Last NorCal juniors exit USTA Spring tourney

Jenson (J.T.) Brooksby, a 16-year-old wild card, lost in the
boys 18 quarterfinals of the USTA International Spring
Championships. 2017 photo by Paul Bauman

   Northern Californians went 0 for 3 on Friday and were eliminated from the USTA International Spring Championships in Carson, Calif.
   Jenson (J.T.) Brooksby, a 16-year-old wild card from the Sacramento suburb of Carmichael, lost to unseeded Axel Nefve of Boca Raton, Fla., 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the boys 18 quarterfinals.
   No. 8 seed Stefan Leustian of Mather in the Sacramento area fell to No. 6 Andrew Dale of Leesburg, Va., 6-1, 6-2 in the boys 16 semifinals.
   And No. 5 Leustian and Zachery Lim of Fairfield, between San Francisco and Sacramento, lost to unseeded Hunter Heck of New Brighton, Minn., and Alexander Petrov of Irvine, Calif., by walkover in the boys 16 doubles semis.
   Brooksby, ranked second nationally in the 16s, reached the 16-and-under final in the USTA National Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich., and the USTA National Clay Court Championships in Delray Beach, Fla., last summer. He won the 12-and-under title in the 2013 USTA National Championships in Little Rock, Ark.

NorCal's Leustian, McDaniel fall in Jr. Orange Bowl

   Northern Californians Stefan Leustian and Marcus McDaniel lost by identical scores today in the boys 14 round of 16 in the Junior Orange Bowl in Key Biscayne, Fla.
   The No. 9-seeded Leustian, from Mather in the Sacramento region, fell to No. 1 Bu Yunchaokete of China 6-4, 6-4. No. 17 McDaniel, from Vacaville, succumbed to No. 9 Spencer Brachman of Commack, N.Y.
   Leustian faced Yunchaokete for the second time this month. Yunchaokete won 6-1, 6-2 in the boys 14 quarterfinals of the Eddie Herr International Championships on Dec. 1 in Bradenton, Fla.
   McDaniel, the runner-up in the NorCal Sectional 14s in Sacramento in June, is ranked sixth nationally in the 14s. Leustian, who won the prestigious Les Petits As (Small Champions) title in Tarbes, France, in January, is eighth.
   McDaniel, 14, was playing in his first Junior Orange Bowl. 

Two NorCal boys reach last 16 in Jr. Orange Bowl

Stefan Leustian, shown last year, crushed Barney Fitz-
patrick of Great Britain 6-1, 6-0 in the Junior Orange
Bowl. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Two Northern Californians have reached the boys 14 round of 16 in the Junior Orange Bowl.
   No. 9 seed Stefan Leustian of Mather in the Sacramento area crushed 17th-seeded Barney Fitzpatrick of Great Britain 6-1,
6-0 today in Key Biscayne, Fla.
   Also, No. 17 Marcus McDaniel of Vacaville, between Sacramento and San Francisco, surprised No. 6 Han-chih Lin of Taiwan 6-3, 6-2.
   McDaniel is ranked sixth nationally in the 14s and Leustian eighth.
   Leustian, who won the prestigious Les Petits As (Small Champions) title in Tarbes, France, in January, will take on No. 1 Bu Yunchaokete of China. Yunchaokete saved two match points in a 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (9) victory over No. 17 Shunsuke Mitsui of Japan.
   Yunchaokete dominated Leustian 6-1, 6-2 in the boys 14 quarterfinals of the Eddie Herr International Championships on Dec. 1 in Bradenton, Fla.
   McDaniel, the runner-up in the NorCal Sectional 14s in Sacramento in June, will face No. 9 Spencer Brachman of Commack, N.Y. Brachman eliminated Peter Alam of Great Britain 6-4, 6-4.
   McDaniel, 14, is playing in his first Junior Orange Bowl
   "My level has been rising and I've been playing in bigger and bigger tournaments and having better results throughout the year," McDaniel, who will begin training part-time at the new USTA center in Orlando, Fla., next month, told Zoo Tennis. "I wanted to get a taste of what international was like, so we came here for the experience, to see what the top players around the world are like, to see what I need to go back and work on."
   Mayo named -- Aidan Mayo, 13, of Roseville in the Sacramento region and three other American boys were chosen to play in next month's Nike International in Bolton, England, and Les Petits As.
   Also picked were Toby Kodat and Martin Damm of Bradenton and Alexander Bernard of Naples, Fla. Damm's father, a Czech also named Martin, won the 2006 U.S. Open men's doubles title with Leander Paes of India and peaked at No. 5 in the world in doubles in 2007.
   Mayo's brother, Keenan, reached the quarterfinals of the 14s in Les Petits A's two years ago.
   Past winners of Les Petits As, for 12- to 14-year-olds, include Rafael Nadal, Michael Chang, Martina Hingis and Kim Clijsters.

Volynets becomes lone NorCal survivor in Eddie Herr

Katie Volynets, shown last year, reached today's girls 16
quarterfinals in the Eddie Herr International Champion-
ships in Bradenton, Fla. Photo by Paul Bauman

   It's down to the aptly named Katie Volynets.
   Volynets, from Walnut Creek in the San Francisco Bay Area, is the only remaining Northern Californian in the prestigious Eddie Herr International Championships in Bradenton, Fla.
   The seventh-seeded Volynets, who will turn 15 on Dec. 31, on Thursday advanced to the girls 16 quarterfinals in singles and doubles.
   Volynets, a girls 16 semifinalist in the USTA National Championships in San Diego in August, overwhelmed unseeded Alexandra Mikhailuk of Canada 6-3, 6-0.
   Volynets will play 11th-seeded Angelica Blake, a resident of Boca Raton, Fla., who ousted second-seeded Alexandra Vagramov of Canada 6-3, 7-5.
   In doubles, third-seeded Lauren Stein of Paradise Valley, Ariz., and Volynets crushed Narela Burigotto of Argentina and Nada Ostojic of Serbia 6-1, 6-0.
   Wild cards Anna Campana of Hillsborough in the Bay Area and Petra Miszczak of Blaine, Wash., lost to fifth-seeded Willa Breunich of Port St. Lucie, Fla., and Renata Lombera of Mexico, 6-3, 4-6 [10-6].
   In boys 18 singles, seventh-seeded Sam Riffice, who grew up in the Sacramento suburb of Roseville, fell to 12th-seeded Ergi Kirkin of Turkey 6-4, 6-1 in the round of 16. Riffice won the boys 16s two years ago and repeated in the Orange Bowl the following week.
   Stefan Leustian of Mather in the Sacramento area bowed out to top-seeded Bu Yunchaokete of China 6-1, 6-2 in the boys 14 quarterfinals.
   Also, fourth-seeded Spencer Brachman of Commack, N.Y., and Aidan Mayo, a former neighbor of Riffice's in Roseville, succumbed to sixth-seeded Juan Torres and Santiago De La Fuente of Argentina 6-4, 6-1 in the boys 14 quarters.
   USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships in La Jolla, Calif. -- Two former tournament men's champions from NorCal reached Saturday's semifinals.
   No. 4 seed Oren Motevassel of San Jose whipped No. 13 Joshua Prager of Yuba City 6-0, 6-0. Also, No. 6 Jeff Greenwald of San Anselmo beat No. 3 Marcio Carlsson of Newport Beach 3-2, retired.
   Motevassel, who won the title in 2011 and 2012, will face No. 5 Jesse Walter of Mercer Island, Wash. Walter outlasted No. 2 Tony Bujan, the three-time defending champion from Tustin, 6-7 (8), 6-4, 6-3.
   Greenwald, the 2009 champion, will take on top-seeded Stuart Duncan of Laguna Beach. Duncan held off No. 8 Leon Bax of Mountain View 6-4, 7-5.
   In today's women's final, No. 1 seed Dina McBride, a two-time tournament champion from Stevenson Ranch, will face No. 4 Hiromi Sasano of San Diego.
   McBride demolished No. 3 Fanny Gamble of San Rafael 6-0, 6-0. Sasano, a 41-year-old Japan native, topped No. 2 Ros (Fairbank) Nideffer of San Diego 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-4 in 3 hours, 25 minutes.
   Nideffer, a 56-year-old South Africa native, reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 1988 and 1989 and peaked at No. 15 in the world rankings in 1990.

NorCal sweeps boys No. 1 rankings, earns five overall

Roger Federer posed with Sam Riffice, far left, five years
ago at the La Quinta resort in the Palm Springs area. Riffice,
12 at the time, is now over 6 feet tall. Also shown are Riffice's
coach, Amine Khaldi, second from left, and Khaldi's friend
Steve Mohibi. Photo courtesy of Amine Khaldi.

   Northern California, tennis capital of the United States?
   Not long ago, the notion would have been laughable. Now, though, NorCal can make a strong claim to that title.
   In a stunning achievement, Northern California has swept the No. 1 boys national singles rankings and earned five of the eight top spots overall.
   Even more surprising, three of the four top-ranked boys are from the Sacramento region rather than the far more populous San Francisco Bay Area.
   Heading the USTA boys rankings are Sam Riffice of Granite Bay in the 18s, Austen Huang of Elk Grove in the 16s, Stefan Leustian of Mather in the 14s and Hugo Hashimoto of San Jose in the 12s.
   Katie Volynets of Walnut Creek is ranked No. 1 in the girls 14s, and Sara Choy of Palo Alto is No. 2 in the girls 16s.
   Also, CiCi Bellis of Atherton in the Bay Area ended 2014 as the world's top junior, and the Cal women head the college rankings.
   Riffice, who will turn 17 on March 1, swept the boys 18 singles and doubles titles in the USTA Clay Court Championships in Delray Beach, Fla., last July and reached the boys 18 quarterfinals of the prestigious Orange Bowl on clay in Plantation, Fla., in December. He trains at the USTA center in Boca Raton, Fla.
   Huang won the boys 16 singles title in the USTA National Winter Championships in late December and early January in Scottsdale, Ariz.
   Leustian earned the boys 14s singles crown in the recent Les Petits As (Small Champions) in Tarbes, France, and advanced to the boys 14 singles final in the Winter Championships in Tucson, Ariz.
   Past winners of Les Petits As, for 12s and 14s, include Rafael Nadal, Michael Chang, Martina Hingis and Kim Clijsters.
   Hashimoto won the boys 12s consolation singles title in the Winter Nationals.
   Volynets took the girls 14s singles crown in the USTA National Championships in Peachtree City, Ga., last August. Choy captured the girls 16s singles title in the Winter Nationals in Scottsdale.
   Other girls earning national No. 1 singles rankings were Sofia Kenin of Pembroke Pines, Fla., in the 18s, Natasha Subhash of Fairfax, Va., in the 16s and Elvina Kalieva of Pembroke Pines in the 12s.  

NorCal's Leustian, 14, wins prestigious Les Petits As

Stefan Leustian plays in the NorCal Junior
Excellence tournament in Sacramento last April.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Eighth-seeded Stefan Leustian routed fourth-seeded Borna Devald of Croatia 6-2, 6-1 on Sunday to win the prestigious Les Petits As title in Tarbes, France.
   Leustian, a 14-year-old resident of Mather in the Sacramento area, had reached the quarterfinals of the Nike International Tennis Tennis tournament the previous week in Bolton, England.
   Leustian also advanced to the boys 14 final in the USTA National Winter Championships in Tucson, Ariz., in late December and early January. Seeded No. 1, he lost to No. 10 Ryder Jackson of Nicasio 7-5, 3-6, 6-2.
   Devald won the Junior Orange Bowl 12s in 2014.
   Past winners of Les Petits As (Small Champions), for 12- and 14-year-olds, include Rafael Nadal, Michael Chang, Martina Hingis and Kim Clijsters.
   Third-seeded Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine won the girls title, dominating sixth-seeded Denisa Hindova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-1.
   It was Kostyuk's third major international 14s title in the past two months. She won the Eddie Herr International Championship in Bradenton, Fla., and the Junior Orange Bowl in Coral Gables, Fla., in December.

NorCal juniors win National Winter singles titles

   No. 8 seed Austen Huang surprised No. 1 William Genesen of Tulsa, Okla., 6-3, 0-6, 6-1 today to win the boys 18 title in the USTA National Winter Championships in Scottsdale, Ariz.
   Genesen has verbally committed to Stanford.
   Sara Choy of Palo Alto, meanwhile, was the only top seed to win a gold ball in singles. She defeated No. 2 Hannah Zhao of San Diego 6-4, 6-4 in the girls 16s in Scottsdale.
   In an all-Northern California final, No. 10 seed Ryder Jackson of Nicasio in Marin County defeated No. 1 Stefan Leustian of Mather 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 in the boys 14s in Tucson, Ariz.
   Including Andrew Ton's boys 16 doubles title on Friday, Northern Californians claimed four gold balls.

USTA NATIONAL WINTER CHAMPIONSHIPS

In Scottsdale, Ariz. (18s and 16s) and Tucson, Ariz. (14s and 12s)

Boys

Singles finals

   18 -- Austen Huang (8), Elk Grove, def. William Genesen (1), Tulsa, Okla., 6-3, 0-6, 6-1.
   16 -- Christian Alshon (6), Boca Raton, Fla., def. Carson Haskins (1), Ballwin, Mo., 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.
   14 -- Ryder Jackson (10), Nicasio, def. Stefan Leustian (1), Mather, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2.
   12 -- Nishesh Basavareddy (3), Carmel, Ind., def. Samuel Landau (1), Los Angeles, 6-7 (1), 6-1, 6-2.

Doubles finals

   18 -- Billy Rowe, Coronado, and Keegan Smith (4), San Diego, def. Payam Ahmadi, Reston, Va., and David Horneffer (8), Brookfield, Wis., 6-4, 6-3.
   16 -- Zummy Bauer, Suwanee, Ga., and Andrew Ton (1), Milpitas, def. Ryan Seggerman, Coronado, and Charlie Sharton (8), Wayland, Mass., 6-4, 7-5.
   14 -- Robert Cash and Joel Jose (4), New Albany, Ohio, def. Thomas Yu and James Yu (8), Medina, Wash., 6-4, 6-4.
   12 -- Andrew Chang, Trophy Club, Texas, and Samuel Landau (3), Los Angeles, def. Hudson Rivera and Andrew Salu (9), Rancho Santa Fe, 6-0, 6-0.

Girls

Singles finals

   18 -- Jessica Failla (9), Ramona, def. Alyvia Jones (12), Midland, Mich., 6-3, 6-1.
   16 -- Sara Choy (1), Palo Alto, def. Hannah Zhao (2), San Diego, 6-4, 6-4.
   14 -- Mae Canete (3), Los Angeles, def. Gabriella Price (4), Montebello, N.Y., 6-1, 6-4.
   12 -- Christine Canete (3), Los Angeles, def. Katrina Scott (2), Woodland Hills, 6-2, 6-2.

Doubles finals

   18 -- Annette Goulak, Oak Park, and Ena Shibahara (2), Rancho Palos Verdes, def. Christina Rosca, Princeton, N.J., and Savannah Slaysman (1), Phoenix, 6-3, 6-1.
   16 -- Dasha Kourkina, Brooklyn, N.Y., and Michelle Sorokko (3), Little Neck, N.Y., def. Samantha Gillas, New Braunfels, Texas, and Chelsea Kung, Fort Worth, Texas, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (1).
   14 -- Amanda Chang, Pasadena, and Amy Huang, San Diego, def. Gabriella Price, Montebello, N.Y., and Katie Volynets (2), Walnut Creek, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
   12 -- Christine Canete, Los Angeles, and Katrina Scott (2), Woodland Hills, def. Zoe Hammond, Edmond, Okla., and Caroline Wernli (3), Austin, Texas, 6-2, 6-4.

NorCal juniors gain National Winter singles finals

   Three Northern California juniors will play for singles titles in the USTA National Winter Championships in Arizona.
   Advancing today were No. 8 seed Austen Huang of Elk Grove in the boys 18s, No. 1 Sara Choy of Palo Alto in the girls 16s and No. 1 Stefan Leustian of Mather in the boys 14s.
   However,  No. 1 Katie Volynets of Walnut Creek lost to No. 4 Gabriella Price of Montebello, N.Y., 6-4, 6-1 in the girls 14 semifinals in Tucson.
   In Scottsdale, Huang routed No. 10 Jason Lui of Bellevue, Wash., 6-1, 6-3, and Choy beat unseeded Sedona Gallagher of Henderson, Nev., 6-3, 6-4.
   Leustian defeated No. 3 Harry Yang of Arcadia 6-1, 6-3 in Tucson.
   Huang will face No. 1 William Genesen, a Tulsa, Okla., resident headed for Stanford. Choy will meet No. 2 Hannah Zhao of San Diego, and Leustian will play No. 10 Ryder Jackson of Nicasio.
   Top seeds Zummy Bauer of Suwanee, Ga., and Andrew Ton of Milpitas won the boys 16 doubles title. Ton, a diminutive left-hander, also captured the boys 14 doubles title in the 2014 USTA National Clay Court Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with Brandon Nakashima of San Diego.    

USTA NATIONAL WINTER CHAMPIONSHIPS

(Northern California results only)

Boys

Singles semifinals

18 and under

   Austen Huang (8), Elk Grove, def. Jason Lui (10), Bellevue, Wash., 6-1, 6-3.

14 and under

   Stefan Leustian (1), Mather, def. Harry Yang (3), Arcadia, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Doubles final

16 and under

   Zummy Bauer, Suwanee, Ga., and Andrew Ton (1), Milpitas, def. Ryan Seggerman, Coronado, and Charlie Sharton (8), Wayland, Mass., 6-4, 7-5.

Girls

Singles semifinals

16 and under

   Sara Choy (1), Palo Alto, def. Sedona Gallagher, Henderson, Nev., 6-3, 6-4.

14 and under

   Gabriella Price (4), Montebello, N.Y., def. Katie Volynets (1), Walnut Creek, 6-4, 6-1.

 Doubles final

    Amanda Chan, Pasadena, and Amy Huang, San Diego, def. Gabriella Price, Montebello, N.Y., and Katie Volynets (2), Walnut Creek, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

No. 1 seeds from NorCal advance in Winter Nationals

Stefan Leustian, shown in April in Sacramento, is seeded
first in the boys 14s in the USTA National Winter Champ-
ionships in Tucson, Ariz. Photo by Paul Bauman 

   Three No. 1 seeds from Northern California have reached the third round of their respective junior age groups in the USTA National Winter Championships in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Tucson, Ariz.
   Advancing on Monday to the round of 32 were Sara Choy of Palo Alto in the girls 16s, Stefan Leustian of Mather in the boys 14s and Katie Volynets of Walnut Creek in the girls 14s.
   Milpitas' Andrew Ton, seeded 10th in the boys 16s, lost to Diego Nava of Woodland Hills 7-6 (5), 6-4.
   The 18s and 16s are being played in Scottsdale, and the 14s and 12s are being contested in Tucson.
   Following are all NorCal players who have reached the round of 32 in singles:

Boys

   18 -- Austen Huang (8), Elk Grove; Paul Barretto (17), Tiburon; Ajai Shekhera, Campbell; Jayson Fung, San Francisco.

   16 -- Jenson Brooksby (17), Carmichael; Arjith Jayamaran, Gold River.
   14 -- Stefan Leustian (1), Mather; Aidan Mayo (17), Roseville; Zachery Lim (17), Fairfield; Aditya Gupta (17), Los Altos; Mayson Fung, San Francisco; Brandon Aprill, Mountain View.
   12 -- Alexander Chang (17), Berkeley.

Girls

   18 -- Camille Favero (6), Sacramento, Darya Possokhova (17), San Francisco.
   16 -- Sara Choy (1), Palo Alto; Rachel Eason (4), Union City; Carolyn Campana (8), Hillsborough; Ashley Yeah (16), Los Gatos.
   14 -- Katie Volynets (1), Walnut Creek; Jillian Taggart (2), Fair Oaks; Stephanie Nguyen (17), Fremont.
   12 -- Yuu Ishikawa (5), Mountain View; Vivian Ovrootsky (13), San Jose; ; Makenna Thiel (17), Piedmont; Angelica AksdalJansen, San Francisco.

Aidan Mayo upsets ninth seed in Junior Orange Bowl

Aidan Mayo, serving in the Rio Del Oro Junior
Excellence Tournament in Sacramento in April,
will play for a berth in the boys 12 quarterfinals
in the Junior Orange Bowl. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Aidan Mayo of Roseville in the Sacramento area upset ninth-seeded Ashton Cross of Canada 6-4, 6-4 on Friday in the third round of the boys 12s in the Junior Orange Bowl in Coral Gables, Fla.
   Mayo, last year's consolation champion, is scheduled to meet seventh-seeded Benjamin Kittay of Potomac, Md., today for a quarterfinal berth. Kittay dismissed qualifier Evan Wen of Morristown, N.J., 6-2, 6-2.
   Mayo is the 12-year-old brother of Keenan Mayo, who reached the boys 16 doubles semifinals in last week's Orange Bowl in Plantation, Fla.
   Also advancing to the round of 16 in the Junior Orange Bowl was fourth-seeded Katie Volynets of Walnut Creek in the San Francisco Bay Area in the girls 14s.
   Volynets, last year's USTA girls 12 national champion, thrashed wild card Elli Mandlik of Boynton Beach, Fla., 6-2, 6-0.
   Volynets, whose parents emigrated from Ukraine 19 years ago, will face ninth-seeded Oana Corneanu of Romania today for a spot in the quarters. Corneanu defeated Himeno Sakatsume of Japan 6-4, 7-5.
   Stefan Leustian of Mather in the Sacramento region lost to Jung Won Park of South Korea 6-1, 6-1 in the fourth round of the boys 14s.
   Past competitors in the Junior Orange Bowl include Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Andy Roddick, Juan Martin Del Potro, Chris Evert, Monica Seles, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters and Mary Joe Fernandez. 

Roseville's Riffice, 16, sweeps USTA Clay Court titles

   Sam Riffice of Roseville in the Sacramento area continues to rack up big titles.
   Riffice, 16, swept the boys 18 singles and doubles crowns in the USTA National Clay Court Championships in Delray Beach, Fla.
   Seeded first in singles, Riffice defeated 17th-seeded Alexandre Rotsaert of Boca Raton, Fla., 7-6 (tiebreaker score not available), 6-3 in Saturday's final.
   Riffice and Vasil Kirkov of Tampa, Fla., the No. 2 seeds in doubles, outclassed eighth-seeded William Genesen of Tulsa, Okla., and Johnathan Small of Zionsville, Ind., 6-3, 6-4 in the final.
   Riffice, who trains at the USTA center in Boca Raton, joined Grigor Dimitrov last December as the only players to sweep the boys 16 singles titles in the Eddie Herr International Championships and the Orange Bowl. The tournaments were held back-to-back in Bradenton, Fla., and Plantation, Fla., respectively.
   Dimitrov, a 24-year-old Bulgarian and the boyfriend of Maria Sharapova, is ranked 16th in the world after ascending to a career-high No. 8 last August.
   Ninth-seeded Camille Favero of Sacramento lost in the round of 16 in the girls 18s at the USTA National Clay Court Championships in Memphis, Tenn. 
   In the boys 14 singles final in Delray Beach, Fla., fourth-seeded Jenson Brooksby of Carmichael in the Sacramento area lost to seventh-seeded William Grant of Santa Barbara 7-6 (2), 6-3.
   Grant had beaten 17th-seeded Stefan Leustian of Mather in the Sacramento region 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals.
   Second-seeded Katie Volynets, 13, of Walnut Creek fell in the round of 16 in the girls 14s in Plantation, Fla.
   Fourth-seeded Karl Lee of Los Altos was the runner-up in the boys 12s in Winston-Salem, N.C. He lost to 12th-seeded Saud Alhogbani of Alexandria, Va., 6-1, 6-4.