TAYLOR TOWNSEND, LOUISA CHIRICO & GABRIELLE ANDREWS CAPTURE JUNIOR FED CUP TITLE FOR U.S.

Written by: Staff on 1st October 2012

TAYLOR TOWNSEND, LOUISA CHIRICO & GABRIELLE ANDREWS CAPTURE JUNIOR FED CUP TITLE FOR U.S.

Junior Davis & Fed Cup Barcelona 2012 Medal ceremony Barcelona, 30.09.2012. foto: Srdjan Stevanovic |

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., October 1, 2012 – The USTA announced today that the U.S. Junior Fed Cup team of Taylor Townsend (Stockbridge, Ga.), Louisa Chirico (Harrison, N.Y.) and Gabrielle Andrews (Pomona, Calif.) captured the championship at the Junior Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Final on Sunday in Barcelona, Spain, defeating Russia, 3-0, in the final. This is the second title for the U.S. in the 16-and-under version of Fed Cup, both coming in the last five years.

The U.S. Junior Davis Cup team of Noah Rubin (Rockville Centre, N.Y.), Stefan Kozlov (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and Jared Donaldson (Cumberland, R.I.) took third place in the Junior Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Final, defeating France, 2-0, in the third-place match-up (doubles not played).

Of the 11 nations with teams competing in both Junior Davis Cup and Junior Fed Cup, only the United States finished in the top three of each event. Overall, 21 nations were represented across the two events.

“We’re extremely proud of our juniors and what they accomplished this past week against the world’s toughest competition and the job that Kathy and Nicolas did as coaches,” said General Manager, USTA Player Development Patrick McEnroe. “It was a tremendous week, especially for the girls, and the results are certainly encouraging for the future of both these players and American tennis.”

The top-seeded U.S. Junior Fed Cup Team, captained by USTA National Coach Kathy Rinaldi, went 14-0 in singles and doubles matches throughout the 16-nation World Final. Townsend, 16, ranked No. 1 among all players 18 and younger in the ITF World Junior rankings, went 5-0 in singles, and partnered with Andrews, 15, to win all four of their doubles matches. Chirico, 16, who trains at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., did not lose a set in going 5-0 in singles play.

The U.S. Junior Fed Cup team defeated Spain, Korea and Egypt in group play, all by a 3-0 score, and dropped Brazil, the third-place finisher, 2-0, in the semifinal (doubles not played). The 14-0 match record for the U.S. replicates the performance by the 2008 U.S Junior Fed Cup championship team, which included Sloane Stephens and Christina McHale.

The U.S. Junior Davis Cup team, captained by USTA National Coach Nicolas Todero, achieved its best finish since winning its second Junior Davis Cup title in 2008. The U.S., the No. 1 seed in the 16-nation field, defeated Brazil, Japan and Russia in group play before falling to Australia, the runner-up to champion Italy, in the semifinal.

Rubin, 16, and Kozlov, 14, each went 4-1 in singles play, their only losses coming against Australia. Donaldson, 15, paired with Kozlov, the youngest player in the entire Junior Davis Cup field, to go 2-0 in doubles matches, while he and Rubin fell to Brazil in their only doubles match together.

The U.S. qualified for the Junior Davis Cup and Junior Fed Cup World Finals by going undefeated in the North/Central America and Caribbean Regional Championships in April.

Former U.S. junior international team members include James Blake, Jennifer Capriati, Michael Chang, Jim Courier, Lindsay Davenport, Mardy Fish, Lisa Raymond, Andy Roddick, Sloane Stephens and Christina McHale.