Kimbell Upends Top Seed McHale in Spring Nationals Round of 16 Wednesday
©Colette Lewis 2008--
Mobile, AL
It was the girls who supplied the excitement Wednesday, as No. 11 seed Lilly Kimbell upset top seed Christina McHale 6-1, 6-3 and No. 16 seed Hanna Mar eliminated No. 3 seed Keri Wong 7-6(0), 1-6, 6-2 on a warm and cloudless day at the Mobile Tennis. In addition to the two upsets, two other girls' matches went the distance while the boys eight matches produced no three-setters, with unseeded Alex Brigham producing the only win that could be deemed a surprise.
Kimbell, the 2007 girls' 16s National champion and Orange Bowl winner, quickly pounced on McHale, who had difficulty countering Kimbell's variation and willingness to finish at the net.
"I think I attacked a lot more," said Kimbell, who had lost to McHale the past several times they had played. "I played my game instead of just sitting on the baseline, hitting it back."
When Kimbell did trade ground strokes with McHale, hers were deep enough to keep McHale on the defensive, while McHale's were landing short. Kimbell, who trains at the Newcombe Tennis Academy in New Braunfels, Texas, knows what to do with a short ball, approaching the net and punching the volley, while mixing in slice and spin to keep her opponents from any rhythm.
"I just try to come into the net, finish with the volleys and I was doing that effectively today," Kimbell said.
As word of the upset began to circulate around the courts, the crowd assembled on the crest of the hill to see if Kimbell could complete the task. Serving for the match at 5-1 in the second set, however, Kimbell had a slight hiccup, dropping her serve to give McHale hope for a comeback. McHale saved two match points in the next game to make it 5-3, leaving Kimbell with just one more chance to serve it out. Facing a break point at 30-40 that would have put McHale back on serve, Kimbell put away a confident overhead to draw even, and gained her third match point when McHale sent a backhand wide. Although Kimbell once again failed to get a first serve in play, McHale's forehand hit the tape, ending the drama that was beginning to build.
"She's so steady, you know that at any time she is able to come back," said Kimbell, admitting to some nervousness at 5-3 in the second set. "If you lose momentum for like one game, she can take it and use it against you."
As big a win as it was for her, Kimbell's reaction was subdued, both immediately after the match, and even a few hours later.
"I know it's a good win, but I know she didn't play her best," said Kimbell. "I was lucky just to be playing good today. Hopefully, I can play that way tomorrow."
Kimbell will meet alphabetical (17-32) seed Blair Seideman of New York in the quarterfinals. Seideman downed unseeded Courtney Griffith of Georgia 6-2, 6-2. The other quarterfinal in the top half will see Catherine Isip, the No. 4 seed, against No. 6 seed Kristie Ahn. Isip again needed three sets to advance, taking a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 decision from No. 9 seed Rachel Saiontz, while Ahn struggled mightily before closing out unseeded 13-year-old Grace Min 6-2, 7-6(4).
No. 5 seed Jacqueline Cako had her first real test of the week, losing the first set to alpha seed Sophie Chang before earning a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory. Cako will take on Mar in one quarterfinal, while No. 2 seed and 2007 finalist Lauren Embree meets fellow Floridian and No. 7 seed Monica Chow. Embree defeated No. 10 seed Rachael White 6-1, 6-2; Chow disposed of Katie Kargl 6-0, 6-2. Neither Embree nor Chow has lost more than three games in a set in their four matches.
Six of the top eight seeds advanced to the quarterfinals in the boys' division, with the unseeded Brigham and alphabetical seed David Nguyen the only party crashers. Brigham continued to dominate with his serving and aggressive approaches, taking out alphabetical seed Ryan Noble 6-1, 6-4, while the left-handed Nguyen has been no less impressive. The future Virginia Cavalier made quick work of alphabetical seed Patrick Daciek 6-0, 6-1 to set up a contest against defending champion Brennan Boyajian. The third-seeded Boyajian eased past No. 14 seed Walker Kehrer 6-1, 6-2. Brigham's opponent is top seed Bradley Klahn, who found his form midway through the first set against No. 12 seed Marc Powers and cruised to a 6-4, 6-1 win.
In the bottom half, No. 7 seed Drew Courtney will face No. 4 seed Steve Johnson for a semifinal berth. Courtney defeated alphabetical seed Alexander Sarkissian 6-1, 6-1 and Johnson downed No. 13 seed Isamu Tachibana 6-2, 6-1.
The fourth boys' match on Thursday is a rematch of last year's quarterfinal between Dennis Nevolo and Alex Domijan. Nevolo won that encounter 6-1, 6-4 on his way to the final, and Domijan went on to take the consolation tournament after that loss. In today's matches, both beat alphabetical seeds. Fifth seeded Domijan was a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Spencer Smith, while No. 2 seed Nevolo prevailed over JT Sundling 6-4, 6-2.
The doubles semifinals are set, with the top two seeded teams in both divisions still in contention for the title. Top seeds Johnson and Klahn breezed past No. 9 seeds Ryan Noble and JT Sundling 6-0, 6-1 and will face No. 8 seeds Charlie Jones and Ryan Lipman, who defeated No. 9 seeds Kehrer and Daniel Moss 7-5, 7-5. Unseeded Ian Chadwell and Patrick Whitner take on the No. 2 seeded team of Evan King and Nevolo, who fought off a determined challenge from unseeded Adam Bernstein and Jeffrey Morris to record a 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-3 victory.
Two unseeded girls' team remain in the hunt for the gold balls. One of them, Lauren Herring and Grace Min, meet top seeds Lauren Embree and Rachel Saiontz, while the other, Nida Hamilton and Jaime Yapp-Shing will face No. 2 seeds Kathryn Talbert and Wong. Herring and Min downed unseeded Sabine Fuchs and Elizabeth Hamlin 6-2, 6-3, while Embree and Saiontz fought off Kaitlyn Christian and Kimbell 6-0, 6-4. Hamilton and Yapp-Shing were 6-4, 6-2 winner over unseeded Cierra Gaytan-Leach and Millie Nichols; Talbert and Wong came back to oust unseeded Alina Jerjomina and Amy Simidian 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-2.
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