International flair in girls' 18s as ISC semis set

The USTA International Spring Championships are living up to their name, at least in the girls' 18s draw, where two of the four semifinalists hail from Europe.

Americans Hailey Baptiste (pictured) and Hurricane Tyra Black are joined by Ukranian Margaryta Bilokin and Ireland's Georgia Drummy in the Carson, Calif., final four.

In Saturday's semifinals, the top-seeded Bilokin will face No. 13 Black, while No. 5 Drummy tussles with No. 7 Baptiste for a place in the final.

Bilokin, who trains at IMG Academy, had the hardest path to the semis. The Duke University commit required three sets to defeat No. 10 Vanessa Ong, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, in the quarters. 

Drummy, Baptiste (Washington, D.C.) and Black (Boca Raton, Fla.) all reached the semis without dropping a set in four matches.

The 16-year-old Baptiste, who sits at No. 70 in the ITF World Junior Rankings, scored the only upset of the quarterfinals by taking out No. 2 Natasha Subash, 6-2, 6-2.

In the boys' 18s draw, No. 2 Tristan Boyer won his fourth three-setter of the week to reach the quarters. The 16-year-old from Altadena, Calif., has owned the pressure moments at ISC, but would surely welcome a more straightforward result against No. 8 Tyler Zink in the semifinals. 

Zink (Lakewood Ranch, Fla.), who recently commited to Georgia, was ruthless in taking out No. 3 Andrew Fenty, 6-3, 6-2. 

Unseeded Stefan Dostanic scored an upset of his own, taking out No. 7 Govind Nanda, 6-3, 7-5. Dostanic, a USC commit from Irvine, Calf., will take on No. 13 Brandon Nakashima in the semis.

Nakashima (San Diego, Calif.) followed up his third-round upset of No. 1 Drew Baird by storming past Cannon Kingsley, 6-0, 6-2.

The girls' 16s field has trimmed to two finalists, as No. 5 Maryam Ahmad will take on Anne Lutkemeyer-Obregon for the title. 

Lutkemeyer-Obregon (Irvine, Calif.) took out No. 2 Lauren G. Anzalotta-Kynoch, 6-4, 7-5, while Ahmad (Albertson, N.Y.) got past No. 8 Velizara Fileva, 7-5, 6-4. 

The boys' 16s final will pit No. 3 Zachery Lim against No. 5 Maxwell McKennon.

Lim (Fairfield, Calif.) earned his final place by upsetting No. 1 Spencer Brachman, 6-0, 6-3. McKennon (Newport Beach, Calif.) also advanced in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, over Ishaan Ravichaner.

The first trophies of the week were awarded in the 16s doubles events. The unseeded Zamarripa twins, Allura and Maribella, claimed the girls' 16s title, and No. 1s McKennon and Hunter Heck won the boys' 16s crown. For the Zamarripas, the win completed and impressive Easter Bowl and ISC 16s doubles sweep.

There will be more trophies up for grabs Saturday, with the finals of the 16s singles events and the 18s doubles events to be contested.

For draws, schedules, and live scoring from the 2018 USTA International Spring Championships, click here.