My Kalamazoo 16s Recap; Michelsen Reaches Quarterfinals at Memphis $15K; Navarro Advances at WTA 125; US Open Announces Prize Money Increases; Michigan Sweeps ITA Summer Circuit Singles Titles

If you didn't have an opportunity to read my daily coverage of last week's USTA National 16s Championships in Kalamazoo, my recap of Darwin Blanch's singles title and the doubles championship claimed by Cooper Woestendick and Mitchell Lee is now up at the Tennis Recruiting Network. It's a quick and easy way to review the week and TRN also has articles from 12s, 14s and girls 16s posted. My 18s recap goes up tomorrow, with the girls 18s to follow later in the day. Links to all the Championship Week articles can be found at the bottom of each individual article.

With the Western & Southern Open going on in Cincinnati this week, there isn't much else happening on the USTA Pro Circuit, with a $15,000 men's tournament in Memphis and a $60,000 women's tournament in the Bronx. No Americans remain in contention in singles or doubles in New York, although wild card Louisa Chirico did defeat top seed and WTA No. 73 Daria Saville of Australia 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the first round.

Alex Michelsen, who lost to Ethan Quinn in the quarterfinals last week in Kalamazoo, is through to the quarterfinals, after beating unseeded Evan Bynoe 0-6, 6-1, 6-2 today. Michelsen, who turns 18 next week, will face Duke senior Garrett Johns Friday. He has already earned a win over Johns in today's doubles quarterfinals, playing with 17-year-old Cooper Williams, another Kalamazoo singles quarterfinalist last week. The unseeded Michelsen and Williams defeated Johns and Duke freshman Pedro Rodenas of Spain 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 today. They will play Ole Miss sophomore Walker Stearns and Andrew Rogers(Tennessee, Pepperdine), a wild card team, in Friday's semifinal.

Thai Kwiatkowski(Virginia), Sam Riffice(Florida) and Zeke Clark(Illinois) are the other Americans in the singles quarterfinals.

2021 NCAA champion Emma Navarro(Virginia) is through to the quarterfinals of the WTA 125 in Vancouver Canada after beating 2018 NCAA champion Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. Navarro had taken out No. 6 seed Rebecca Marino in the first round, saving five match points in a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(7) win. She plays top seed Madison Brengle on Friday.

The US Open announced that prize money this year will exceed $60 million for the first time, with an increase in first round prize money from $75,000 to $80,000. The article does not give amounts for the qualifying, but says the amount for reaching the third and final round of qualifying is now $44,000. That's up from $42,000 last year. Last year first round of qualifying paid $20,000.

The ITA Summer Circuit Championships concluded on Tuesday, with University of Michigan players winning both singles titles. 

Jacob Bickersteth defended his title from 2021, defeating Clemson’s Ryuhei Azuma 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in the final.  

Julia Fliegner defeated Florida freshman Anastasia Sysoeva 3-6, 7-5, 10-6 to earn the women's title.  

Both champions will receive a wild card into October's All-American Championships, while the finalists receive qualifying wild cards into the All-Americans.

The women's doubles title went to Furman's Ellie Schoppe and Jessica Dawson, who beat Wisconsin's Taylor Cataldi and Xinyu Cai 8-7 in the final.

The Florida State team of Alex Bulte & Youcef Rihane, playing on their home courts, took the men's doubles title, beating Northwestern's Trice Pickens and Presley Thieneman in the final.

As with the singles, the doubles champions receive All-American main draw wild cards, while the finalist receive qualifying wild cards.

For more on the finals, see this article from the ITA.