December Aces; Livianu Takes Singles and Doubles Titles at USTA National Open; Semifinals Set for 16s and 18s at Winter Nationals

My look back at December's top performances for the Tennis Recruiting Network is up today.  It's a quick way to review all the champions from the Eddie Herr, Orange Bowl and Junior Orange Bowl tournaments plus two juniors who won their first ITF Pro Circuit singles titles.

The USTA's National Men's and Women's Open, held at the National Tennis Center in New York, was completed today, with two current collegians taking the singles titles.  St. John's freshman Jessica Livianu, seeded No. 5, defeated Notre Dame recruit Caroline Dunleavy, the No. 10 seed, 7-5, 7-6(2) for the singles gold ball. She also partnered Dartmouth senior Taylor Ng to take the doubles gold ball, with the No. 2 seeds defeating top seeds Rachel Lim, a high school junior, and Mia Rabinowitz, an Illinois recruit, 7-5, 6-3 in the final.

The men's singles title went to William and Mary senior Aidan Talcott, the No. 12 seed, who defeated Cornell junior Daniel Grunberger, the No. 18 seed, 4-6, 7-6(6), 7-5 in today's final.  The men's doubles champions are No. 2 seeds Milo Hauk and Vaidik Munshaw, both of whom played at St. John's. Hauk and Munshaw defeated Nicholas Shamma and Malcolm Harrison (NW Missouri State) 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 in the final.

The mixed doubles title went to Marcella Cruz and Munshaw, the top seeds, who didn't have to hit a ball in the final. Siblings Blaine (UNC) and Susanne Boyden(Cal Poly), the No. 2 seeds, were unable to compete due to an injury.

The USTA Winter Nationals semifinals are set for Sunday at the 16s and 18s in Scottsdale, after quarterfinal matches were completed today.  Rain has pushed the semifinals of the 12s and 14s in Tucson, scheduled for earlier today, into the evening.  I will update the results from those late matches Sunday morning, if they are completed later tonight.

B18s:

Ryan Seggerman[6] def. Trey Hilderbrand[17] 6-4, 6-4

Jenson Brooksby[16] def. Matthew Lord[8] 6-1, 6-0

Sebastian Mermersky[15] def. Bennett Crane[17] 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-2

Robert Maciag[7] def. Richard Ciamarra[2] 6-0, 7-6

B16s:

Brandon Nakashima[1] def. Nathan Han[8] 6-1, 6-0

Marcus McDaniel def. Aditya Gupta 7-5, 4-6, 6-2

Tyler Stice def. Siem Woldleab[5] 7-5, 1-7, 7-6(4)

Cannon Kingsley[2] def. Andrew Zhang[17] 6-1, 6-2

G18s:

Chelsea Kung[8] def. Rena Lin[17] 7-5, 6-3

Sara Choy[7] def. Elysia Bolton[4] 6-2, 6-0

Abigail Forbes[6] def. Tatum Burger 6-2, 6-0

Vivian Glozman def. Anika Yarlagadda[5] 4-6, 6-4, 6-2

G16s:

Angelica Blake[1] def. Audrey Boch-Collins[17] 6-3, 6-1

Sedona Gallagher[3] def. Anessa Lee 6-4, 6-1

Dasha Kourkina[4] def. Jayci Goldsmith[8] 5-7, 6-1, 6-2

Nikki Redelijk[15] def. Briana Crowley[2] 6-4, 6-1