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Thursday, July 15, 2021

Ngounoue, Blanch Reach Milan JA Quarterfinals; Clay Court Semifinals Set in 12s, Quarterfinals Set in 18s; USTA's FAQ on College Recruiting; Port Washington's Zausner Dies

Clervie Ngounoue, who turns 15 on Monday, had lost to Diana Shnaider of Russia twice this year, in the quarterfinals at the Grade A in Brazil in March, and in the second round of the French Open last month. But in third round action at the Trofeo Bonfiglio JA in Milan today, Ngounoue got her revenge, beating the No. 2 seed 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. Ngounoue will play No. 5 seed Petra Marcinko of Croatia next. Ngounoue is not the youngest quarterfinalist, with Mirra Andreeva of Russia, who turned 14 in April, advancing to the quarterfinals with her third consecutive straight-sets win.

Dali Blanch, the No. 2 seed, advanced to Friday's quarterfinals with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over Kalin Ivanovski of Macedonia. Blanch is one of only two seeds remaining in the boys quarterfinals, which features a qualifier, a wild card and a lucky loser. Blanch will face Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic next.

In doubles, top seeds Alexandra Eala of the Philippines and Madison Sieg have reached the semifinals.They will play Shnaider, who won the Wimbledon girls doubles title on Sunday, and her new partner this week, Kira Pavlova of Russia, who are seeded fifth.

The quarterfinals are set at the USTA Clay Courts for the 18s divisions, with the boys in Delray Beach catching up via shortened scoring.  The 14s and 16s divisions for both boys and girls are still a round behind, while the 12s, which have smaller fields, will play their semifinals Friday. 

Girls 18s quarterfinals:

Bridget Stammel[17] v Amelia Honer[9]
Savannah Broadus[4] v Sophia Wang[17]
Vivian Miller[17] v Theadora Rabman[3]
Ariana Pursoo[8] v Ahmani Guichard[2]

Boys 18s quarterfinals:
Nicolas Kotzen[14] v Ryan Colby[17]
Luke Casper[33] v Alex Finkelstein[33]
Alexander Razeghi[13] v Nicholas Heng[9]
Learner Tien[17] v Kian Vakili[17]

B12s semifinals:
Jack Secord[1] v Jordan Lee[8]
Navneet Raghuram[3] v Teodor Davidov[13]

G12s semifinals:
Isabelle DeLuccia[1] v Ciara Harding[3]
Sena Yoon[4] v Kristina Penickova[17]

Links to the USTA Playtennis draws:

G18s Mt. Pleasant SC

G16s Huntsville AL

G14s Plantation FL

G12s Ft. Lauderdale FL

B18s and 16s Delray Beach FL

B14s Miami Beach FL

B12s Orlando FL

The USTA has published a Frequently Asked Questions article on the topic of college recruiting, which can be found here. The impact of the extra year of eligibility is one of the biggest question marks surrounding recruiting these days, and this article does address the possible impact to those still looking for a spot on a college roster.

Last week the Tennis Recruiting Network talked to several Division I coaches about the impact of the new Name Image and Likeness laws on their student-athletes. For a look at what is happening in the collegiate tennis space regarding NIL, check out the twitter timeline of @jwilsontennis on July 1 and 2.

I received a note today that Dick Zausner, the longtime director of the Port Washington Academy in New York, had passed away Monday at the age of 87. Marcia Frost, who worked for him at College and Junior Tennis and was a pioneer in providing articles and information on the internet, always spoke highly of his impact on the young tennis players at Port Washington and of his passion for the sport. His obituary can be found here.  

1 comments:

SeminoleG said...

The USTA article was poorly written and the timing was even worse. D1 Tennis, the Deadline for NLI for 2021 class to sign is 1 Aug. The deadline to notify current student athletes whether their college scholarships will be reduced or renewed was 1 Jul. So those in the Portal now probably are at the point of no return to their previous school. That gives little time to sign for those still looking. This includes those looking for that extra year. The USTA should be publishing information for the 2022 class, who as of TODAY can be fully engaged in the recruiting process. Many of the 2022 kids are providing verbal commitments and for those that have not been in contact with their list of schools they are behind.
Also, their is no change to NCAA GAP Rule's. That comment is referenced in the article and the NCAA has not amend the rule that only allows 6 months Gap from the Athletes Graduation date. So Class of 2021 still has to enroll by Jan 2022 or stop completing to avoid losing a year of eligibility. My Opinion theses issues are so complex and changing the USTA should just provide links to the NCAA rather than publish a Q&A that has little substance.