Boys, Girls 14s and Girls 16s Easter Bowl Finals Set for Tuesday

©Colette Lewis 2006
Palm Springs CA--

Half of the 2006 Easter Bowl is in the books, but there was still plenty of action at the Riviera Resort Monday.

The biggest surprise came in the boys 14s semifinal when tenth seed Harry Fowler got his best win of a tournament full of them by taking out top seed and Winter Nationals Champion Jordan Cox 6-3, 6-3.

Fowler, 14, hasn't dropped a set this week, chalking up victories over fourth seed Ray Sarmiento and seventh seed Shaun Bernstein prior to taking down Cox. He has yet to lose more than three games in any set, and Houston resident is looking forward to taking on second seed Evan King in the final. King also advanced in straight sets, quickly disposing of eighth seed Dominic Bermudez 6-0, 6-2.

"The first time I played him (King) was at Winter Nationals in the back draw four years ago," Fowler said. "I lost 0 and 0. Then I beat him at Hard Courts 4 and 0 like two year ago. So we've had kind of vice versa matches."

Fowler pointed to his slice as a strength lately and hopes to use it to get in position to hit a forehand, his best shot.

"I may come in a little bit. Evan plays with a lot of finesse so I've got to keep him from getting those angles," Fowler said, showing a righthander's respect for a lefthander's wiles.

The girls 16s final will feature second seeded Keri Wong against fourth seed Aeriel Ellis, who withstood a strong challenge from unseeded Kristie Ahn before prevailing 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (3). On Sunday, Ahn had upset top seed Lauren Embree, and she was poised to spring another upset when Ellis, from Hayward California, couldn't close out the match when serving for it up 5-4 and 6-5.

"I have butterflies," Ellis said immediately after the match, admitting she felt all the pressure in the match was on her, because Ahn was unseeded. "I don't know if it's because of the third set tiebreak, or if it's because I'm in the final."

Ellis hits a one-handed backhand, and was hard pressed to think of another junior girl who uses one. "I used to play with two hands on both sides when I started, but I went to one hand when I was seven and have hit it that way since then."

Ellis is hoping that conditions improve for the championship match on Tuesday.

"I've never played in this kind of wind before," she said. "The ball moves and then just dies. I don't ever want to do that again."

Wong, who has blown through her half of the draw with as much force as this week's desert winds, reached the final by virtue of a 6-2, 6-2 win over unseeded Shannon Mathews.


"With the wind and all it was a little difficult," said Wong, 16. "I tried to keep more balls in the court and I rallied down the middle, so the balls wouldn't fly."

As successful as that strategy has been for Wong, who hasn't lost a set in the tournament, she too is hoping that the winds subside for the final.

"It's more fun to actually play," she laughed.

The girls 14s final will feature Wong's fellow student at John Newcombe's Tennis Ranch, Lilly Kimbell, against Beatrice Capra of Maryland.

Kimbell, the third seed, downed second seed Amy Simidian 6-4, 6-3, while the fourth seeded Capra defeated sixth seed Nicole Gibbs 6-2, 6-2. Capra and Gibbs met in the semifinals of the Winter Nationals in January, and Capra won that encounter in straight sets too.

For full results and draws, visit usta.com.