Full Day of Action at 44th Annual Easter Bowl

Written by: Staff on 12th April 2011

Full Day of Action at 44th Annual Easter Bowl |

Reigning girls’ 14s Easter Bowl champion Gabrielle Andrews won her opening match 6-3, 6-2 in the ITF girls’ 18s division over Rianna Valdes on Monday at the prestigious 44^th annual Easter Bowl USTA Junior Spring National Championships taking place at the Rancho Las Palmas Resort.

At just 14 years of age, Andrews made the leap into the girls’ 18s this year and is enjoying the challenge of playing against better competition.

“It’s a big difference because the opponents are much smarter,” said Andrews, of Pomona, Calif., the No. 9 seeded player here but who finished 2010 as the No. 1 18s player in the USTA rankings.

Despite a fairly easy first-round victory, Andrews understands she has to maintain her concentration against more experienced players.

“I have to focus more and not give out free points,” Andrews said. “The girls at this level will take advantage of your mistakes.”

In the upset of the day, New Jersey native Akiko Okuda defeated No. 2 seed Christina Makarova of San Diego, 7-6 (5), 6-2 in another girls’ 18s first-round match.

“It’s a big victory for me, Okuda said. “She did a good job of getting the balls back but I was patient and went for my shots.”

Also winning girls’ 18s matches on Monday were top-seeded Grace Min, No. 3 seeded Lauren Herring and and No. 4 Stephanie Nauta. The 2009 14s runner-up Julia Elbaba, the No. 5 seed, beat Madison Craft, 6-1, 6-2.

In another equally big upset as Okuda’s on the girls’ side, Yuki Chiang of Ojai, the 16s champion in Carson last week, was upset by No. 17-32 seed Kimmy Guerin 6-4, 6-4.

On the boys’ side in one of the many thrilling matches of the day, Joshua Yablon of Manhattan, N.Y., overcame three match points to defeat Michael Kay of Alpharetta, Ga., 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (6). Yablon was down 5-3 in the third set and rallied back to force the tiebreak.

“He (Kay) was playing really well and I had to fight for every point and luckily I was able to bounce back,” Yablon said.

In the tiebreak, Yablon fell behind 3-1 before taking command offensively to win seven out of the next 10 points. “After being down in the tiebreak I just knew I had to be the aggressor to have any chance of winning the match and I was able to pull through by using my serve and forehand,” he said.

To keep up with all the Easter Bowl news, visit the website at www.easterbowl.com and check out the tournament on Facebook and Twitter (@easterbowl).