Stolarczyk Saves Match Points, Advances to Kalamazoo 16s Final Against Doubles Partner Malacek; Lee Beats Antonius, Secord Ousts Hance in 18s Quarterfinals, Johnson and Kennedy Reach 18s Semifinals; Finals Set in 12s, 14s and 16s
©Colette Lewis 2026--
Kalamazoo MI--
Kamil Stolarczyk took a roller coaster ride Friday morning, but when his three-hour 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(2) excursion finished after noon, the top seed was through to the USTA Kalamazoo 16s final.
Stolarczyk got off to a miserable start against No. 4 seed and fellow New Yorker Tristan Stratton, falling behind 4-0 in the first set, which he attributed to nerves, and a lack of preparation on hard courts prior to the tournament.
Loudly berating himself in Polish after getting broken a second time, Stolarczyk recovered his composure and got one of the breaks back, but Stratton closed it out.
Stolarczyk took the second set, holding onto his early break, and in the 10-minute break before the third set got some encouragement from a former coach, who is here with another player.
"We were talking and he helped me calm down," said the 16-year-old from Glendale New York. "It was still super stressful, but he told me mistakes are going to come, I just have to keep going for it, find his forehand as much as possible and keep hitting to it."
That strategy gave Stolarczyk a 5-3 lead in the third, but got no closer than 30-all, when he missed an uncomplicated overhead that would have given him a match point, and Stratton broke to stay alive
"I made almost every single overhead in the match," said Stolarczyk. "I think I missed two. It was just really just down to the point that it was a tight moment, that's why I missed it. I usually don't miss overheads like that, especially ones that easy."
Stratton held to take a 6-5 lead, assuring himself a spot in the deciding tiebreaker, and a chance for avoiding it, when he hit a great return to go up 15-40. Stratton played his usual outstanding defense, but Stolarczyk hung in too and put away a forehand to save the first match point. The second will probably haunt Stratton, with an unforced error coming off his backhand, and Stolarczyk held to force the tiebreaker.
Stolarczyk wasn't happy with his serving throughout the match, but that shot came through for him in the tiebreaker.
"I think I had 30 percent first serves (actually it was 54%) until that moment," Stolarczyk said. "But we're going to work on that."
Stolarczyk went up 3-2 thanks to two backhand errors by Stratton, then hit two good first serves for 5-2. Stolarczyk didn't need to do anything more, with Stratton unable to summon any energy, and two more backhand errors later, Stolarczyk had advanced to the final.
His doubles partner and roommate Daniel Malacek, the No. 3 seed, had a much less troublesome semifinal match, beating No. 2 seed Sulaiman Syed 6-1, 6-2.
"I think I played very, very solid, groundstroke wise," said the 16-year-old left-hander from Kirkland Washington. "I was passing him pretty smart, going forehand line and bunting it to his feet and that was working well. And I was able to fight for the corners really good, putting the return in play, and against a big server like him that's all you really need, to make him play as much as you can."
Malacek said he thought his 2025 Orange Bowl 16s final might have given him a mental edge as well.
"I think it really helped me today," Malacek said. "I think I was a little more prepared for the importance of the match, compared to him. He's been balling out, but I don't think he's been in this kind of scenario. Obviously, Kalamazoo, it's the biggest tournament of the year, and I think I was prepared once I shook off my nerves and could just play my game."
Malacek doesn't have any coach or family with him this week, so he is rooming with Stolarczyk and his father, with Stolarczyk revealing that his dad had purchased an air mattress for their third bed. Malacek and Stolarczyk have been warming up together every day and had agreed to continue doing so if they made the final.
"We're best friends, so it's going to be a fun match out there," Stolarczyk said. "We're warming up every day and said before the semifinals, if we get to the final, let's just warm up together. There's no bad blood between us, so it won't really matter for either of us if we warm up together."
They will play for their first Kalamazoo title on Saturday in the 16s doubles, after the second-seeded pair defeated No. 10 seeds Mason Fekete and Louden Muha 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals this afternoon. Their opponents will be No. 9 seeds Griffin Goode and Kahven Singh, who beat top seeds Mikaeel Alibaig and Ivan Rybak 7-5, 6-3.
The 18s quarterfinals took to the Stowe Stadium show courts after the 16s semifinals, with No. 3 seed Andy Johnson, last year's 16s finalist beating No. 12 seed Vihaan Reddy 6-3, 6-4, and No. 9 seed Jack Secord defeating No. 4 seed Keaton Hance 6-4, 7-6(3).
Johnson, who had beaten Reddy 6-3, 6-1 in the 16s semifinals last year, was happy with his level.
"I felt pretty much in control," said the 16-year-old from Rancho Palos Verdes California. "I can't really control what he does, but I stayed calm, pretty relaxed the whole match. The quarterfinals of Kalamazoo, you just want to be relaxed when you're here, playing good tennis, trying to have fun."
Playing on George Acker Center Court, Johnson appreciated the oohs and aahs of the crowd when he hit an improbable winner from difficult position.
"It adds a lot, especially if they're cheering for you," Johnson said. "That's one of the best feelings there is when you're competing on a tennis court, having the crowd behind you. And Vihaan can play really well, has all the shots and they can go in, so you have to be ready for anything."
Secord was a break down against Hance in each set, 3-1 in the first and 5-4 in the second, but he battled back each time.
The games were long and grueling, with the two sets taking over two and half hours, and it could have easily gone three sets, with Hance serving for the set at 5-4 and having three ads. But Secord came up big in those moments, hitting a scorching forehand winner on the first set point, a volley that forced an error on the second and a short ball to bring Hance in and pass him on the third. Two forehand errors later Secord was back even and he stepped up in the tiebreaker, with no errors despite his aggressive play.
One forehand Secord hit drew loud appreciation from the crowd, with Secord agreeing with their assessment."
"It was 4-5, 15-30 (in the second set) and he went behind me and I flicked a line pass," said the 17-year-old from Lake Forest Illinois. "Yeah, that was a pretty good shot, I'd say so, yeah."
Secord will face top seed Jack Kennedy, who needed three hours and 20 minutes to get past No. 10 seed Ryan Cozad 7-6(6), 5-7, 7-5.
Kennedy trailed 6-3 in the first set tiebreaker before finding his level in the nick of time. And outrageous set-saving pass in his string of five consecutive points produced a massive celebration from Kennedy, but an undoubtedly discouraged Cozad would not go away, and he took the second set in another physically draining set.
"There are a lot of people in that situation who would kind of crumble, lose hope in the second set," said Kennedy of his future University of Virginia teammate. "But Ryan took it as a chance to regroup, bounce back and step up his game, which he did. He made me play. He made me run around, come up with answers his shots and this is one of the best matches I think I've ever played, level-wise, the physicality and the circumstances."
Kennedy admitted that nerves were a factor when he was broken at love serving for the match at 5-3 in third.
"It's tough closing out a match, especially at a quarterfinal in Kalamazoo and I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't nervous," said the 18-year-old from Huntington New York. "But Ryan played a good game, made me play, and after I was broken in that game, I didn't focus on it too much, because ultimately it's who can bounce back in those situations. I'm happy that I did that, didn't focus too much on the past, stayed focus on the future and the present."
Kennedy held for 6-5 and Cozad couldn't force the tiebreaker, broken at love to send Kennedy to his third straight Kalamazoo 18s semifinal.
Kennedy is excited to play Secord in Saturday's semifinals.
"I was watching him against Keaton before I went on, and his level looks really good," Kennedy said. "It'll be a good a match. Let's feast, as we like to say."
While Kennedy was struggling to subdue Cozad, Wimbledon boys champion Jordan Lee was locked in a three-setter of his own with No. 2 seed Michael Antonius. The two 16-year-olds traded sets, with Lee dominating the first set and Antonius securing the second, before Lee pulled away late in the third of his 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory.
"I think we both played really well, it was a match we were both looking forward to," said the Orlando resident. "Much respect to Michael, we train together every day, see each other every day, I see him more than I see my own family. We have a lot of love and respect for each other, so yeah, it was fun."
Lee said he had to adjust to the level Antonius brought in the second set.
"I don't think I dropped much, he was just taking control with his forehand," said Lee, who is making his Kalamazoo debut this year. Everyone knows that once Michael starts taking control with his forehand you're not going to win too many points and you're going to get pretty tired. So right now, I am pretty tired. That's the player Michael is and it's super tough to play him."
Up 3-1 in the third set, Lee was broken, but Antonius lost serve again won only one more point in the next three games, as Lee converted his first match point with a forehand winner.
Lee and Johnson haven't played since 2023, when Johnson beat Lee in the Eddie Herr 14s quarterfinals and Junior Orange Bowl 14s semifinals, but he isn't taking any lessons from those distant losses.
"I think I'll just play my game," Lee said. "I don't like to focus too much on tactics. I just need to play my game and stay focused, that's all I can do."
The 18s doubles semifinals followed the boys 16s doubles semifinals, and with Kennedy and Cozad needing some rest time before they faced off again, the teams that would be playing for the men's US Open wild card wouldn't be decided until after 8 p.m. Friday evening.
Cozad avenged his loss in singles with partner Gavin Goode, with the No. 3 seeds beating top seeds Kennedy and Hance 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.
Goode joins his younger brother Griffin, who is in the 16s final, and his younger sister Grace, who is in the 12s final, in playing for a doubles gold ball Saturday.
Goode and Cozad will play No. 2 seeds Noah Johnston and Yannik Alvarez, who defeated No. 8 seeds Secord and Ford McCollum 6-3, 6-4.
The finals in the G16s, B12s, B14s and G14s are Saturday, with the B16s, B18s and G18s scheduled for Sunday. Results from today semifinals below, with links to full draws in the headings:
Shristi Selvan[1] d. Avita Beitler[6] 6-4, 6-2
Aarini Bhattacharya[14] d. Nikol Davletshina[2] 6-2, 6-2
Julieta Pareja[1] d. Jordyn Hazelitt[8] 6-2, 6-3
Thea Frodin[3] d. Alexis Nguyen[9] 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-0
Janae Preston[4] d. Annika Penickova[33] 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
Melije Clarke[33] d. Thara Gowda[16] 7-6(5), 6-3
Daniella Yogumyan[4] d. Victoria Park[16] 6-1, 6-1
Gabrielle Villegas[2] d. Jessie Janiak[3] 6-3, 6-3
Lailah Cowgill[10] d. Mandy Wei[13] 6-1, 6-3
Vlada Hranchar d. Reya Mahadoo[5] 3-6, 6-2, 6-0
Krish Advani[1] d. Matthew Finn[3] 6-3, 1-6, 7-5
David Bender[7] d. Daksh Bharadwaj[12] 7-5, 6-4
Zachary Burunov[6] d. William Zhou[1] 6-4, 6-2
Aleksander Denisov[7] d.Thomas Gamble[4] 1-6, 6-4, 6-2
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