Paul Barretto, Keenan Mayo repeat in Sectionals

   Paul Barretto and Keenan Mayo won their second consecutive NorCal Junior Sectional boys 18 and 16 singles titles, respectively, on Sunday at the Natomas Racquet Club in Sacramento.
   The No. 2-seeded Barretto, a 17-year-old Tiburon resident, beat No. 9 Jenson Brooksby, 15, of Carmichael 6-4, 6-3. The No. 1-seeded Mayo, a Roseville resident who turned 16 last month, dominated No. 9 Ryder Jackson of Nicasio 6-1, 6-1.
   In the quarterfinals of the girls 18s at UC Santa Cruz, No. 4 seed Carolyn Campana of Hillsborough ousted No. 5 Rachel Eason, the defending champion from Union City, 6-4, 6-2.
   Also, No. 2 Katie Volynets, 14, of Walnut Creek dismissed No. 4 Jessi Muljat, 15, of Sacramento 6-3, 6-1. Volynets is ranked first nationally in the 14s.
   Volynets avenged a 6-4, 7-5 loss to Muljat in the 16s final of the USTA International Spring Championships in Carson, Calif., in April.
   No. 1 seed Herrick Legaspi of Sacramento and No. 3 Anushka Khune of Palo Alto won the boys and girls 12 titles, respectively, at the Sunnyvale Tennis Center.
   The quarterfinals of the boys and girls 14s are scheduled for today at 11 a.m. at the Arden Hills Resort & Spa in Sacramento, followed by the semifinals at 3 p.m.

NORCAL JUNIOR SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Finals

At Natomas Racquet Club in Sacramento

Boys 18

Singles

   Paul Barretto (2), Tiburon, def. Jenson Brooksby (9) Carmichael, 6-4, 6-3.

Doubles

   Arjith Jayaraman, Gold River, and Andrew Ton (4), Milpitas, def. Siddharth Chari, Saratoga, and Randy Cory, Salinas, 6-4, 1-6 [11-9].

Boys 16

Singles

   Keenan Mayo (1), Roseville, def. Ryder Jackson (9), Nicasio, 6-1, 6-1.

Doubles

   Sam Gibson, Chico, and Stevie Gould (4), Corte Madera, def. Ryder Jackson, Nicasio, and Zachery Lim (8), Fairfield, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

At Sunnyvale Tennis Center

Boys 12

Singles

  Herrick Legaspi (1), Sacramento, def. Raghav Jangbahadur (4), Palo Alto, 6-2, 6-0.

Doubles

   John Kim, Sunnyvale, and Herrick Legaspi (1), Sacramento, def. Liam Carpenter, Greenbrae, and Patrick Toman (3), Pleasant Hill, 6-2, 6-1.

Girls 12

Singles

   Anushka Khune (3), Palo Alto, def. Georgia Beard (1), Santa Rosa, 6-3, 6-2.

Doubles

   Anushka Khune, Palo Alto, and Madison Weekley (2), Alamo, def. Martina Marica, San Jose, and Kamila Wong (3), Palo Alto, 6-0, 6-2.

Riffice beats ex-Roseville neighbor in Easter Bowl

   Sam Riffice and Keenan Mayo grew up a few houses apart in the Sacramento, Calif., suburb of Roseville.
   Riffice, seeded No. 5, defeated Mayo 6-2, 6-4 Thursday to reach the boys 18 quarterfinals in the prestigious Easter Bowl in Indian Wells, Calif.
   Riffice, 17, is ranked No. 1 nationally in the 18s, and Mayo, 15, is No. 32 in the 16s. They train at the USTA centers in Boca Raton, Fla., and Carson, Calif., respectively.
   Riffice, who will face third-seeded Nathan Ponwith of Scottsdale, Ariz., was the runner-up to Taylor Fritz in last year's Easter Bowl 18s. Fritz, 18, has skyrocketed to No. 79 in the men's world rankings since turning pro last August.
   Meanwhile, No. 4 seed Michaela Gordon of Saratoga, Calif., advanced to the girls 18 quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Sofia Sewing of Doral, Fla.
   Gordon, 16, will play No. 8 Alexandra Sanford of Westerville, Ohio. Sanford, 17, reached the quarterfinals of the $100,000 Dow Corning Tennis Classic in Midland, Mich., in February as a qualifier.
   No. 13 Elie Douglas of McKinney, Texas, held off No. 8 Emma Higuchi of Los Angeles 6-4, 7-6 (8). Higuchi plans to enroll at Stanford in the fall.
   In the girls 16 semifinals, No. 7 Angelica Blake of Boca Raton, Fla., routed No. 6 Rachel Eason of Union City, Calif., 6-1, 6-2.
   No. 11 Max Fardanesh of Albany, Calif., won the boys 12 title, knocking off No. 1 Samuel Landau of Los Angeles 6-4, 6-2.

NorCal's Shekhera ousts No. 4 seed in Winter Nationals

Ajai Shekhera, playing in Sacramento
in April, beat fourth-seeded Richard
Ciamarra to reach the boys 18 quarter-
finals in the USTA National Winter
Championships. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Unseeded Ajai Shekhera of Campbell surprised No. 4 Richard Ciamarra of Southington, Conn., 7-6 (2), 2-6, 6-1 today to reach the boys 18 quarterfinals in the USTA National Winter Championships in Scottsdale, Ariz.
   Shekhera has beaten three straight seeds in the tournament. He knocked off No. 17 Keanu Ellen of Lahaina, Hawaii, in the second round and No. 11 Joseph Rotheram of Manhattan Beach in the third round.
   Joining Shekhera in the boys 18 quarters are No. 8 Austen Huang of Elk Grove and No. 17 Paul Barretto of Tiburon.
   The only other NorCal boy left in singles in the tournament is No. 1 Stefan Leustian of Mather in the 14s.
   Five NorCal girls reached the quarterfinals in their respective age groups: No. 1 Sara Choy of Palo Alto and No. 8 Carolyn Campana of Hillsborough in the 16s, No. 1 Katie Volynets of Walnut Creek and No. 2 Jillian Taggart of Fair Oaks in the 14s, and No. 5 Yuu Ishikawa of Mountain View in the 12s.
   Union City's Rachel Eason, seeded fourth in the girls 16s, lost to unseeded Sedona Gallagher of Henderson, Nev., 6-1, 1-6, 6-2.
  The boys and girls 18s and 16s are being played in Scottsdale, and the 14s and 12s are being held in Tucson, Ariz.

USTA NATIONAL WINTER CHAMPIONSHIPS

(Northern California results only)

Boys

Fourth-round singles

18 and under

   Paul Barretto (17), Tiburon, def. Brandon Lam (17), Westlake Village, 6-2, 6-1.
   Ajai Shekhera, Campbell, def. Richard Ciamarra (4), Southington, Conn., 7-6 (2), 2-6, 6-1.
   Austen Huang (8), Elk Grove, def. Jarod Hing (16), Paradise Valley, Ariz., 6-1, 6-2.

16 and under

   Jared Pratt (17), Daniel Island, S.C., def. Arjith Jayaraman, Gold River, 6-3, 7-5.

14 and under

   Stefan Leustian (1), Mather, def. Justin Mandell, Harrison, N.Y., 7-5, 6-2.

Doubles quarterfinals

16 and under

   Zummy Bauer, Suwanee, Ga., and Andrew Ton (1), Milpitas, def. Hayden Cassone, South Salem, N.Y., and Carson Haskins (5), Ballwin, Mo., 3-6, 6-0 [10-7].

14 and under

   Robert Cash and Joel Jose (4), New Albany, Ohio, def. Stefan Dostanic, Irvine, and Aditya Gupta (6), Los Altos, 6-3, 6-1.

   Stefan Leustian, Mather, and Zachery Lim (7), Fairfield, def. Connor Fu, Andover, Mass., and Hunter Heck (2), New Brighton, Minn., 7-5, 6-7 (6) [10-6].

12 and under

   Tali Jarmond, Charlotte, N.C., and Braden Shick, Greensboro, N.C., def. Max Fardanesh, Albany, and Jake Vassel, Danville, 3-6, 7-5 [10-8].

Girls

Fourth-round singles

16 and under

   Sara Choy (1), Palo Alto, def. Jayci Goldsmith (13), Dripping Springs, Texas, 6-2, 6-3.
   Sedona Gallagher, Henderson, Nev., def. Rachel Eason (4), Union City, 6-1, 1-6, 6-2.
   Carolyn Campana (8), Hillsborough, def. Emilee Duong, Placentia, 7-5, 6-3.

14 and under

   Katie Volynets (1), Walnut Creek, def. Rosie Garcia Gross (17), New York, 6-2, 6-2.

   Jillian Taggart (2), Fair Oaks, def. Olivia McIntosh-Adams, Los Angeles, 6-2, 6-0.

12 and under

   Yuu Ishikawa (5), Mountain View, def. Matilyn Wang (17), Scottsdale, Ariz., 6-1, 6-1.

   Katrina Scott (2), Woodland Hills, def. Vivian Ovrootsky (13), San Jose, 6-2, 7-5.

Doubles quarterfinals

18 and under

   Hind Abdelouahid, San Jose, and Diana Wong, Hilo, Hawaii, def. Jessica Anzo, Temecula, and Isabella Lorenzini, Clarendon Hills, Ill., 7-5, 6-3.

16 and under

   Daniela Bellini, Tierra Verde, Fla., and Imani Graham, Saint Johns, Fla., def. Carolyn Campana, Hillsborough, and Madison Hwang (1), Frisco, Texas, 2-6, 6-1 [10-6].

14 and under 

   Gabriella Price, Montebello, N.Y., and Katie Volynets (2), Walnut Creek, def. AnneMarie Hiser, Acworth, Ga., and Winslow Huth (5), Brentwood, Tenn., 6-1, 6-2.

12 and under

   Soren Leichter, Carmel, Ind., and Madison Sieg (1), Greenwich, Conn., def. Vivian Ovrootsky, San Jose, and Makenna Thiel (9), Piedmont, 3-6, 7-6 (4) [10-2].

   Zoe Hammond, Edmond, Okla., and Caroline Wernli (3), Austin, Texas, def. Yuu Ishikawa, Mountain View, and Katja Wiersholm (5), Kirkland, Wash., 7-6 (4), 2-6 [10-8].  

Catching up: Fritz, Hibino, colleges, juniors

Taylor Fritz, shown en route to the title in the
recent Fairfield Challenger, lost in the second
round in Las Vegas. That ended his winning
streak at 17 matches. Photo by Paul Bauman

   U.S. phenom Taylor Fritz's winning streak ended at 17 matches last week when he lost in the second round of the $50,000 Las Vegas Challenger.
   Fritz, the world's top-ranked junior, fell to Grega Zemlja of Slovenia 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-2. Zemlja advanced to the final, losing to Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands. Both Zemlja, 29, and de Bakker, 27, are former top-50 players.
   Fritz, who will turn 18 on Wednesday, won three straight titles after turning pro in August. He triumphed in the U.S. Open boys tournament, the $100,000 Sacramento Challenger and the $50,000 Fairfield Challenger.
   The latter two titles came in Fritz's home state of California. He lives in Rancho Santa Fe in the San Diego area.
   WTA tour -- Nao Hibino, who won the inaugural $50,000 Stockton Challenger in July, beat Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-2, 6-2 recently in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, for her first WTA tour title.
   Hibino, 20, of Japan did not face a seed or drop a set in the tournament. She defeated Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina, the champion of the $50,000 Sacramento Challenger the week after Stockton, in the first round in Tashkent.
   Only 5-foot-4 (1.6 meters) and 132 pounds (60 kilograms), Hibino has soared from No. 177 in the world before Stockton to No. 79.
   USTA/ITA All-American Championships -- Cal's Andre Goransson and Maegan Manasse and Stanford's Tom Fawcett reached the semifinals of this month's USTA/ITA All-American Championships.
    Goransson, a junior from Sweden, lost to fourth-seeded Dominik Koepfer of Tulane 6-4, 6-4 in Tulsa, Okla. Fawcett, a 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) sophomore from Winnetka, Ill., fell to third-seeded Thai-Son Kwiatkowski of NCAA champion Virginia 6-3, 6-2.

Nao Hibino, playing in the Sacramento Challenger in July,
recently won her first WTA tour title. Photo by Mal Taam 

   Both Goransson and Fawcett were seeded 9-16. Kwiatkowski won the title.
   Manasse, a junior from Redondo Beach, lost to seventh seed and eventual champion Danielle Collins of Virginia 7-6 (7), 6-3 in Pacific Palisades. Collins won last year's NCAA singles title.
   Second-seeded Manasse and Denise Starr, a junior from Brooklyn, N.Y., won the doubles title with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over unseeded Hayley Carter and Whitney Kay of North Carolina 6-1, 6-4.
   USTA/ITA Northwest Regional Championships -- Stanford's David Wilczynski, a sophomore from Richboro, Pa., topped Mitch Stewart of Washington 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 on Monday in Seattle for the USTA/ITA Men's Northwest Regional title.
   USF's Vasco Valverde and Nils Skajaa took the doubles title, outclassing Stanford's Nolan Paige and Maciek Romanowicz 6-2, 6-2.
   Top-seeded Taylor Davidson of Stanford is scheduled to face ninth-seeded Mayar Ahmed of Fresno State today in the final of the Women's Northwest Regional Championships at Stanford.
   In the doubles final, top-seeded Davidson and Caroline Doyle, from San Francisco, will take on third-seeded Klara Fabikova and Olivia Hauger of Cal.
   USTA National Selection Tournament -- Top-seeded Sara Choy of Palo Alto routed third-seeded Jessi Muljat of Sacramento 6-1, 6-2 to win the girls 16 title in this month's USTA National Selection Tournament at the University of the Pacific in Stockton.
   In the doubles final, unseeded Michelle Deng of Temple City and Rena Lin of Northridge beat top-seeded Choy and Niluka Madurawe of Sunnyvale 8-6.
   Eighth-seeded Jenson Brooksby of Carmichael reached the boys 16 singles semifinals, falling to unseeded Jake Sands of Pacific Palisades 6-1, 6-0. Sands then lost to sixth-seeded Govind Nanda of Redlands.
   Third-seeded Brooksby and Randy Cory of Salinas won the doubles title, beating fourth-seeded Nanda and Sands 8-4 in the final.
   The 16s was the only age group in the tournament.

No small feat: Volynets, 13, could surpass Bellis

NorCal Sectional Girls 16 champion Katie Volynets, left, and runner-up Jillian
Taggart pose with tournament director Martin Kosan. Photo by Paul Bauman

   SACRAMENTO — Three years ago, CiCi Bellis of Atherton won the girls 18 singles title in the NorCal Junior Sectional Championships at only 13 years old.
   Bellis stood only 5-foot-3 1/2  (1.61 meters) and weighed just 85 pounds (38.6 kilograms) at the time. She has gone on to stun Australian Open women's runner-up Dominika Cibulkova in the first round of U.S. Open last August, end last year as the No. 1 junior in the world and climb to No. 170 in the women's world rankings as an amateur.
   Now, along comes an even smaller 13-year-old phenom from the San Francisco Bay Area.
   The appropriately named Katie Volynets, a Walnut Creek resident who's all of 5 feet (1.52 meters) and 80 pounds (36.3 kilograms), won the 16-and-under title today in the NorCal Girls' 18 & 16 Junior Sectional Championships at Arden Hills Resort & Spa.
   Seeded third, Volynets outlasted fourth-seeded Jillian Taggart of Fair Oaks in the Sacramento region 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the final on a day when the temperature reached 93 degrees (33.9 Celsius).  
   Bellis and Volynets share more than their Sectional titles at an early age, small size and Bay Area residences. Both won USTA girls 12-and-under national hardcourt championships (although Bellis added the clay-court title in the same age group). Bellis was ranked fourth nationally in the 14s when she won the Sectionals; Volynets is sixth.
    Volynets' coach, Richard Tompkins, said he saw Bellis play at age 13.   
    "I feel a little uncomfortable saying this because I'm friends with the Bellis family and I've known Lori (CiCi's mother) for over 20 years — and I'm a little biased — but Katie is better at 13 than CiCi was, in my opinion," Tompkins said on the telephone from Fremont. "CiCi at 13, even though she was winning a ridiculous amount of matches, was playing more of a counterpunch style and grinding players down. Between 13 and 15, those were huge development years for CiCi. She developed more weapons and (improved at) controlling points.
   "Katie's game is more developed than CiCi's was at 13. Katie is playing more aggressively off both sides. She's hitting the ball a little bit harder than CiCi was at 13, so she has better offensive skills than CiCi did at 13."   
   Another precocious Tompkins disciple, 15-year-old Rachel Eason of Union City, captured the 18-and-under Sectional title. Eason dismantled talented but erratic Jenna Friedel, a 17-year-old Mill Valley resident, 6-1, 6-3 in the tournament featuring Northern California's best juniors.

   Tompkins lauded Volynets and Eason as "fierce competitors. I'd rather have a fiercely competitive athlete than an athlete who's talented but not as competitive. Competitiveness and a strong work ethic will take you really, really far. Both those girls are fierce competitors and work probably harder than any other kid in Northern California, and that's why they're both achieving the success that they are." 

Volynets, 5 feet and 80 pounds, won the last six games in
her 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Taggart. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Volynets, though, is anything but volatile on the court. She is amazingly mature, never getting too high or too low. There are pros who could learn from her businesslike approach. Volynets even works on her game between points, taking practice swings in slow motion to simulate perfect technique.
   "She's obviously a very gifted athlete," Tompkins said, "but there's a lot of gifted athletes who never even come close to maximizing their potential because of either their work ethic or their internal drive or level of focus. ...
   "(Volynets) pushes herself so hard, whether it's in practice or tournaments. Even when she's exhausted, she'll continue to push and push and push. She has a will that just won't stop."
   Volynets has met Bellis, now listed at 5-foot-6 (1.68 meters) and a whopping 110 pounds (50 kilograms), once.
   "A couple of years ago, I was invited to her house, and we hit together," Volynets said. "We still keep in touch (by text) and have been trying to get together."
   Volynets' parents emigrated from Ukraine — where her mother, Anna, was a top swimmer —19 years ago. Katie, an articulate eighth-grader-to-be at Walnut Creek Intermediate, said her goal in tennis is "to be a top professional. I need to continue focusing on tennis and school as much as possible, and then we'll see what's going to happen."
   All that Volynets seems to lack is size.
   "Is Katie going to have to grow between now and 17?" Tompkins said. "Of course, because unfortunately professional tennis has become such a power sport. The little guy is almost becoming extinct.
   "Katie doesn't have the luxury of having any weaknesses. She has to move faster than her competition, and she needs to become smarter than her competition. She has to develop her whole game. That's the approach right now, learning to hit every single shot out there and becoming one of the most intelligent players out there."
   So far, so good. When asked how she routinely beats older, bigger players, Volynets said, "A big factor is stepping inside the baseline whenever I get a shorter ball ... attacking it and making sure I place the balls."

  Taggart, 5-foot-8 (1.73 meters) at 14 years old, became so mentally drained in the final that she dropped the last six games of the match.
   "I got a little tired and lost my focus mentally," explained Taggart, who double-faulted meekly into the net on Volynets' first match point. "And she was steady the whole time, so congrats to her."
   It wasn't the heat that got to Taggart. It was Volynets.
   "She's probably the mentally toughest person here," Taggart asserted. "She doesn't give you any free points; you have to earn every point. You know it's going to be a battle."

   Taggart, ranked 14th nationally in the 14s, played with her left wrist taped because of an inflamed tendon that had sidelined her for six weeks. She admitted that the wrist hurt on her two-handed backhand but didn't want to use it an excuse.
   "It wasn't really a factor today," she said before going swimming with Volynets at Arden Hills, where Olympic multiple gold-medal swimmers Mark Spitz and Debbie Meyer trained in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Girls 18 champion Rachel Eason, right, and runner-up Jenna Friedel pose
with Kosan. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Eason, 5-foot-7 (1.70 meters), has a strong first serve and dangerous flat forehand. Pinning Friedel to the baseline with deep shots and outsteadying her, Eason captured the biggest title of her life. She had lost in the Sectional 12- and 14-and-under singles finals but won the doubles crowns in those age groups.
   Winning the 18-and-under singles title "means a lot to me," Eason gushed. "It's the worst to lose in the finals because you're so close."

   Eason also avenged a 6-4, 6-3 loss to Friedel in last year's Sectional 16-and-under semifinals. Friedel went on to win the title.

   "I believed in myself more than I did last time, and I kept fighting and going for it," said Eason, who's ranked 81st nationally in her first year in the 16s. I've been playing better lately. 
   "I guess I've been taking my mental skills more seriously — after losing a point, calming myself down. Usually, I just get mad and it translates to the next point, and it keeps going from there."
   Friedel can relate. She was as emotional as Volynets was stoic, berating herself after her frequent misses, swatting one ball against the fence and, to pump herself up, yelling "C'mon" after winners.

Eason earned the biggest title of her life. Photo by Paul Bauman

  Friedel was so disappointed in her forehand that she held an impromptu practice session after the first set, dropping balls in front of her and hitting them to the other side of the court. After a USTA official told her she couldn't use match balls, Friedel ran over to her racket bag, pulled out a few practice balls and returned to the baseline for her self-taught clinic.
   "I didn't know what she was doing," marveled Eason, adding that she had never seen such a stunt during a match. "I know she's kind of fiery. I knew anything could happen, so I was kind of prepared for it."
   Eason will be a sophomore at James Logan High School. No home-schooling for her.
   "School is a good experience for you," she declared. "School to me is a lot more important. I take school more seriously than tennis."
   That's saying something.
   Said Tompkins: "One of the things I try to teach — which probably only 10 percent of the students I coach are totally on board with, although they agree with the philosophy — is you don't have to be a professional tennis player to do the things that pro tennis players do.
   "This is something that Rachel Eason and Katie Volynets have bought into. They practice and prepare just like a tennis professional. The only things that separate them are they don't hit the ball quite as accurately and they're not making money. But they take their tennis seriously."            

Batta wins boys 18 title in Rio Del Oro tourney

Boys 18 singles champion Amit Batta, left, and
runner-up Ajai Shekhera. Photo by Paul Bauman

   SACRAMENTO -- Amit Batta has talked to the coaches at UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara and likes both schools.
   But the 16-year-old Los Altos resident has bigger aspirations.
   "My dream school is UCLA or Texas," Batta said Sunday after winning the boys 18 title at the Rio Del Oro Junior Excellence tournament at the Rio Del Oro Racquet Club. "I've always liked the combination of athletics and education, and I love their athletics and education.
   "Also, they're in great locations. Austin is a great city, and UCLA is in a nice part of Los Angeles. I have a ton of friends at UCLA."
   What about Stanford, just a lob away from Los Altos, or Cal across San Francisco Bay?
   "I'm very interested in them," conceded Batta, who lived in his parents' native India from age 10 to 15. "I'm hoping they reach out. I'm going to stop e-mailing them. I want them to want me."

   Batta does have one concern, though.

   "My friends say Cal is overcrowded," he said.

Girls 18 singles champion Rachel Eason, right, and
runner-up Jessi Muljat. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Batta, seeded second in the Rio Del Oro tournament, beat top-seeded Ajai Shekhera of Campbell 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 for the crown.
   In the girls 18 final, fourth-seeded Rachel Eason, 15, of Union City topped fifth-seeded Jessi Muljat, 14, of Sacramento 6-2, 6-4.
   Meanwhile, two tiny girls with immense talent, also playing up, breezed to titles.
   Third-seeded Katie Volynets, 13, of Walnut Creek overwhelmed unseeded Payton Saca of Sacramento, 6-0, 6-0 in the 16s.
   And top-seeded Connie Ma, 11, of Dublin, dominated unseeded Monica Stratakos of Saratoga 6-2, 6-1 in the 14s.
   Volynets, last year's USTA girls 12 national champion, is 4-foot-11 (1.5 meters) and 73 pounds (33.1 kilograms). Ma is 4-9 (1.45 meters) and 70 pounds (31.8 kilograms).

   Saca, who's 7 1/2 inches (19 centimeters) taller and 37 pounds (16.8 kilograms) heavier than Volynets, moderately praised her opponent.

Girls 16 singles champion Katie Volynets, left, and
runner-up Payton Saca. Photo by Paul Bauman

   "She's a good player when she hits the ball in her strike zone," offered Saca, who's also 13 but 6 1/2 months older than Volynets. "She's very competitive. She doesn't give up." 

RIO DEL ORO JUNIOR EXCELLENCE

At Rio Del Oro Racquet Club in Sacramento

Singles finals

   Boys 18 -- Amit Batta (2), Los Altos, def. Ajai Shekhera (1), Campbell, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
   Boys 16 -- Daly Meinert (1), Fresno, def. Andre Xiao (3), Saratoga, 6-3, 6-0.
   Boys 14 -- Aditya Gupta (1), Los Altos, def. Stefan Leustian (2), Mather, 7-6 (10), 5-7, 3-1, ret.
   Boys 12 -- Anas Abdelouahid (2), San Jose, def. Aryan Chaudhary (5), Santa Clara, 4-6, 6-2 [10-5].
   Girls 18 -- Rachel Eason (4), Union City, def. Jessi Muljat (5), Sacramento, 6-2, 6-4.

   Girls 16 -- Katie Volynets (3), Walnut Creek, def. Payton Saca, Sacramento, 6-0, 6-0.

Girls 14 singles champion Connie Ma, right, and
runner-up Monica Stratakos. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Girls 14 -- Connie Ma (1), Dublin, def. Monica Stratakos, Saratoga, 6-2, 6-1.
   Girls 12 -- Vivian Ovrootsky (2), San Jose, def. Claire Galerkin (1), San Francisco, 5-2, ret.

Doubles finals

   Boys 18 -- Donald Hall, Chico, and Max Yun (1), Walnut Creek, def. Amit Batta, Los Altos, and Ajai Shekhera, Campbell, 8-5.

   Boys 16 -- Daly Meinert, Fresno, and Andre Xiao (1), Saratoga, def. Kailas Shekar, Saratoga, and Dean Stratakos (4), Saratoga, 8-5.
   Boys 14 -- Stefan Leustian, Mather, and Zachery Lim (2), Fairfield, def. Aidan Mayo, Roseville, and Coby McCaig (4), Modesto, 9-8 (6).
   Boys 12 -- Aryan Chaudhary, Santa Clara, and Jake Vassel (1), Danville, def. Max Fardanesh, Albany, and Geoffrey Golan (2), San Jose, 8-4.
   Girls 18 -- Sara Choy, Palo Alto, and Catalina Rico (1), San Jose, def. Sarah Hu, Oakland, and Katya Tabachnik (2), San Francisco, 8-3.
   Girls 16 -- Hind Abdelouahid, San Jose, and Abbie Mulbarger (1), Woodbridge, def. Jacquie Tan (2), Elk Grove, and Jessica Tsukigi (2), San Jose, 8-6.
   Girls 14 -- Katherine Duong, Cupertino, and Connie Ma, Dublin, def. India Houghton, Tiburon, and Alena Pruett (4), Mountain View, 8-6.
   Girls 12 --Claire Galerkin, San Francisco, and Maryia Lucia, Roseville, def. Alisha Chulani, Los Altos, and Katherine Simone, Morgan Hill, 8-6.