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Sixteen Junior Regional events took place all over the country as part of the inaugural Universal Tennis Junior National Pathway, with the final matches wrapping up on Sunday.
The winners of the 17U and 15U divisions (plus at-large registrants) will next go to Las Vegas for the Junior National Championships and Showcase, taking place at the Darling Tennis Center from Dec. 3-7. The event includes a dual-match team tennis showcase on Dec. 3 and 4, followed by Nationals from Dec. 5-7. Registration closes Nov. 21.
The Regionals divisions included 13U, 15U, and 17U with a format featuring round-robin play followed by a knock-out playoff, guaranteeing at least three matches for every player. All 15U and 17U matches were live-streamed and recorded.
The goal of the National Pathway is to expose junior players to the benefits of playing college tennis while giving them opportunities to actually compete on college campuses. In Las Vegas, juniors will play in front of college coaches with the ITA Coaches Convention taking place during the same week right down the street.
Recapping All the Action
Lisa Stone, the creator of Parenting Aces, a website for tennis parents by a tennis parent, was on-site for the girls' and boys' SoCal & Arizona Regional at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif. You can read more of her coverage on her website (a free account is required to view the full story).
Stone had a chance to speak with two-time Hall of Famer Rosie Casals, the coach of 15U participant Karine Kulidjian.
"I think that, for sure, this is a good system and it encourages players to play and not be so uptight about a first match," Casals said. "You get the round-robin and I think that's a good way to play as many matches because that's what makes you better: The more you play, the more you have an opportunity to win and obviously you’re rewarded with good points."
Casals won 112 professional doubles titles during her decorated career (56 of them with Billie Jean King) and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1996 and again in 2021 as a member of the Original 9.
Stone also caught up with Halle Parker (UTR Rating 5.98), a player in Group B of the 15U division, who echoed Casals' thoughts.
"I think it's really great how it's structured," Parker told Stone. "We get to play multiple players through the round-robin so it's not just first round and you're out. You get more match play experience so I really like that about this event."
To register for Las Vegas and to learn more about the Junior National Pathway, please click here.
2021 REGIONALS WINNERS AND FINALISTS
Florida & Caribbean, Boys (Nov 6-8)
13U: Seiryu Kato def. Jerald Carroll
15U: Oumar Diallo def. Pete Tran
17U: Phillip Dell def. Leonardo Dal Boni
Florida & Caribbean, Girls (Nov 6-8)
13U: Laura Damm def. Se A Cho
15U: Alanis Hamilton def. Melis Wiesinger
17U: Madison Smith def. Valeria Centeno
Mid-Atlantic & NC Region, Boys (Oct 15-17)
13U: Romir Bhalla def. Jack Kirby
15U: Eric Lindemann def. Samir Jones
17U: Charles Wood def. Cody Benton
Mid-Atlantic & NC Region, Girls (Oct 22-24)
13U: Devin Gilroy def. Elizabeth Zhang
15U: Lisa Kranec def. Mia Matriccino
17U: Alexandra Borcich def. Allison Harris
Midwest, Boys (Oct 30-Nov 1)
13U: Abraham Rosett def. Landon Vens
15U: Ethan Portnoy def. Derek Blackwell
17U: Nicholas Meyers def. Anthony Vanoyen (USA)
Midwest, Girls (Nov 5-7)
13U: Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann def. Naomi Barnett
15U: Ashley Matz def. Lena Dogadalski
17U: Autumn Rabjohns def. Julia Ross
North Cal & Pacific NW Region, Boys (Oct 23-25)
13U: Collin De Oliveira def. Oakley Koegler
15U: Nav Dayal def. Ty Parrish
17U: Alex Dinkov def. Siddarth Chava
North Cal & Pacific NW Region, Girls (Oct 30-Nov 1)
13U: Isabela Jube def. Mia Askovich
15U: Bianca Bopa def. Himani Malur
17U: Lauren Joyce def. Martina Mora Antich
Northeast Region, Boys (Oct 22-24)
13U: Chase Gerloff def. Michael Lorenzetti
15U: Mateusz Gradzki def. Brian Yi
17U: Petro Kuzmenok def. James Lorenzetti
Northeast Region, Girls (Oct 16-18)
13U: Fiona Merchant def. Ananya Rao
15U: Ayanna Varma def. Juliette Ceas
17U: Leticia Kitio def. Shu Grosso
SoCal & Arizona, Boys (Oct 22-24)
13U: Hans Sempre def. Edmund Lu
15U: Alex Galstyan def. Sibby Roddi
17U: Zino Mirtorabi def. Lance Urlaub
SoCal & Arizona, Girls (Oct 29-31)
13U: Romi D’amore def. Audyssie James
15U: Nicole Weng def. Samantha Wang
17U: Julianne Nguyen def. Tatum Buffington
South Central Region, Boys (Sept 3-5)
13U: Aaditt Rishi def. Dylan Wilhelm
15U: Valor Dare def. Rowan Matorin
17U: Lathan Skrobarcek def. Finnegan Tankersley
South Central Region, Girls (Sept 18-20)
13U: Madeleine Bridges def. Eloise Nasr
15U: Mya Bowe def. Stella De Vera
17U: Lorena Cedeno def. Jenna Bohnert
Southern Region, Boys (Oct 22-24)
13U: Not played
15U: Nicolas Wild def. Flavius Henderson Li
17U: Michael Thomas def. Lleyton Beasley
Southern Region, Girls (Oct 31-Nov 1)
13U: Jensen Diiani def. Sadira Ouyang
15U: Elena Duva def. Sydney Brantley
17U: Isabella Theodore def. Michelle Jones