The Nats Day Three: Photos, Photos & More Photos

It's a tossup which is more exhausting during the National tournament here in Kalamazoo: watching tennis all day or going to the parties every night.

Three people who didn't appear to be any the worse for wear are my website crew--BrieLynn Hanna, Rob Sturm and Julian Seelan, who between them put up 50 photos of the action Sunday in Kalamazoo.

The new website features an impressive enhancement. You can just click on the image and it will enlarge in a separate window right before your eyes. Please check out all the photos in the photo archives--they are one of the best ways to appreciate the special flavor of the Nats.

Ustaboys.com's home page has the Sunday wrapup story.

Three Seeded Players Lose Saturday in Second Round at Nats

©Colette Lewis 2006
Kalamazoo--

Jared Pinsky, Bradley Mixon and Alexei Chijoff-Evans made a beautiful summer Saturday downright miserable for three of the top 32 seeds in boys 18 singles.

Pinsky scored the biggest upset when he eliminated No. 8 seed and 2005 semifinalist Jamie Hunt 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 late Saturday evening at Stowe Stadium.
At Western Michigan University, Mixson disposed of 11th seed Dennis Lajola 6-2, 6-3 while Chijoff-Evans outlasted 21st seed Justin Kronauge 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3.

"The first set he beat me pretty bad," said Pinsky, of Potomac, Md. "I just wasn't ready to play and he makes you play every point. He doesn't give you anything."
After Pinsky had evened the match, the 17-year-old lefthander jumped out to a comfortable 4-0 in the third set, but Hunt fought back to 4-3. "I started to get a little tight there," Pinsky admitted. "But I just said, 'this is my match, this is what I've worked for, so just fight hard the rest of the match.'"

Unseeded, Pinsky was match-tough after his first round victory on Friday, citing that as an advantage Saturday.

"The first match you are always the most nervous," said the 16s divisions sixth place finisher in 2005, "so I got that out of the way and came into today just relaxed. I think it helped playing that first match yesterday."

A bevy of college coaches were looking on during the match, but the senior says he will be taking official visits this fall before making any decision. "Stanford, Duke, Virginia, Illinois are possibilities, but I'll have to visit and see."

The top two seeds in the boys 18s didn't lose a game between them, as No. 1 Donald Young downed Patrick Collins of Tulsa Okla. 6-0, 6-0. Not to be outdone, No. 2 Jesse Levine immediately followed Young on Court 2 at Stowe Stadium and double bageled Andrew Mateljan.

Alex Clayton, the fifth seed, was jolted awake by Skyler Tateishi of Hawaii, who lead 4-1 before losing the next nine games. "I wasn't really hitting the ball very well and I wasn't focusing as hard as I should have," Clayton said. "But I'm actually glad it was a tough match, to play a better player and to get some competition in," said the 2004 16s finalist.

The 16s began play on Saturday with one round of singles and two rounds of doubles. Five seeded doubles teams failed to make the third round, with the seventh seeded team of Kyle McMorrow and Alex Johnson the most highly-regarded team to fall; they lost to Alex Rafiee and Will Reynolds 7-5, 6-0.

For complete draws, click here.

A Long Day/Night at the Zoo

The first day is always very long, with matches beginning at 8 a.m., two rounds of doubles and then the professional exhibition/opening ceremonies in the evening.

I had an opportunity to interview both Aaron Krickstein and Todd Martin, and in my story for ustaboys.com, I used a few of the quotes, but the conversations about Kalamazoo, and their different paths to professional careers in tennis, were much more interesting than I'm able to convey in the very brief time I have to devote to the blog tonight.

But it was obvious, again, that there is no "right way" to excel, to earn success, to develop, to compete. Krickstein was clearly ready for professional tennis at 16, Martin not until he was 20.

Kalamazoo's U.S. Open Blue Courts Welcome Nation's Top Juniors: The Tennis Recruiting Network

Registration has begun here in Kalamazoo and thank goodness it was inside. It's been raining/drizzling all day, and although the weather forecasters continue to promise better weather for Friday, keep checking the webcam (the far right icon on the homepage at ustaboys.com). The photo below is a player having his portrait shot for use on his player badge, website profile and player photo board erected near the courts.



My Kalamazoo preview story for the Tennis Recruiting Network was posted today.

Right now the doubles draw for the 18s is just closing, and the player meeting starts in an hour, so there's plenty more for me to do tonight.

SMASH Column, Pre-Nationals Edition

My SMASH online column was posted Wednesday afternoon (despite the date reading 7/25/06 on the Smash home page, it's a new column, trust me). There will NOT be a new column next week due to all the work I'll be doing for the ustaboys.com website.

Quite a Start for Prodigy: San Diego Union-Tribune

I took notice of Coco Vandeweghe (and at 6 feet, she wasn't hard to spot) at this year's Easter Bowl, when she won the 16s back draw, unseeded, after losing in the first round. That's ten wins in seven days. A wild card into a WTA Tier 1 event is quite a step up from that however. Jerry Magee has the details here.

In other news, Holden Seguso has withdrawn from Kalamazoo; Steve Forman has verbally committed to Wake Forest, with The Tennis Recruiting Network getting the particulars here. Reka Zsilinszka's early choice is promised for Wednesday.

Lots of interesting comments on seeding and wild cards in the past two posts. An unseeded player winning a major national tournament should not happen with any regularity. It's a sign that the system doesn't work. I encourage you to complain not just here on zootennis, but directly to Bill Ozaki and Lew Brewer at the USTA. If they hear only from those who complain when the USTA ranking list isn't followed to the letter, they will think everyone prefers that ranking and seeding system. Their email addresses are available on this page.