14s, 16s, 18s Intersectional teams win national tournaments

USTA Southern Intersectional teams of top-rated juniors won three national titles.

 

The 16s defeated USTA Midwest 5-4 at the Pierremont Oaks Tennis Club in Shreveport, LA. The 14s defeated USTA Southern California at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn, AL. Chris Brandi from Louisiana coached the 16s and Randy Pate from South Carolina coached the 14s. Carson Tanguilig, of Alpharetta, GA, was named the Sportsmanship winner for the 16s.

 

The girls' 18s team, coached by Angels Haynes, defeated Midwest for another national title. The boys' 18s came in fifth.

 

The 16 team members are: Carri Hayes, SC; Whitley Pate, SC; Ann Wright-Guerry, GA; Maeve Thorton, TN. Back row: James Delgado, NC; Will Mayhew, NC; coach Randy Pate, Waleed Qadir, NC; Nicholas Heng, AL.

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Team members on the 14s (in photo on right) were: Gracie Mulville, GA; Anna Ross, SC; Carson Tanguilig, GA, Jenna Thompson, NC; Keshav Chopra, GA; Welsh Hotard, LA; Ben, Koch, LA; JJ Tracy, SC.

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Isner's month of greatness

John Isner has had some great achievements in his 11-year pro career but July 2018 stands alone at the top.

 

Isner, on left in photo to the right, won his fifth BB&T Atlanta Open just a few weeks after reaching the Wimbledon semifinals. Plus, he hit a career high of No. 8 in the world!

 

At Wimbledon, the Greensboro, NC, native played the second longest match in tournament Wimbledon history (he won the longest) before falling to collegiate-rival Kevin Anderson 6-7(6), 7-6(5), 7-6(9), 4-6, 24-26. The match lasted 6 hours, 36 minutes, with many in the tennis world calling for a tiebreak at some point in the fifth set. Isner joins Sam Querrey as the only two active American men to reach a Grand Slam semifinal.

 

As he has for nine years, he traveled to Atlanta, only about a 90-minute drive from his beloved college, the University of Georgia. There, Isner has reached eight finals. This year, he took his fifth Atlanta title, taking down Shreveport, LA, native Ryan Harrison 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. In 2017, Isner also prevailed against his fellow Southerner 7-6(6), 7-6(7).

 

The BB&T Atlanta doubles champions also have Southern connections: Nicholas Monroe played at the University of North Carolina and John-Patrick Smith played at the University of Tennessee.

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Jensen brothers Grand Slam win remembered

Outrageous may be the best word to describe a pair of Atlanta brothers who seemed to break every convention while winning the French Open men's double title 25 years ago.

 

They were Luke and Murphy Jensen, members of one of Atlanta's most notable tennis families.

 

Here is the first paragraph of the story on ATPWorldTour.com: Two free-spirited American brothers, obsessed with football and hard rock put doubles front and centre as they lifted the 1993 Roland Garros trophy. Twenty-five years on, they spoke exclusively to ATPWorldTour.com.

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Navarro Takes Two Clay-court National Titles

Emma Navarro won the 18s singles titles at last week’s USTA Girls’ National Clay Court Championships, emerging from draws of 224 top juniors to claim her trophy. The17-year-olds can now look forward to competing in the 2018 US Open Junior Championships, as her victories earned her a wild-card entry into the upcoming showpiece.

 

The girls’ 18s event was played in Navarro’s hometown of Charleston, S.C., at the LTP Tennis Club. The Easter Bowl semifinalist scored three 6-0, 6-0 victories on the week, including in the semifinals, before defeating Chelsea Kung, of Fort Worth, Texas, 6-2, 6-2, in the singles final.

 

Navarro (displayed in a billboard erected right after her victories), who is coached by Jerry Albrikes and Peter Ayers, also took home the doubles trophy at the event, teaming with Chloe Beck of Watkinsville, Ga., to defeat Carly Briggs and Alana Wolfberg in the final. She did not drop a set in 13 matches (seven singles, six doubles) throughout the tournament.  In addition to her US Open junior wild-card entry, Navarro will receive a wild card into a future USTA Pro Circuit event. 

 

Madison, Ala.'s Nicholas Heng won the Boys's 14s 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. For others from Southern states finished second in doubles.

 

Here are other Southern juniors who had outstanding tournaments:

 

USTA Boys’ 18s National Clay Court Championships

Delray Beach, Fla., July 15-22, 2018

Doubles: (2) Robert Cash (New Albany, Ohio) / JJ Mercer (Huntington, W.V.) d. (4) Blake Croyder (Marietta, Ga.) / Bradley Frye (Overland Park, Kan.), 6-3, 6-3

USTA Girls’ 18s National Clay Court Championships

Charleston, S.C., July 15-22, 2018

Singles: (5) Emma Navarro (Charleston, S.C.) d. (6) Chelsea Kung (Fort Worth, Texas), 6-2, 6-2

Doubles: (1) Chloe Beck (Watkinsville, Ga.) / Navarro d. (11) Carly Briggs (Calhoun, Ga.) / Alana Wolfberg (Orlando, Fla.), 6-0, 6-0

USTA Boys’ 14s National Clay Court Championships

Fort Lauderdale, Fla., July 15-22, 2018

Singles: (3) Nicholas Heng (Madison, Ala.) d. (2) John Kim (Sunnyvale, Calif.), 5-7, 6-4, 6-3

Doubles: (1) Lucas Brown (Plano, Texas) / Aidan Kim (Milford, Mich.) d. (2) Jackson Armistead (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) / John Lasanajak (Lawrenceville, Ga.), 7-5, 6-2

Emil Reinberg Takes Double Crown

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University of Georgia senior Emil Reinberg teamed with Alexandru Gozun to win the $25k Tulsa (OK) Pro Championships.

The Atlanta resident also won the $25k ITF Godfrey, IL, tournaments with Martin Redicki in 2017.