US Nike Masters Tournament Complete; Tennis Recruiting Network Announces Fall Top Prospects; Halbauer Wins Second ITF Event; USTA Nominates New Board
The path to the Nike Junior Tour Masters tournament for 12s and 14s changed this year for players from the United States. Prior to this year, the competitors were selected when they won a designated sectional tournament sponsored by Nike. This year the players were taken from a National Selection List. The tournament was at the Evert Academy in Boca Raton last weekend, and the results of the finals are below:
Boys 12s:
Axel Nefve(3) def. Andrew Fenty(2) 6-2, 6-4
Girls 12s:
Claire Liu (4) def. Abigail Desiatnikov(1) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
Boys 14s:
John McNally def. Mwendwa Mbithi (2) 6-2, 6-3
Girls 14s:
Sofia Kenin(2) def. Jessie Aney(4) 6-2, 7-5
The complete draws can be found at the TennisLink site.
The Nike Junior Tour International Masters event is scheduled to be held at the Club Med Sandpiper Bay in Port Saint Lucie, Florida, December 5-12, 2012.
The Tennis Recruiting Network revealed their top prospects today, one of two updates to their star system they make each year. TRN has weekly rankings of course, but the blue chip, five star, four star, etc. designations are adjusted only twice, in late winter and early fall. For the individual lists of all seven classes from 2013 to 2019, see this page on the Tennis Recruiting website.
In yesterday's roundup, I failed to mention Drew Halbauer's title at the ITF Grade 5 in Honduras, his second straight championship in two weeks in that country. Two weeks ago Halbauer, the No. 3 seed, beat No. 4 seed Luis Valero of Colombia in the final 6-2, 6-0. Last week Halbauer, again the No. 3 seed, defeated No. 1 seed Carter Lin, also of the US, 4-6 7-6(3) 6-1.
Sixteen-year-old Gabriella Castaneda of the US, the eighth seed, won the girls title last week, defeating top seed Jennifer Artiga Henriquez of El Salvador 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(3) in the final. Ally Miller-Krasilnikov of the US reached the finals in the previous week, losing to Artiga Henriquez in three sets.
The USTA announced its board of directors for the 2013-2014 term:
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
David A. Haggerty, President, USTA Middle States
Katrina M. Adams, First Vice President, USTA Eastern
Thomas S. Ho, Vice President, USTA Texas
Donald L. Tisdel, Vice President, USTA Pacific Northwest
Patrick J. Galbraith, Secretary-Treasurer, USTA Pacific Northwest
For the list of at-large directors, click here.
4 comments:
A message to the USTA Board of Directors:
Put an end to the USTA Player Development program. Make national level tennis tournaments more inclusive, bigger, not more exclusive. Rank kids for their wins, not just points. The USTA must spend time and recourses encouraging the BEST ATHLETES in areas where tennis is already popular, not looking for the kid who matured earliest or in the inner city or where tennis is a minor league sport vs. basketball, baseball and football.
You want to know why Europe is producing better players. Their best, mentally tough, athletes with a passion for tennis are playing the sport.
To be fair the Player Development Program has never worked: not under Saviano or Telscher and now under Patrick Mac Enroe. This program is the worst thing to happen to American tennis, in my opinion. I would steer clear of the USTA. They pay Patrick a seven figure salary a year as head of what should be renamed “the Player Destruction Program”. The USTA entered several of these kids into the nationals at Kalamazoo this summer, all have been encouraged to turn pro. The sad truth is none of these “pros” got beyond the quarter finals at the nationals vs. kids going to normal schools, having fun playing against other juniors and having their family and friends around all the time. But these elite USTA kids will get all the wild cards, resources and opportunities at the expense of late bloomer 18 year old up-and-comers.
I look at the demise of poor Donald Young as an example of what happens when you turn pro too soon. You get pounded, play in lousy conditions in third world countries and lose all confidence. No chance.
On the reverse side I point to Brad Klahn and Steve Johnson. Both guys went back to college AFTER winning the NCAA single championships. If they had turned pro right after, they would have been beaten up on the courts and languished due to lack of maturity, strength and confidence. As it is, they both had good showings at the US Open and now believe they can win.
Mac Enroe thinks he is can find the next Sampras, Currier, Chang or Agassi. I believe two things, as a group they were unique and they came along when tennis was unusually weak.
Well put.
Plus these chosen exhibit some of the most questionable behavior on a and off court. Saw one of the USTA kids in 18's quarters Kalamazoo get defaulted for throwing his racket across the net on match point...not the first time.he actually had racked up enough suspension points to keep him out of tourneys for amwhile.
Meanwhile in the 16's during the ntl clays saw some atrocious behavior by a USTA affiliated boys doubles team. cheating and violating rules, yucking it up all all along the way(they lost btw)
USTA PD boys are not a good example for any junior to watch if they want to learn sportsmanship.
I have seen too many of them CHEATING RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEIR Player Development COACHES.
And I have seen the PD coaches openly coaching their players through the fences.
Collette, if you ever happen to see PMac at a tournament, maybe you can point out some of this behavior to him that goes on with the players and the coaches.
And last thought, do the PD juniors realize that if they ever get to the US OPEN that there are line judges there? You can't cheat your way through a match?
How shameful that money is being spent on a bunch of juniors who think cheating is the way.
And PMac never witnesses any of this as he NEVER GOES TO THE TOURNAMENTS.
I was at a couple of high level USTA national events this year and saw PD kids and their USTA coaches. There was just something unsavory about the whole thing. USTA coaches rooting against USTA kids. Something just didn't feel right about it. It wasn't that they were overt about it but you knew they were there and you knew they were rooting for the PD kid (as they should) but somehow it just felt wrong on some level...
USTA should get out of the PD business and just work to grow the game - the rest will take care of itself
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