Top Girls Seeds Open with Victories at Orange Bowl ITF J500 in Plantation, Top Boys Seeds Debut Tuesday; Team USA WIns Fourth Straight Master’U BNP Paribas World University Championships

©Colette Lewis 2023--
Plantation FL--

The twenty Frank Veltri Tennis Center courts used for competition Monday at the 2023 Orange Bowl were lined with hundreds of college coaches looking for recruits or supporting those players who have already signed to join them next fall.

Keeping tabs on all the action was possible with the help of the live scoring, and with chair umpires on every court, the disputes were generally settled quickly. But with the quality of the fields and the warm and humid conditions, matches were lengthy, even for top players in the first round.

The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the girls draw played on the Veltri Center's two show courts this morning. Laura Samsonova of the Czech Republic, who won the Merida Mexico J500 two weeks ago and lost in the quarterfinals at last week's Eddie Herr, defeated wild card Monika Ekstrand 6-2, 6-2 to begin her third week of competition as the ITF Junior Circuit season draws to a close. 

No. 2 seed Kaitlin Quevedo, who lost to Samsonova in the Merida final but did not play the Eddie Herr, had a tough first round against Jana Hossam Salah of Egypt. Hossam Salah, who had taken Samsonova to three sets in the first round of the Eddie Herr, was matching Quevedo shot for shot in the second set, but serving at 4-5 30-all she blinked, with a double fault giving Quevedo a match point, which she converted after a long rally.

The boys top seeds had the day off, with No. 1 Iliyan Radulov of Bulgaria scheduled to play lucky loser Santiago Padilla Cote of Mexico Tuesday. Padilla received entry when Alexander Razeghi withdrew due to an ab injury.

No. 2 seed Juan Carlos Prado Angelo of Bolivia, the 2023 Roland Garros finalist, received a Tuesday start after he won the $15,000 tournament in Bolivia yesterday. But he signed in for doubles (which can be done by phone), so he is expected to make the trip to Plantation and will play Luis Ferraz Sandoval Carvalho of Brazil in the first round not before 11 a.m.

The only seeds to lose on Monday were boys No. 12 Roy Horovitz and girls No. 10 Luna Maria Cinalli of Argentina. Roger Pascual Ferra of Spain defeated Horovitz 6-2, 6-3 and Victoria Osuigwe beat Cinalli 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.

Court 12 was the place to camp if you wanted long dramatic matches, with the three singles matches starting at 8 a.m. and finishing at 5:38 p.m. 

Girls 16s qualifier Maria Navarro defeated Alyson Shannon 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) in a first round match that clocked in at 2 hours and 53 minutes.

Maximo Zeitune of Argentina and wild card Calvin Baird then took the court, with Zeitune winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in 3 hours and 1 minute.

The last singles match of the day to go on court featured Gabia Paskauskas of Great Britain and Aspen Schuman, and when Paskauskas had a 6-4, 5-0 lead, it looked as if the string of long matches on Court 12 would end. But as the sun set and the coaches began to make their dinner plans, Schuman won seven straight games to force a third set.

Paskauskas, the sister of NC State freshman Kristina, served for the match at 5-0, 5-2, and 5-4, but couldn't close it out, as Schuman kept her errors to a minimum and the pressure began to take its toll with every lost game. At 5-4, Paskauskas double faulted three straight times to lose the game, then double faulted two more times to start her 5-6 service game, losing that game as well. 

But after a bathroom break, Paskauskas put that nightmare of a finish to the second set behind her, breaking Schuman to open the third set and getting a second break for a 4-1 lead. This time she didn't waver, holding for 5-1 and breaking Schuman to end the 2 hour and 59 minute match.

The first round of 16s doubles was played Monday afternoon and evening, with the second round of 16s singles and doubles and the first round of 18s doubles on Tuesday's schedule, as well as the completion of the first round of 18s singles.

Radulov and Japan's Rei Sakamoto are the top seeds in the boys 18s doubles, with the Czech team of Samsonova and Alena Kovackova, the Wimbledon champions, No. 1 in the girls doubles.

Links to the live scoring and live streaming, plus draws and the order of play can be found at ustaorangebowl.com.

Team USA won its fourth consecutive Master'U BNP Paribas title in France, with the team of Eliot Spizzirri(Texas), Murphy Cassone(Arizona State), Gavin Young(Michigan), Savannah Broadus(Pepperdine), Fiona Crawley(North Carolina) and Mary Stoiana(Texas A&M) beating Great Britain 4-0 in Sunday's final. 

For more on the final, see this article from the ITA website, which includes the news that former Boise State coach Greg Patton, who has captained the team for 12 years, is retiring.