“No rest for the weary” should be the new slogan for our junior players. Team NorCal continues to put in work on and off the court and it’s paying off! With three tournaments, 20 players reaching the semifinals or better, and six first place trophies, simply calling it a successful month would be an understatement.
At the USTA National Level 2 Ranking Tournament in Roseville, CA, it was all about protecting their home turf for Team NorCal. An astonishing 14 players made it to the final four or better! In the Boys’ 12s, Krish Arora of San Jose, CA, took third place in singles and doubles. In singles, Krish pushed eventual winner and No. 1 seed Dylan Charlap of Southern California, to a third set, but fell 6-1; 4-6; 1-0(6). In doubles, Krish and Cassius Chinlund of Southern California, were stopped once again by Dylan Charlap with fellow Southern Californian Brandon Vu, losing 7-5. Siddharth Moturi of Monterey, CA, also advanced to the semifinals in singles and doubles. Siddharth was stopped in singles by fellow NorCal player Saahith Jayaraman of Gold River, CA, 6-2, 6-4. Then, Siddharth teamed up with Zhengqing Ji of Southern California, taking fourth place, as William Semler and Vincent Yang of Pacific Northwest prevailed 7-5. Saahith had a successful tournament, reaching the finals, only falling to… yes you guessed it, Dylan Charlap 6-0, 6-1!
On the girls’ side of the 12s, Martina Marica of San Jose, CA, had a dream tournament, sweeping both the singles and doubles draws! In singles, she overcame NorCal player Esther Vyrlan of Sacramento, CA, 6-4, 6-4 to claim the title. Martina and Annika Renganathan, of the Pacific Northwest, did not waste any time en route to their doubles title, winning 6-0 in the finals against Anya Murthy of Fremont, CA, and Natasha Rajaram of Cupertino, CA. Impressive fact: Martina and Annika only lost five games in four matches! Natasha finished third and got her revenge, beating Annika in the playoff match 7-6(7); 4-6; 1-0(8).
USTA National Level 2 Ranking Tournament 12s – Roseville, CA. Picture on the left: Krish Arora and Siddharth Moturi. Picture in the middle: Anya Murthy and Natasha Rajaram. Picture on the right: Natasha Rajaram and Annika Renganathan.
Jumping to the Boys’ 14s with another sweep, this time by Alexander Chang of Berkeley, CA. Alexander made quick work of Phillip Deaton of Pacific Northwest, winning 6-1, 6-0. Alexander had to get passed Nicholas Chen of Oakland, CA, in the semifinals. Payton Young of Alamo, CA, joined him for doubles, and the unseeded pair battled through the No. 2 seed on their way to the title. Alexander and Payton beat Lucca Liu and Raghav Jangbahadur, both from Palo Alto, CA, 6-4 in the finals. Ryan Hoang of San Rafael, CA, reached the semifinals in doubles with Southern Californian Ivan Savkin, losing to Lucca and Raghav 6-2. On the girls’ side, Tomi Main, of Seaside, CA, made NorCal proud as well, finishing as a runner-up. She fell to Katherine Hui of Southern California 6-3, 6-4.
USTA National Level 2 Ranking Tournament 14s – Roseville, CA. Picture on the left: Alexander Chang and Phillip Deaton. Picture in the middle: Tomi Main. Picture on the right: Payton Young and Alexander Chang.
In Stockton, CA, at the USTA National Level 2, our NorCal stars showed up big time, starting with Stevie Gould of Corte Madera, CA. Stevie, who has verbally committed to the University of Washington, placed third, beating the No. 1 seed on his way to the semis! He lost a tough battle against Harsh Parikh of Tucson, AZ, 6-3, 7-5. Stevie took it up a notch, snatching the doubles title with Jack Pulliam of Manhattan Beach, CA, 6-3. The pair edged out Eric Hadigian of Sacramento, CA, and Benjamin Keyser of Vienna, VA, to lift the trophy. On their way to the title, Stevie and Jack defeated Ryan Ali of Mill Valley, CA, in the semifinals. Ryan paired up with Sima Pesic of Del Rey Oaks, CA, to finish third overall. Zachery Lim of Fairfield, CA, also reached the semifinals in doubles, next to Eric Hahn of Fullerton, CA. Due to an unfortunate injury, the pair had to withdraw. Last but not least, Marcus McDaniel of Vacaville, CA, was back to his winning ways, adding another trophy to his collection. Seeded No. 2, Marcus held his status and took care of business in the finals, overcoming No. 4 seed Harsh Parikh, of Tucson, AZ, 6-3, 7-5.
USTA National Level 2 – Stockton, CA. Picture on the left: Stevie Gould. Picture in the middle. Ryan Ali and Sima Pesic. Picture on the right: Marcus McDaniel and Harsh Parikh.
USTA National Level 2 Tournament – Girls and Boys 16s – Norman, OK. Makenna Thiel with her trophies.
Leaving NorCal for the final leg of this honor roll, we head to Norman, OK, for the USTA National Level 2 Tournament – Girls and Boys 16s. Seeded No. 8, Makenna Thiel of Piedmont, CA, powered through her draw, taking out the No. 2 seed on her way to the semifinals, 6-1, 6-0. Makenna fell to the No. 4 seed Malaika Rapolu of Cedar Park, TX, 6-2, 6-3. She ended on a high note, winning convincingly 6-2, 6-2 against Lara Schneider of Mt. Pleasant, SC, to finish third.
It was definitely a busy and successful month for our NorCal stars, so congratulations to everyone on another terrific four weeks. Go Team NorCal!
The post NorCal Juniors Honor Roll: May 2018 appeared first on USTA NorCal Junior Tennis.