6-3, 6-3 this afternoon in the quarterfinals and fourth-seeded Amber Marie Lee of Orinda 6-3, 6-2 this evening in the semifinals.
Ovrootsky, 14, is ranked fifth nationally in the 14s. Lee, a high school sophomore ranked fourth in Northern California in the 16s and seventh in the 18s, played two hours after holding off fifth-seeded Stephanie Nguyen of Fremont 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in a three-hour quarterfinal. Nguyen will play at Boston University next year.
Ma reached the quarterfinals of a $25,000 hardcourt tournament in Baton Rouge, La., as a qualifier in June, stunning then-No. 373 Emiliana Arango of Colombia in the first round of the main draw.
Ma then qualified for the $60,000 Berkeley Tennis Club Challenge before losing in the first round to eighth-seeded Mayo Hibi, then ranked No. 187, advanced to the final of a $15,000 event in Evansville, Ind., and won the Evansville doubles title.
How does Ma do it?
"Using my movement, trying to set up correctly for every single ball and then hitting my targets," she replied.
Ma is scheduled to face fifth-seeded Katherine Duong of Cupertino on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Duong, a high school junior ranked third in the NorCal 16s and fifth in the 18s, ousted top seed and defending champion Ashley Yeah of Los Gatos 7-6 (4), 6-1 and third-seeded Klara Kosan of Carmichael 6-1, 3-6, 6-4. Yeah will head to the University of Illinois next year.
Ma said she has played Duong seven times, winning the last two encounters.
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| Defending champion Ryder Jackson, a USC commit, eyes a backhand during his win over Daniel Baturyn today. Photo by Paul Bauman |
The 6-foot-2 (1.88-meter) Jackson, who will play at USC, beat Rithik Sardana of Union City 6-4, 6-3 and third-seeded Daniel Baturyn, a Fresno State commit from San Leandro, 6-1, 7-6 (5).
"I had a good game plan (against Baturyn) because I've seen him play many times," said Jackson, who always wears soccer jerseys for his matches. "It was definitely to play aggressive, come to the net and stay loose because I have a lot of pressure out here being a top-seeded player and having good results here in the past."
The 5-foot-9 (1.75-meter) Casper, ranked 16th nationally in the 16s, dismissed ninth-seeded Marshall Leung of Tiburon 6-3, 6-0 and topped fourth-seeded Andrei Volgin of Fremont 6-3, 6-2.
Casper, who demolished top-seeded Aryan Chaudhary of Santa Clara last weekend in the round of 16, cramped in both calves and his left quadriceps against Volgin, who's headed to UC Davis.
"It was a grind," said the 15-year-old Casper, adding that he should be OK for the final. "We had super long points. I got super tired."
In the girls 16 semifinals, fifth-seeded Rhea Rai of Cupertino dominated top-seeded Mirabelle Brettkelly of San Francisco 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals.
On Sunday at 10:30 a.m., Rai will play unseeded Maryia Hrynashka of Rancho Cordova, and top-seeded Brian Bilsey of Belmont will meet third-seeded Brian Chong of Cupertino for the boys 16 title.
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Chaudhary, Willy earn Sectional 14 singles titles
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| No. 1 seed Aryan Chaudhary, left, of Santa Clara subdued No. 2 Marcus McDaniel of Vacaville for the boys 14 singles title in the NorCal Junior Sectional Championships. Photo by Paul Bauman |
And the second set.
Instead, he pulled out both to claim the boys 14 singles title in the NorCal Junior Sectional Championships.
The top-seeded Chaudhary, from Santa Clara, overcame deficits of 3-5 in both sets and a set point against him in the second set to subdue second-seeded Marcus McDaniel of Vacaville 7-5, 7-6 (1) on Tuesday at the Arden Hills Resort Club & Spa.
"I was making a lot more balls (than McDaniel)," the 13-year-old Chaudhary, ranked second in the 14s in Northern California, explained after the baseline battle in 91-degree (32.8 Celsius) heat. "He just wasn't (on) his game today. I wasn't playing too well, but I was able to force him to make some mistakes. That's how I was able to close out the match."
McDaniel, ranked fourth in the NorCal 14s at 14 years old, agreed but added that he made a strategic mistake.
"I just couldn't make that many balls," said the 5-foot-10 (1.78-meter), 130-pound (59-kilogram) McDaniel, who has a punishing forehand. "I played the wrong shot (of Chaudhary's). I should have played the other side. I played his backhand too much, and he's too solid on the backhand side."
On the adjacent court, second-seeded Avantika Willy of Dublin beat fifth-seeded Laura Sanders of El Cerrito 6-3, 7-5 for the girls 14 crown.
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| No. 2 seed Avantika Willy, above, of Dublin beat No. 5 Laura Sanders of El Cerrito for the girls 14 crown. Photo by Paul Bauman |
"I was just starting to press too much, trying to keep pressure on him," McDaniel said. "I wasn't hitting the ball as well as I could, which led to me missing even more and led to me going downhill faster instead of letting him make the errors."
The 5-foot-9 (1.75-meter), 140-pound (63.5-kilogram) Chaudhary, meanwhile, said he "started staying more calm and trying to reduce my errors and force him to make more errors."
McDaniel still had a chance to force a decisive third set but dropped the last six points of the tiebreaker to end the match. During the stretch, he committed four unforced errors and a double fault and returned a first serve long.
"I felt his ball was coming off the strings faster," McDaniel said of the tiebreaker. "He was kind of loose because he had the (first) set under his belt. ... I couldn't make my backhand. It's usually pretty solid."
McDaniel strongly resembles Piedmont's Mackenzie McDonald, who turned pro this month after sweeping the NCAA singles and doubles titles as a UCLA junior, in several ways. Their first and last names are similar, they look alike facially, and both have slight builds.
Chaudhary swept in singles and doubles, as he did last year in the 12s in Sunnyvale. Willy, however, won her first sectional title.
"I just came out mentally prepared," said Willy, who will turn 14 on July 25. "(Sanders) is a great player. I was just really focused, and every point, I was mentally in it."
Sanders, who was not available for comment, was coming off long three-setters in the quarterfinals and semifinals. But Willy said Sanders didn't appear tired.
"She may have been, but I couldn't tell," Willy admitted.
NORCAL JUNIOR SECTIONAL
CHAMPIONSHIPS
Tuesday's finals
At UC Santa Cruz
Girls 18
Singles
Carolyn Campana (4), Hillsborough, def. Hind Abdelouahid (9), San Jose, walkover.
Doubles
Hind Abdelouahid, San Jose, and Katie Volynets (3), Walnut Creek,
def. Niluka Madurawe, Sunnyvale, and Katya Tabachnik (1), San Francisco, 7-5, 6-4.
Girls 16
Singles
Connie Ma (2), Dublin, def. Angela Huang, Piedmont, 6-2, 6-0.
Doubles
Katherine Duong, Cupertino, and Connie Ma (2), Dublin, def. Pamela Duke, San Jose, and Jacquie Tan (1), Elk Grove, 6-3, 6-4.
At Arden Hills Resort & Spa in Sacramento
Boys 14
Singles
Aryan Chaudhary (1), Santa Clara, def. Marcus McDaniel (2), Vacaville, 7-5, 7-6 (1).
Doubles
Aryan Chaudhary, Santa Clara, and Hugo Hashimoto (1), San Jose, def. Marcus McDaniel, Vacaville, 0-6, 7-6 (4) [10-2].
Girls 14
Singles
Avantika Willy (2), Dublin, def. Laura Sanders (5), El Cerrito, 6-3, 7-5.
Doubles
Allura Zamarripa and Maribella Zamarripa (1), Saint Helena, def. Tiffany Boudagian, South San Francisco, and Vivian Ovrootsky, San
Jose, 6-2, 6-1.
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