After living on the edge in the first two rounds, boys' 18s top seed Drew Baird fell to No. 13 Brandon Nakashima (pictured) in round three at the USTA International Spring Championships in Carson, Calif. Nakashima, 16, used his consistent game to frustrate Baird and run away with a 6-3, 6-0 win. 

 

The San Diego native has not dropped a set at the ISC, a claim that can also be made by his quarterfinal opponet, Cannon Kingsley. Kingsley, of Northport, N.Y., was the beneficiary of a second-set retirement by No. 9 William Woodall.

 

No. 2 Tristan Boyer (Altadena, Calif.) and No. 3 Andrew Fenty (Washington, D.C.) both needed three sets to book their quarterfinal places. Boyer battled past Brian Shi, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4, in what is now his seventh consecutive three-set match dating back to last week's Easter Bowl. ADVERTISEMENT He will face Jake Sands, who earned a three-set victory against Pierce Rollins, in the quarterfinals. 

 

Fenty dropped a set for the first time this week but was able to recover to dismiss Alexander Bernard, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. His quarterfinal opponent will be No. 8 Tyler Zink.

 

Rounding out the boys' 18s last eight are Californians Govind Nanda and Stefan Dostanic. With the elimination of Baird, the No. 7-seeded Nanda is now the highest seed remaining in the top half of the draw.

 

For the second straight day, there was little drama in the girls' 18s event, as all eight third-round matches were decided in straight sets. 

 

Hurricane Tyra Black (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Kylie Collins (Savannah, Ga.) scored the only upsets of the day and will now square off against each other in the quarterfinals. Black defeated No. 3 Peyton Stearns, 6-4, 6-4, in the tightest match of the day, while Collins took out No. 8 Elli Mandlik, 6-2, 6-4. Neither quarterfinalist has dropped a set this week.

 

Easter Bowl champion Katie Volynets saw her winning run ended by No. 5 Georgia Drummy of Ireland. Drummy will now face 13-year-old Robin Montgomery (Washington, D.C), who continued her impressive run in the 18s.

 

Four seeds will contest the other quarterfinal matches, as No. 1 Margaryta Bilokin takes on No. 10 Vanessa Ong, and No. 2 Natasha Subhash battles No. 7 Hailey Baptiste.

 

It was smooth sailing for the four boys' 16s semifinalists, as well. In the top half of the draw, No. 1 Spencer Brachman will face No. 3 Zachery Lim for a spot in the final, while No. 5 Maxwell McKennon will play Ishaan Ravichander for the opposite final spot. Of the four semifinalists, only Ravichander has lost a set in the tournament. 

 

In the girls' 16s event, No. 2 Lauren G. Anzalotta-Kynoch came back from a set down for the second consecutive day, this time getting past Daniella Benabraham, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Her semifinal opponent will be Anne Lutkemeyer-Obregon, who took out No. 7 Rachel Gailis. No. 5 Maryam Ahmad will play No. 8 Velizara Fileva in the other semi.

 

As the ISC field continues to trim, the first trophies will be given out Saturday in the 16s events. 

 

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