Taking place over two weekends in June, the Junior Sectional Championships were spread over four different locations in Sacramento, Stockton, and Fresno diving them in the BG12s, BG14s, Boys 16 and 18, and Girl’s 16 and 18.
Starting on June 9-10, and finishing June 16-18, the NorCal 12s Junior Sectional Championships were held at the University of Pacific in Stockton, CA, and saw 112 players battle it out for the ultimate prize of being crowned section champion! In the end, the No. 1 Kosei Ogata of Saratoga, CA, prevailed in a fierce three set match against No. 5 seed Min Htun of Sacramento, CA, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 under extreme heat. In the doubles draw, Htun was once again back in the finals, teaming up with Luke Stratakos of Saratoga, CA. This time Htun climbed the last latter to defeat Nav Dayal of Granite Bay, CA, and Karthikeya Gannavarapu of Pleasanton, CA, 3-6, 6-1, 1-0(12). On the girls’ side, No. 1 seed and Menlo Park resident, Aspen Schuman made quick work of her opponent, winning 6-0, 6-0 against the No. 9 seed Penelope Wong of Mountain View, CA. In the doubles draw, Aspen went for the sweep and succeeded, partnering with Anushka Jaiswal of Fremont, CA, to claim the trophy. Aspen and Anushka also went to a third set, winning 1-6, 7-6(2), 1-0(6) against Varsha Jawadi of San Mateo, CA and Mila Mulready of Burlingame, CA.
NorCal 12s Junior Sectional Championships – Stockton, CA. Picture on the left: Dean Stratakos and Min Htun. Picture in the middle: Anushka Jaiswal and Aspen Schuman. Picture on the right: Mile Mulready and Varsha Jawadi.
Now jumping to the NorCal 14s Junior Sectional Championships, we head to Arden Hills Club & Spa in Sacramento, CA. With a total of 128 players participating in that age category, the competition was fierce and friendly. At the end of the day, the No. 1 seed Nicholas Chen of Oakland, CA, made his status known in a convincing 6-3, 6-3 win in the finals over the No. 3 seed Dylan Tsoi of El Dorado Hills, CA. Also a No. 1 seed in the doubles draw, Nicholas and Emon Van Loben Sels of Sacramento, CA, confirmed their favorite status, clinching the sectional title in a decisive 6-4, 6-2 victory over the No. 2 seeds Jason Lew and Patrick Toman of Pleasant Hill, CA. Over on the girls’ side, once again the No. 1 seed ruled, as Rhea Rai of Cupertino, CA, defeated the No. 5 seed Gayathri Krishnan also from Cupertino, CA, 6-2, 6-2. It was a feast for the No. 1 seeds in the 14s, as Maryia Hrynashka of Rancho Cordova, CA, and Lauren Joyce of Lodi, CA, also prevailed in doubles, overcoming Ava Martin of Menlo Park, CA, and Natasha Rajaram of Cupertino, CA, 6-1, 6-1 in the finals.
On to the NorCal Boys’ 16 and 18 categories which took place at the Natomas Racquet Club in Sacramento, CA. In the Boys’ 16 singles draw, Luke Casper of Santa Cruz, CA, made easy work of Mason Fung of San Francisco, CA, earning his sectional title 6-2, 6-2. In the doubles draw, Luke made it back to the final match but couldn’t quite get the sweep. No 4 seeds Theodore Dean of Livermore, CA, and Joseph Teh of San Jose, CA, were able to come back from a set down, winning 1-6, 6-1, 1-0(5). In the Boys’ 18 singles draw, it all came down to a showdown between the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. After all was set and done, the No. 2 seed Aryan Chaudhary of Santa Clara, CA, overcame the top seed Eric Hadigian of Sacramento, CA, 6-4, 6-0 to claim the title. But Aryan didn’t want to leave with one hand empty, sweeping the division by winning with partner James Bell of Fremont, CA. Zachery Lim of Fairfield, CA, and Daniel Papacica of Carmel, CA, didn’t go down without a fight, evening things out at one set all, but Aryan and James snatched the super tiebreak 10-7 for a 7-5, 3-6, 1-0(7) final score.
NorCal 14s and 16s Junior Sectional Championships – Sacramento, CA. Picture on the left: Maryia Hrynashka, Lauren Joyce, Natasha Rajaram, Ava Martin. Picture in the middle: Makenna Thiel and Tomi Main. Picture on the right: Theodore Dean and Joseph Teh.
The final stop on our list is the Servy Girls’ 16 and 18 Junior Championships. Located at the Copper River Club in Fresno, CA, the event saw 88 players compete for the trophy. In the Girls’ 16 singles draw, the No. 2 seed Allura Zamarripa of St. Helena upset the No. 1 seed Tomi Main of Seaside, CA, in a 6-4, 7-6(0) victory, to take the title home. Allura’sister, Maribella, joined her in the doubles draw to continue their successful year, capping it off with a sectional title. The sisters took on Tomi and Makenna Thiel of Piedmont, CA, in the finals, easily winning 6-0, 6-2. The last age category, the Girls’ 18, saw the No. 3 seed Anna Campana of Hillsborough, CA, defeat Muskan Mhajan of San Ramon, CA, 6-4, 6-1. Last but not least, the Girls’ 18 doubles draw ended with a very close final between the top two seeds. Anna also reached the finals in doubles with partner Jeannamerie Gordon of Saratoga, CA, but couldn’t hold off Katherine Duong of Cupertino, CA, and Stephanie Nguyen of Fremont, CA, who prevailed 6-3, 7-5.
Congratulations to all the players who participated in the NorCal Junior Sectionals, and we look forward to seeing you all at the Fall Sectionals.
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