TAYLOR TOWNSEND, MACKENZIE MCDONALD CAPTURE GIRLS’ AND BOYS’ SINGLES TITLES AT ITF EASTER BOWL

Written by: Staff on 16th April 2012

TAYLOR TOWNSEND, MACKENZIE MCDONALD CAPTURE GIRLS' AND BOYS' SINGLES TITLES AT ITF EASTER BOWL |

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., April 16, 2012 – Taylor Townsend of Stockbridge, Ga., captured the girls’ 18s singles title at the 2012 Easter Bowl ITF Tennis Championships on Saturday, and Mackenzie McDonald of Piedmont, Calif., won the boys’ 18s title on Sunday. Both Townsend (16) and McDonald (17) celebrate birthdays today, and will receive wild cards into a USTA Pro Circuit event as well as to the US Open Junior Championships (if needed). Many of the nation’s top junior tennis players competed in the Easter Bowl and six other USTA Spring National Championships, the first major national junior championships of 2012, in Rancho Mirage, Calif., and Delray Beach, Fla., last week.

Townsend, the event’s top seed and reigning Australian Open girls’ champion, was forced to play both her semifinal and final matches on one day due to inclement weather. She defeated unseeded Mayo Hibi of Irvine, Calif., 7-6(0), 6-4, in the semifinals, and came from a set down to beat unseeded Brooke Austin of Indianapolis 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, in the final. Townsend also reached the doubles final with partner Gabrielle Andrews of Pomona, Calif., but retired in the first set after spending five hours on court during her singles matches. Floridians Samantha Crawford and Alexandra Kiick, both of whom train full-time at the USTA Training Center Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., took the doubles title.

McDonald, who reached the boys’ semifinals at the 2012 Australian Open, entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed and defeated No. 4 seed Alexios Halebian of Glendale, Calif., 6-4, 6-1, to capture his first national singles title since winning the USTA Boys’ 14s Spring National title in 2009. Halebian, who trains full-time at the USTA Training Center Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., won the doubles title with partner Mitchell Krueger of Aledo, Texas.

Current professionals who own Easter Bowl/USTA Spring National titles include: Christina McHale (18s, 2009); Melanie Oudin (18s, 2008), Donald Young (18s, 2004 and ‘06); Sam Querrey (16s, 2004; 18s, 2005), Robby Ginepri (18s, 2000), and Andy Roddick (16s, 1998).

Highlights from other USTA Spring National Championships include:

Joseph Di Giulio, a 16-year-old from Newport Beach, Calif., swept the boys’ 16s singles and doubles titles in Rancho Mirage. He beat No. 9 seed Aron Hiltzik of Wilmette, Ill., 7-5, 6-1, in the singles final, and teamed with Logan Smith of Carlsbad, Calif., to win the doubles title.

William Blumberg, 14, of Greenwich, Conn., upset No. 2 seed Kyle Seelig of Hatfield, Pa., 6-2, 6-1, to win the boys’ 14s singles title in Rancho Mirage, and teamed with Brian Tsao of Sparks Glencoe, Md., to upset the top-seeded team in the doubles final.

Sangeet Sridhar, a 12-year-old from Simi Valley, Calif., defeated No. 5 seed Ryan Seggerman of Coronado, Calif., 6-4, 6-1, to win his first career national title at the the boys’ 12s event in Delray Beach, and teamed with Timothy Sah of San Diego to capture the doubles title.

Below is the complete list of championship results from last week’s Easter Bowl and USTA Spring National Championships. The complete draws are available on www.usta.com.

The Easter Bowl ITF Tennis Championships

Rancho Las Palmas Tennis Country Club, Rancho Mirage, Calif., April 9-15

Singles: (3) Mackenzie McDonald, Piedmont, Calif., d. (4) Alexios Halebian, Glendale, Calif., 6-4, 6-1.

Doubles: (1) Alexios Halebian, Glendale, Calif., and Mitchell Krueger, Aledo, Texas, d. Jordan Daigle, Lafayette, La., and Austin Siegel, Tarrytown, N.Y., 6-2, 6-7(3), [10-7].

The Easter Bowl ITF Tennis Championships

Rancho Las Palmas Tennis Country Club, Rancho Mirage, Calif., April 9-15

Singles: (1) Taylor Townsend, Stockbridge, Ga., d. Brooke Austin, Indianapolis, 4-6, 6-0, 6-3.

Doubles: (3) Samantha Crawford, Tamarac, Fla., and Alexandra Kiick, Plantation, Fla., d. (1) Gabrielle Andrews, Pomona, Calif., and Taylor Townsend, Stockbridge, Ga., 3-1, Ret.

USTA Boys’ 16s Spring National Championships

Rancho Las Palmas Tennis Country Club, Rancho Mirage, Calif., April 8-15

Singles: (12) Joseph Di Giulio, Newport Beach, Calif., d. (9) Aron Hiltzik, Wilmette, Ill., 7-5, 6-1.

Doubles: (5) Joseph Di Giulio, Newport Beach, Calif., and Logan Smith, Carlsbad, Calif., d. Jake Devine, Boca Raton, Fla., and Cameron Klinger, San Jose, Calif., 6-3, 6-3.

USTA Girls’ 16s Spring National Championships

Rancho Las Palmas Tennis Country Club, Rancho Mirage, Calif., April 8-15

Singles: (8) Brooke Broda, West Chester, Ohio, d. Meredith Xepoleas, Huntington Beach, Calif., 6-3, 6-1.

Doubles: (6) Alexis Pereira, San Gabriel, Calif., and Elizabeth Profit, Bellflower, Calif., d. (1) Shannon Hudson, Virginia Beach, Va., and Olivia Sneed, Prairie Village, Kan., 6-2, 7-5.

USTA Boys’ 14s Spring National Championships

Rancho Las Palmas Tennis Country Club, Rancho Mirage, Calif., April 8-15

Singles: (14) William Blumberg, Greenwich, Conn., d. (2) Kyle Seelig, Hatfield, Pa, 6-2, 6-1.

Doubles: (8) William Blumberg, Greenwich, Conn., and Brian Tsao, Sparks Glencoe, Md., d. (1) Anudeep Kodali, Durham, N.C., and Johnathan Small, Midland, Mich., 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

USTA Girls’ 14s Spring National Championships

Rancho Las Palmas Tennis Country Club, Rancho Mirage, Calif., April 8-15

Singles: (1) Emma Higuchi, Los Angeles, d. (17) Catherine Bellis, Atherton, Calif., 6-4, 6-4.

Doubles: (8) Sofia Kenin, Pembroke Pines, Fla., and Parris Todd, Irvine, Calif., d. (1) Helen Altick, Monroe, La., and Catherine Bellis, Atherton, Calif., 6-2, 7-5.

USTA Boys’ 12s Spring National Championships

Delray Beach Tennis Center, Delray Beach, Fla., April 8-13

Singles: (4) Sangeet Sridhar, Simi Valley, Calif., d. (5) Ryan Seggerman, Coronado, Calif., 6-4, 6-1.

Doubles: (4) Timothy Sah, San Diego, and Sangeet Sridhar, Simi Valley, Calif., d. (3) Trent Bryde, Suwanee, Ga., and Boris Kozlov, Pembroke Pines, Fla., 6-0, 6-7, 6-0.

USTA Girls’ 12s Spring National Championships

Delray Beach Tennis Center, Delray Beach, Fla., April 8-13

Singles: (1) Nicole Conrad, Boca Raton, Fla., d. (13) Rachel Papavasilopoulos, Boca Raton, Fla., 6-4, 6-2.

Doubles: (4) Danielle Quevedo, Tyler, Texas, and Emily Thomas, Cincinnati, d. Sasha Belaya, Melbourne, Fla., and Emma Decoste, Stuart, Fla., 6-3, 6-3.