Ma, Mandlik Reach Semifinals of ITF Grade 1 in Germany; Seven Americans Advance to USTA Pro Circuit Semifinals; Bobby Curtis Florida Closed Results

Elli Mandlik and Lea Ma picked up victories today to reach the semifinals of the ITF Grade 1 tournament in Offenbach Germany.  Mandlik, the No. 10 seed, defeated No. 4 seed Gergana Topalova of Bulgaria 6-2, 7-6(4) and will face German wild card Mara Guth for a place in the final. Ma, the No. 2 seed, defeated unseeded Andjela Skrobonja of Serbia 7-5, 6-2 and play No. 11 seed Oksana Selekhmeteva of Russia.  Ma and her partner Chloe Beck, the top seeds, have reached the doubles final, beating No. 7 seeds Margaryta Bilokin of Ukraine and Nikki Redelijk 6-3, 7-5 in today's semifinals. They will play No. 3 seeds Sohyun Park of Korea and Hong Yi Cody Wong of Hong Kong in the championship match.

The semifinals are set at the three $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit events this week, with seven Americans still in the running for the titles.  At the women's tournament in Sumter South Carolina, three Americans have advanced to the final four, with top seed Taylor Townsend facing qualifier Gail Brodsky and Pepperdine's Ashley Lahey, the 2018 NCAA finalist, playing No. 2 seed Alize Lim of France. Lahey needed three hours and 11 minutes to defeat No. 7 seed Marcela Zacarias of Mexico 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 in today's quarterfinals.  Brodsky beat qualifier Hailey Baptiste 6-2, 6-4 and Townsend got past No. 6 seed Maria Mateas 7-5, 6-3.  Lim prevented an all-USA semifinal lineup by defeating Robin Anderson[5] 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-2 in three hours and 41 minutes. 

At the men's Futures in Buffalo New York, No. 5 seed Alex Rybakov, the rising TCU senior, advanced to the semifinals with another marathon result from today's action.  Rybakov defeated unseeded Mateo Martinez of Argentina 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-3 in three hours and 46 minutes. He will play unseeded Lucas Gomez of Mexico, who advanced in a mere three hours and three minutes over No. 6 seed Pavel Krainik of Canada.  Deiton Baughman, the No. 4 seed, is the other American man in the semifinals. He defeated No. 7 seed Alejandro Gomez of Colombia 6-4, 7-5 to set up a meeting with unseeded Markos Kalovelonis of Russia.

At the men's Futures at Wake Forest, Alexander Ritschard continued his men's Pro Circuit winning streak, picking up No. 18 with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over qualifier Ryan Peniston of Great Britain. Ritschard's opponent Saturday will be Wake Forest's 2018 NCAA champion Petros Chrysochos of Cyprus, who defeated teammate Yuval Solomon 6-2, 6-1.  Qualifier Michael Redlicki will face Karue Sell in the semifinal in the bottom half.  Redlicki advanced with a 7-6(1), 6-2 win over unseeded Marc-Andrea Huesler of Switzerland and No. 5 seed Sell of Brazil, ended the run of Brian Shi 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. 

Huesler won the doubles title, with Sem Verbeek of the Netherlands. The top-seeded pair beat No. 4 seeds Trevor Johnson and Ronnie Schneider 7-6(7), 6-1 in today's final.

The Bobby Curtis State Closed in Florida ended this week, with the results below. Girls 18s winner Alexis Blokhina, at age 13, became the youngest champion in that tournament's 70 year history.  For quotes from the winners and photos of the finalists, see this article from USTA Florida.

Girls’ 18s: Alexis Blokhina (Plantation) d. (3) Sophia Edwards (Nokomis) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
Boys’ 18s: (3) David Lins (Boca Raton) d. (6) Matthew Segura (Apopka) 4-6, 7-5, 5-0 Retired (injury)
Girls’ 16s: (1) Elaine Chervinsky (Boca Raton) d. (2) Anastasia Sysoeva (Bradenton) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
Boys’ 16s: (1) Jameson Corsillo (Boca Raton) d. (2) Emilio Van Cotthem (Ft. Pierce) 6-2, 6-1
Girls’ 14s: (1) Natalie Block (Plantation) d. (2) Nikki Yanez (Sarasota) 6-3, 6-2
Boys’ 14s: (2) Yannik Rahman (Miami) d. (7) Phillip Dell (Bradenton) 5-7, 6-1, 6-4
Girls’ 12s: (1) Sophie Llewellyn (Tarpon Springs) d. (11) Natalie Outcalt (Ponte Vedra Beach) 6-1, 7-5
Boys’ 12s: (2) Nathan Blokhin (Plantation) d. (3) Tanner Povey (Indian Rocks Beach) 6-4, 6-1

Mandlik, Ma Reach ITF Grade 1 Quarterfinals in Germany; Ritschard's Futures Win Streak Reaches 17; McDonald Makes ATP Quarterfinal; Anisimova, Gauff Features

Two Americans have advanced to the quarterfinals of the ITF Grade 1 in Offenbach Germany, with No. 10 seed Elli Mandlik and No. 2 seed Lea Ma posting wins today.  Mandlik defeated No. 6 seed Sohyun Park of Korea 6-4, 6-1 and Ma beat unseeded German Eva Lys 7-5, 3-6, 7-5. Mandlik will play No. 4 seed Gergana Topalova of Bulgaria Friday in the top half, with Ma taking on unseeded Andjela Skrobonja of Serbia in the bottom half.  Top seed Margaryta Bilokin of Ukraine lost today to German wild card Mara Guth 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Last month 2017 University of Virginia graduate Alexander Ritschard won three consecutive Futures titles in Sweden.  After a two-break, Ritschard returned to the US and has now reached the quarterfinals of the $25,000 Futures at Wake Forest, beating top seed Alexander Sarkissian in today's second round 7-6(4), 6-0. The 24-year-old will face qualifier Ryan Peniston(Memphis) of Great Britain Friday, looking for his 18th straight win.  NCAA champion Petros Chrysochos of Cyprus will face Wake Forest teammate Yuval Solomon, a wild card, after Solomon surprised No. 3 seed Marcos Giron 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-0.  Eighteen-year-old Brian Shi advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 win over Felipe Mantilla of Colombia, his second Futures quarterfinal in the past two months. The Harvard recruit will face former UCLA Bruin Karue Sell of Brazil, the No. 5 seed, on Friday.

At the $25,0000 Futures in Buffalo New York, No. 5 seed Alex Rybakov and No. 4 seed Deiton Baughman are the sole Americans to reach the quarterfinals.

Sixteen-year-old Hailey Baptiste had reached the quarterfinals of the previous two $25,000 USTA Women's Pro Circuit events, and after qualifying again this week in Sumter South Carolina, Baptiste made it three quarterfinals in a row with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 3 seed Shilin Xu of China. Baptiste will play qualifier Gail Brodsky next. Ashley Lahey, Maria Mateas[6], Robin Anderson[5] and top seed Taylor Townsend are the other Americans advancing to the quarterfinals.

Former UCLA Bruin Mackenzie McDonald received a wild card into the ATP 250 in S'Hertogenbosch and he's used it to reach his first ATP quarterfinal. After a win over No. 8 seed Andreas Seppi of Italy in the first round, the 2016 NCAA singles and doubles champion defeated qualifier Alex Bolt of Australia 6-4, 7-5 today and will face unseeded Jeremy Chardy of France next. Chardy took out top seed Adrian Mannarino of France 6-4, 6-4. Currently ranked 110, McDonald is inching closer to the Top 100 with his results this week.

The USTA's Ashley Marshall has been keeping up with the young American women in the past few weeks, and he has recently spoken to the past two US girls junior slam champions: Amanda Anisimova and Coco Gauff.  Anisimova reveals her summer schedule after a fracture in her foot kept her out during the clay season in this article.  Gauff's schedule includes next week's Pro Circuit event in Baton Rouge, then it's back to the ITF Junior Circuit for the 14-year-old, who will play Roehampton and Wimbledon. For more on Gauff's win at the French Open, see this article.

Brooksby, Shi, Poling Earn Futures Wins; Maymi to Lead Nebraska's Men's Program; Chong Named D-III Honda Athlete of the Year; LTA Reveals New Performance Pathway

First round matches are complete at the two $25,000 Futures being played this week in the United States, with juniors Jenson Brooksby, Brian Shi and Karl Poling among those advancing to the second round.

TCU recruit Brooksby, the 2018 Easter Bowl ITF champion, defeated No. 2 seed and former USC star Emilio Gomez of Ecuador 6-1, 6-2 in Buffalo New York. The 17-year-old from Northern California, a qualifier, has reached a Futures quarterfinal, but this is his first main draw Futures win this year.  Wild card Karl Poling, a Princeton recruit, earned his first ATP point with his 6-3, 6-4 win over qualifier Charles Broom of Great Britain, a rising junior at Dartmouth. Ohio State rising sophomore John McNally, a wild card, also picked up a win today, beating Isaiah Strode 6-2, 6-4. Top seed Matias Descotte of Argentina lost his first round match today to Lucas Gomez of Mexico 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.

At the Wake Forest Futures, qualifier Brian Shi, a Harvard recruit, added to his ATP point total with a 6-2, 7-6(2) win over wild card Skander Mansouri of Tunisia. Shi, who reached the quarterfinals of a Futures in Mexico last month, will face unseeded Felipe Mantilla of Colombia, who defeated No. 2 seed JC Aragone 6-3, 6-7(2), 7-6(2). Wake Forest's NCAA champion Petros Chrysochos of Cyprus advanced to the second round with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Alexios Halebian.

The University of Nebraska announced its new men's head coach, with Sean Maymi, associate head coach at Michigan, taking over in Lincoln. Maymi, who worked under Bruce Berque at Michigan and returned to Ann Arbor under Adam Steinberg in 2015, takes over for Kerry McDermott, whose contract was not renewed after 37 seasons with the Cornhuskers.

Four-time NCAA singles champion Eudice Chong of Wesleyan has been named the Honda Athlete of the Year for Division III.  The Honda awards, which are given every year to the top performers in women's collegiate sports, have special awards for Division II and Division III athletes, and Chong was selected for the top honor among the 11 women winners in other sports.  For more on Chong's award, see the this release from the Collegiate Women Sports Awards website.

Great Britain's Lawn Tennis Association has announced a new development initiative, with two national academies and 11 regional development centers.  Last year LTA chief executive Michael Downey returned to the same post at Tennis Canada that he held before taking over at the LTA, where he lasted just three years.  The new LTA CEO, Scott Lloyd, is now emphasizing a more centralized approach, which I would say is the exact opposite of the direction the USTA decided to take in recent years.  For more on the new LTA system and its training centers, see this Daily Mail article.

UCLA Related News Abundant Today; Steinberg Named Women's Head Coach at Colorado; US Juniors Advance to Main Draw at Women's $25K in Sumter SC

UCLA alum Mackenzie McDonald picked up his first ATP Top 50 win today in s'Hertogenbosch, but he was not the only person with UCLA connections in the news today. The 23-year-old McDonald, who won the 2016 NCAA singles and doubles titles in his junior year and then turned pro, defeated No. 8 seed and ATP No. 49 Andres Seppi of Italy 6-4, 6-2 in the first round of the ATP 250 grass court tournament in the Netherlands.  Currently ranked 110, McDonald, who received a wild card into the tournament, will face qualifier Alex Bolt of Australian in the second round.

For reasons I've never understood, the Pac-12 men do not release their all-conference awards until weeks after the college season is over, but they were announced yesterday, with UCLA taking all of them. The all-conference selections can be found in this release.

Player of the Year: Martin Redlicki, UCLA
Doubles Team of the Year: Redlicki and Evan Zhu, UCLA
Coach of the Year: Billy Martin, UCLA
Freshman of the Year: Keegan Smith, UCLA

For rundown of many other Division I conference award winners, see my post from last month.

Former UCLA associate head coach Grant Chen spoke with Rhiannon Potkey of Tennis Recruiting Network about his new position as head men's coach at SMU for this feature.

And Caroline Dolehide, whose older sister Courtney played on the 2014 UCLA National Championship team, talked with Ashley Marshall of USTA about her climb up the WTA rankings and how close she was to following in her sister's footsteps to UCLA.

In Pac-12 news not involving the Bruins, Danielle Steinberg was named women's head coach at the University of Colorado.  Steinberg, who played at Arizona, was the head coach at Kansas State for four years.  Her alma mater also had a women's head coaching vacancy, but Steinberg is headed to Boulder rather than Tucson.  She replaces Nicole Kenneally, who retired after 19 seasons last month.

Qualifying is complete at the $25,000 USTA Women's Pro Circuit tournament in Sumter South Carolina, with juniors Hailey Baptiste, Abigail Forbes and Nicole Mossmer winning final round matches today. They are joined by three other Americans: University of Florida freshman McCartney Kessler, Gail Brodsky and Rhiannon Newborn (Baylor).

The top seed in the tournament is Taylor Townsend, who will face recent Vanderbilt graduate Astra Sharma of Australia Wednesday. Wild cards were awarded to Alexa Graham(UNC), Elysia Bolton(UCLA recruit), Emma Navarro(Duke recruit) and Ashley Weinhold. NCAA finalist Ashley Lahey of Pepperdine is also in the draw.

Les Petits As and UTR Announce Partnership; French Open Champion Tseng Takes Over Top Spot in ITF Junior Boys Rankings, Gauff, McNally Move Up; Qualifying Complete at both $25K Men's Futures in US

Les Petits As and UTR Powered by Oracle today announced a partnership, with the prestigious 14-and-under international tournament in Tarbes France using the tennis rating system to "evaluate all players and establish draws." This is an important development which should help both entities, with Les Petits As now having a system that will assist them in evaluating young players in all nations, not just those with strong federations or circuits. I know, from my many years covering the 12s and 14s at Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl, how difficult it is to evaluate the skill levels of players who often don't have many results, and while some federations have a good handle on it, others do not, often because the players in question train outside their country.  This partnership will also help UTR in getting more countries to use their system; with a top international junior tournament now requiring it, they can't afford to ignore it. 

The article on the partnership, with quotes from UTR CEO Mark Leschly and Les Petits As officials, is here.

A recent Les Petits As champion, 2015 boys champion Chun Hsin Tseng of Taiwan, is now the No. 1 in the ITF junior rankings after his title Saturday at the French Open.  Tseng, who also reached the doubles final, replaces Argentina's Sebastian Baez, who lost to Tseng in the French Open boys final.

Girls champion Coco Gauff moved up to No. 3 in the girls rankings, with Whitney Osuigwe staying No. 1, even though she hasn't played a junior event all year.  Her lead is slim now, but all big tournaments she played and won last fall are keeping her at the top.  Singles finalist and doubles champion Caty McNally has moved up 21 spots to No. 15, a career high.  Quarterfinalist Brandon Nakashima also improved his ranking with his results in Paris, and he is now No. 30.  Sebastian Korda(3) and Tristan Boyer(10) remain in the Top 10, as does Alexa Noel(6).

Exactly 20 percent of the top 100 in the ITF junior girls rankings are from the United States this week.

After a long absence, men's action on the USTA Pro Circuit returns this week with two $25,000 Futures, in Buffalo New York, and, in the Collegiate series, at Wake Forest, with qualifying completed today at both events. 

Seventeen-year-old Adam Neff, who has struggled with injuries the past several years, will make his Pro Circuit debut in Buffalo after three qualifying wins. Other Americans qualifying in Buffalo are Easter Bowl champion Jenson Brooksby, a TCU recruit, Jordi Arconada (Texas A&M) and Patrick Daciek (Virginia Tech).  Wild cards were given to junior Eliot Spizzirri, Karl Poling, a Princeton recruit, John McNally (Ohio State) and local pro Marcus Fugate.  The top seed is Matias Descotte of Argentina.

Qualifiers at Wake Forest include Americans Trevor Johnson(TCU), Aleksandar Kovacevic(Illinois), Gage Brymer(UCLA), Michael Redlicki(Arkansas) and Harvard recruit Brian Shi.  Alexander Sarkissian(Pepperdine) is the top seed, with all of the wild cards going to Wake Forest players: Yuval Solomon, Bar Botzer, Julian Zlobinsky and Skander Mansouri.  The last two NCAA singles champions are in the field: 2018's Petros Chrysochos, the Wake Forest rising senior, and 2017's Thai Kwiatkowski, the Virginia graduate. 

Min and Riske Claim Pro Circuit Titles; Khan, Benabraham Sweep ITF Junior Events in El Salvador and Ecuador; Stotland Named Women's Head Coach at Arizona

Grace Min returned to the United States after qualifying for the French Open and losing to Camila Giorgi of Italy in the first round. Today she won her first title of the year at the $25,000 USTA Women's Pro Circuit event in Bethany Beach Delaware.  Min, the No. 1 seed, defeated one of the top American clay court players, Katerina Stewart, seeded No. 3, 6-4, 6-2. There were seven breaks of serve in the first set's ten games, but Min managed to hold twice to take it. The 24-year-old from Georgia ran out to a 5-1 lead in the second set, and although she couldn't serve it out, she broke the 20-year-old from Florida for the seventh time to get the win. 

The doubles title went to unseeded wild cards Robin Anderson and Maegan Manasse, who defeated No. 2 seeds Quinn Gleason and Sanaz Marand  2-6, 7-6(6), 10-3 in the all-USA final. It's Anderson's third and Manasse's second career doubles title on the Pro Circuit, and their first as a team.

Alison Riske won her first title since 2016 today in England, with the No. 2 seed defeating unseeded Conny Perrin of Switzerland 6-2, 6-4 in the final at the $100,000 ITF Women's Circuit tournament in Surbiton.  Riske, who has always had good results on grass, did not drop a set this week.

In addition to the success this weekend in Paris for the US girls, two other young Americans swept titles at less glamorous tournaments on this side of the Atlantic.  Sixteen-year-old Zane Khan won both singles and doubles at the ITF Grade 4 in El Salvador, and 14-year-old Daniella Benabraham won both draws at the Grade 5 in Ecuador. 

The top-seeded Khan, who must have entered late, because he came through qualifying, won his third ITF Junior Circuit singles title with a 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 2 seed Niroop Vallabhaneni.  Khan and Vallabhaneni, the top seeds, won the doubles title with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over No. 3 seeds Rafael De Alva Valdez of Mexico and Juan Dominguez Collado of Guatemala.  Dakota Fordham won the girls doubles title with Lauren Anzalotta of Puerto Rico, with the No. 1 seeds defeating No. 4 seeds Remika Ohashi of Japan and Mell Reasco Gonzalez of Ecuador 6-4, 6-3 in the final.

Benabraham, playing in just her third ITF Junior Circuit tournament and the first outside the United States, was unseeded in Ecuador, but she didn't lose more than three games in any set in her five victories. The New Yorker, who won the 16s USTA Level 2 in Grand Rapids I covered last month, defeated No. 3 seed Ana Jimenez Coello of Ecuador 6-2, 6-3 in the final.  Benabraham also won her first Junior Circuit doubles title, partnering with Petra Miszczak of Canada. They defeated another unseeded team, Brazil's Ana Candiotto and Juliana Munhoz, 7-6(4), 6-0 in the final.

The University of Arizona filled its women's head coaching vacancy with Ryan Stotland named to the position last night. Stotland was an assistant at Arizona from 2008-2012 under Vicky Maes, who left the program after going 0-10 in Pac-12 play this season.  Stotland returns to Tucson after six seasons as head women's coach at Fresno State.  For more on his hiring, see this article.