Eastern at the 2021 Easter Bowl

Lam felt that she hit the ball cleanly, maintained her composure and didn’t make a lot of bad decisions on the court. She also handled the warmer San Diego conditions well, despite the fact that most of her preparations fell during a New Jersey winter.

“My opponent [in the third round] is from Southern California, so I knew she would be more accustomed to the weather than I would be,” Lam said. “The score was very close at the beginning of the first set, and every time someone would win a game, the other person would come back to even it out. I started putting more topspin on my shots and mixed that with drop shots to pull her in. That day was also very windy so I kept reminding myself to watch the ball longer before I hit it. It worked well and I won the set.”

Bielen, too, competed at a high level throughout the event. He also won five sets 6-0; one of his most challenging matches by scoreline was against Kennedy in the semifinals. (Eastern’s David Clarke also reached that round, which meant that three of the final four standing in the Boys’ 12s draw heiled from the section.)

“It feels amazing,” Bielen said of his victory. “I worked really hard for it—including snow shoveling the court back in New York to be ready for an outdoor tournament. It was only my second super national so I am very happy to bring the gold ball home.”

Bielen was most happy that he was able to adopt a positive mindset. “I was very consistent, moved very well and had a great energy and attitude [on the court],” he said. “My goal was to win the whole tournament, so I was trying to stay focused and do the right things in order to compete well.”

Past champions of the Easter Bowl include Tracy Austin, Jennifer Capriati, Andy Roddick, Sam Querrey, Taylor Townsend and Frances Tiafoe. The long-running, prestigious tournament is usually held in Indian Wells, California but was moved to the Barnes Tennis Center due to COVID-19 regulations. Even though restrictions meant some changes to national competition—like less people on site—Bielen was just happy to be traveling and competing after a 2020 without major junior tournaments.

“San Diego is a beautiful city and the Barnes Tennis Center is an amazing facility as well,” he said. “I couldn’t wait to finally start traveling for national tournaments! I am happy the Easter Bowl took place and I am looking forward to more big tournaments this year.”

Rabman agreed. “I enjoyed traveling again and seeing all my friends I don’t normally see,” she said. “The tournament was really well run and I had a great time. It felt amazing competing again since we couldn’t last year. And everyone has improved, so it’s nice to play at an even higher level.”

Other notable Eastern results:

Jack Kennedy (Bronze Ball/Third Place, Boys’ 12s singles)

David Clarke (Semifinals, Boys’ 12s singles)

Isabelle DeLuccia and Kayla Moore (Finals, Girls’ 12s doubles)

Nicolas Iantosca and Dominick Mosejczuk (Bronze Ball/Third Place, Boys' 14s doubles)

Braeden Gelletich and Shri-Keshav Murugesan (Semifinals, Boys' 14s doubles)

Christasha McNeil (Semifinals, Girls' 14s singles)

Olivia Benton and Christasha McNeil (Finals, Girls’ 14s doubles)

Claire An (Bronze Ball/Third Place, Girls' 14s doubles)

Stephanie Yakoff (Bronze Ball/Third Place, Girls' 16s doubles and Semifinals, Girls' 16s singles)

Madison Sieg (Semifinals, Girls' 18s singles and doubles) 

Elise Wagle (Semifinals, Girls' 18s doubles)

Full 12-16s Easter Bowl Results

Full 18s Easter Bowl Results