The Tennis Recruiting Network's Championship Week is winding down, with articles on 12s, 14s, and 16s USTA Nationals now available. (For a link to all six articles, see this TRN page). My article on Gus Grumet's rare three-set victory in a Kalamazoo 16s final(just three since 2010 and the first to be decided in a third-set tiebreaker since 2006) was published today.
Below is what I think is the longest highlight video I've ever put up on YouTube and in trying to determine why, I've come up with a couple of reasons. 1) it was a very long match, with many long rallies, particularly in the final set. 2) it was the only final I had to record. It's rare when I am able to focus on just one championship match, without others competing for my attention. The Indian Wells ITF J300 finals have also allowed me that luxury, but even at Wimbledon, with the junior finals returning to back-to-back matches on Court One this year, there were doubles finals (both featuring Americans) going on at the same time.
My TRN coverage of the 18s and the 18s highlights on my YouTube channel will be posted Friday.
At the joint $15,000 tournaments in Huntsville Alabama, two Americans have reached the final in both the women's and men's draws.
No. 8 seed Tyler Zink(Georgia, Oklahoma State), who reached the final last week at the $25K in Mississippi will play qualifier Aidan Kim(Florida, Ohio State) for a spot in the final. Zink defeated No. 4 seed Collin Altamirano 6-2, 6-3 in today's quarterfinals, while Kim won his fifth match this week with a 6-0, 6-3 decision over fellow qualifier Ryan Colby(USC, Georgia).
The top half semifinal will feature Carleton College's 2021 NCAA Division III singles champion Leo Vithoontien of Japan, the No 7 seed, who beat top seed Colin Sinclair(Cornell) of the Northern Mariana Islands 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-5 in three hours and 22 minutes. Virthoontien will play unseeded Aleksa Ciric(Georgia Gwinett), who needed even longer to beat Tomas Luis(Belmont) of Portugal. Ciric prevailed 7-6(6), 0-6, 6-4 in three hours and 24 minutes.
In the women's semifinals, recent Michigan graduate Kari Miller, who beat a WTA Top 200 player two weeks ago at the W75 in Lexington, had to qualify for Huntsville, but she is now through to the semifinal after beating No. 5 seed Gabriella Broadfoot(NC State) of South Africa 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in three hours and 11 minutes. Miller will play No. 8 seed Mercedes Aristegui(TCU) of Spain in the semifinals, with Aristegui beating Christasha McNeil 6-1, 6-2 in the quarterfinals.
Wild card Carly Briggs, a recent Florida graduate, defeated qualifier McKenna Schaefbauer(South Carolina) 6-4, 6-0 today and will play rising NC State sophomore Kristina Paskauskas in the semifinals. Paskauska defeated Michigan freshman Emily Sartz-Lunde of Norway 7-6(2), 6-4.
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