Oakland's Lee wins National Winter boys 16 singles title

   No. 2 seed Mitchell Lee of Oakland, Calif., defeated No. 4 seed Andrew Ena of Rego Park, N.Y., 6-1, 6-4 today to win the boys 16 title in the USTA National Winter Championships in Orlando, Fla.

   Ena led 2-0 in the second set.

   In the boys 18s in Orlando, No. 14 seed Emon van Loben Sels of Sacramento, Calif., took third place with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over unseeded Ryan Torres of Danville, Calif., in the San Francisco Bay Area.

   Lee and van Loben Sels, who has verbally committed to UCLA, are close friends and practice partners. Torres has signed a letter of intent to play for the University of California, Davis.

   Meanwhile, Bay Area residents Vihaan Reddy and Sephi Sheng swept the National Winter 12s singles titles in Tucson, Ariz.

   Reddy, the No. 4 seed from San Jose, downed No. 1 seed Izyan Ahmad of Wayne, N.J., 6-1, 6-7 (2), 6-3. Sheng, the No. 12 seed from Palo Alto, routed No. 2 seed Carrie-Anne Hoo of Brooklyn, N.Y., 6-2, 6-1.

   In the girls 14s in Tucson, No. 5 seed Alexis Nguyen of El Dorado Hills, Calif., in the Sacramento area and No. 28 seed Annika Penickova of Campbell in the Bay Area lost in Sunday's quarterfinals.

   In the boys and girls 12 doubles finals:

   —No. 1 seeds Ahmad and Tanishk Koduri of Santa Clara in the Bay Area beat unseeded Reddy and Kotaro Kunimoto of Palo Alto 6-4, 6-0. 

   —No. 1 seeds Nancy Lee of Belmont, Mass., and Hoo outplayed No. 2 seeds Welles Newman of Boca Raton, Fla., and Sheng 6-4, 6-4.

Fritz's rise, Bryans' fall highlight top stories of 2015

Taylor Fritz of the United States won back-
to-back Challengers in Northern California
 at 17 years old. 2015 photo by Paul Bauman

   This year hinted at the dawn of a new era in U.S. men's tennis.
   It's too soon to write off doubles stars Bob and Mike Bryan, even at age 37. If Daniel Nestor can play at 43 and Leander Paes at 42, so can the Bryans if they so desire. But the former Stanford All-Americans endured their worst season in more than a decade in 2015.
   Meanwhile, Taylor Fritz led a surge of promising American teenagers with back-to-back Challenger titles in Northern California.
   Following are the top 10 stories, plus 12 honorable mentions, in NorCal tennis in 2015:

Top 10

   1. Fritz, 17, coasts to second straight Challenger title
   2. Bryans' long reign at No. 1 ends
   3. Stanford product to head USTA player development
   4. Date-Krumm, 44, rallies to shock Lisicki at Stanford
   5. Ex-Sacramento champ banned for 15 years
   6. Aussie Millman makes Aptos history with title
   7. Altamirano adds NCAA team title to resume
   8. World TeamTennis returns to Sacramento
   9. Roseville's Riffice, 16, sweeps USTA Clay Court titles
   10. Juniors Volynets, Lee win USTA national titles

Honorable mention

   -- Sanchez wins third pro doubles title in three weeks
   -- Tursunov wins Moscow doubles title after long layoff
   -- Bellis falls in Stanford debut
   -- Smyczek gets the breaks in Tiburon thriller
   -- Kalinina overcomes big deficit for Challenger title
   -- Embree pulls off incredible comeback in Redding
   -- Kops-Jones, Sanchez, Bellis, Muljat highlight big day
   -- Bellis, 15, crushes Sanchez for Rancho Santa Fe title
   -- Stanford, Cal women fall in NCAA individual finals
   -- Cal's Manasse rises to No. 1 in nation
   -- Lee wins boys 12 doubles title in Winter Nationals
   -- Roseville's Riffice loses in Easter Bowl final

Juniors Volynets, Lee win USTA national titles

Katie Volynets, 13, of Walnut Creek won the
girls 14 title in the USTA National Champion-
ships. 2015 photo by Paul Bauman

   Two Northern California juniors won titles in the USTA National Championships this week.
   Second-seeded Katie Volynets, 13, of Walnut Creek routed 12th-seeded Naomi Cheong of Las Vegas 6-3, 6-1 for the girls 14 crown in Peachtree City, Ga. 
   Volynets should have lost in the semifinals. She saved five match points in her 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-2 victory over fourth-seeded Lea Ma of Dix Hills, N.Y.
   Volynets also won the 12s last year in Alpharetta, Ga.,
   Top-seeded Karl Lee of Los Altos and Benjamin Kittay of Potomac, Md., defeated ninth-seeded Saud Alhogbani of Alexandria, Va., and Samuel Landau of Los Angeles 6-4, 6-4 in Little Rock, Ark., for the boys 12 doubles title.
   Lee also captured the 12s doubles crown in the USTA Winter Nationals in Tucson, Ariz., in January with Hunter Heck of New Brighton, Min.

Lee takes boys 12 doubles title in Winter Nationals

   Karl Lee became the only Northern California junior to win a gold ball in the USTA National Winter Championships in Arizona.
   But he had to beat another NorCal player to do it. 
   Third-seeded Hunter Heck of New Brighton, Min., and Lee of Los Altos defeated top-seeded Aidan Mayo of Roseville and Billy Suarez of Huntington, N.Y., 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Friday to capture the boys 12 doubles title in Tucson, Ariz.
   In the girls 14 singles final, fourth-seeded Sara Choy of Palo Alto lost to 16th-seeded Cali Jankowski of Carlsbad 6-4, 6-4.
   The boys and girls 18 and 16 singles and doubles events were played in Scottsdale, Ariz., and the boys and girls 14s and 12s were held in Tucson.

USTA NATIONAL WINTER CHAMPIONSHIPS

Singles finals

   Boys 18 -- William Genesen (8), Tulsa, Okla., def. Alafia Ayeni, San Diego, 6-4, 6-1.
   Girls 18 -- Kelly Chen (2), Cerritos, def. Mia Horvit (10), Palm City, Fla., 6-3, 7-6 (3).
   Boys 16 -- JJ Wolf (2), Cincinnati, def. Jake Van Emburgh (3), Verona, Wis., 7-6 (1), 6-2.
   Girls 16 -- Morgan Coppoc (2), Tulsa, Okla., def. Chiara Lommer (4), Buffalo Grove, Ill., 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.
   Boys 14 -- Govind Nanda (3), Redlands, def. Jaycer Calleros, San Antonio, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1.
   Girls 14 -- Cali Jankowski (16), Carlsbad, def. Sara Choy (4), Palo Alto, 6-4, 6-4.
   Boys 12 -- Niroop Vallabhaneni (4), Paradise Valley, Ariz., def. Jameson Corsillo (15), Boca Raton, Fla., 6-1, 6-4.
   Girls 12 -- Gianna Pielet (4), El Paso, Texas, def. Mae Canete (3), Los Angeles, 0-6, 6-3, 6-2.

 Doubles finals

   Boys 18 -- Korey Lovett, Brevard, N.C., and Spencer Richey, Memphis, Tenn., def. Henry Gordon, New Braunfels, Texas, and Reese Stalder (5), Costa Mesa, 6-2, 6-0.
   Girls 18 -- Jessie Aney, Rochester, Minn., and Christina Rosca (3), Princeton, N.J., def. Samantha Hampton, Vancouver, Wash., and Bess Waldram (9), Portland, Ore., 6-2, 6-4.
   Boys 16 --  Bennett Crane, Winston Salem, N.C., and Sean Sculley (1), Hilton Head Island, S.C., def. Jake Van Emburgh, Verona, Wis., and JJ Wolf (8), Cincinnati, 6-3, 6-1.
   Girls 16 -- Elysia Bolton, Lake Forest, Ill., and Grace Joyce (2), Newton, Mass., def. Anna Brylin, Short Hills, N.J., and Victoria Emma, Naples, Fla., 6-3, 6-3.
   Boys 14 -- Jaycer Calleros, San Antonio, and Kevin Zhu (2), Pearland, Texas, def. Nathan Han, Tulsa, Okla. and Jake Sands (1), Pacific Palisades, 6-0, 6-3.
   Girls 14 -- Jayci Goldsmith, Dripping Springs, Texas, and Chelsea Kung (3), Fort Worth, Texas, def. Shelly Yaloz, Little Neck, N.Y., and Marlee Zein (2), Sugar Land, Texas, 6-4, 6-1.
   Boys 12 -- Hunter Heck, New Brighton, Min., and Karl Lee (3), Los Altos, def. Aidan Mayo, Roseville, and Billy Suarez (1), Huntington, N.Y., 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
   Girls 12 -- Gabriella Price, Montebello, N.Y., and Yashna Yellayi (1), Buffalo, N.Y., def. Charlotte Owensby, Boca Raton, Fla., and Gianna Pielet (2), El Paso, Texas, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.