April was another exciting month for our NorCal junior players, starting with several titles coming from Carson, CA, at the International Spring Championships. Our juniors then competed in the Maze Cup in Berkeley, CA, and headed to Mexico City, Mexico for the Junior Davis Cup.
First, the International Spring Championships that took place March 30 – April 8. Twin sisters, Allura and Maribella Zamarripa, of Saint Helena, CA, continued their dream run down in Southern California, capturing their second title in as many weeks, after claiming the Easter Bowl in Indian Wells, CA. The sisters were unseeded and beat the No. 1, 3, and 4 seeds on their way to the title. They won 6-2, 6-4 in the finals of the Girls’ 16 division, against Maryam Ahmad of Albertson, NY, and Lina Mohamed of Glen Cove, NY. Congratulations to our NorCal twins on a wonderful run!
In the Boys’16 division, NorCal players showed up in force once again, reaching the semifinals and better in both the singles and doubles divisions. Zachery Lim of Fairfield, CA, did not lose any time on the court, claiming the title in the singles division without dropping a set. In the finals, the No.3 seed handled Maxwell McKennon of Newport Beach, CA, 6-0 6-2. In the doubles division, Hugo Hashimoto of San Jose, CA, reached the semifinals with Benjamin Kittay of Potomac, MD. The pair did not go down without a fight, losing in two tiebreakers, 7-6(5), 7-6(4).
Our players were definitely comfortable in doubles as Katie Volynets of Walnut Creek, CA, took home the title in the Girls’ 18 doubles division. Teaming up with Natasha Subhash of the USA, Katie also won back to back titles in Southern California, claiming the singles title just a week prior at the Easter Bowl in Indian Wells, CA. In the final match, Katie and Natasha overcame Georgie Drummy of Ireland, and the Canadian Alexandra Vagramov, 6-3, 6-3.
2018 International Spring Championships, Carson, CA. Picture on the left: Natasha Subhash and Katie Volynets: Girls’ 18 doubles winners. Picture in the middle: same. Picture on the right: Allura and Bella Zamarripa: Girls’ 16 doubles winners. .
Next up we head back to Northern California. The Berkeley Tennis Club was host to another amazing Maze Cup, April 13-15. The 45th Annual Maze Cup saw our best Boys’ and Girls’ in the 16 and 18 age divisions battle it out against the best players from Southern California. It was a suspense-filled weekend as both teams were tied 6-all after the first day, then tied at 10-all after all matches were played. The winner had to be determined by a 10-point super tiebreaker mixed doubles match. Ryder Jackson and Connie Ma were chosen to try and keep the Maze Cup home, but SoCal had another idea in mind. In the end, SoCal prevailed in a nail-bitter, winning 10-8, on another powerful serve by Stefan Dostanic. It was a fantastic weekend of tennis, with both teams leaving it all on the court. You can find all the names of the players here. Congratulations to both teams!
2018 Maze Cup, Berkeley, CA. Picture on the left: Southern California Section in white sweatshirt and Northern California Section. Picture on the right: Team NorCal.
Junior Davis Cup, New Mexico, MX. From L-R: Marcus McDaniel, Toby Kodat, Coach Tom Lockhart, Alex Lee. Photo credit: theericnunez/Twitter
Lastly, we head south of the border, to Mexico City, Mexico, where the North/Central American and Caribbean Final Qualifying event for the Junior Davis Cup took place April 26-28. Marcus McDaniel of Vacaville, CA, was part of the team, and was a key component to Team USA.’ success. Marcus won all his matches (one single and three doubles with partner Alex Lee), just like all his teammates. Team USA won all their matches 3-0 and did not drop a set, starting with Guatemala, then Mexico, and finally Canada. Congratulations Team USA! We can’t wait to follow you in the finals, in Budapest, Hungary, September 25-30.
Another big month came to an end, and we can’t help but be excited for the ones to come. Go Team NorCal!
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