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Fratangelo, Price Capture USTA Singles Titles

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Bjorn Fratangelo of Pittsburgh, and Caroline Price of Duluth, Ga., captured the USTA Boys’ and Girls’ 18s National Clay Court Championships singles titles Sunday at the Delray Beach Tennis Center in Delray Beach, Fla., and the Racquet Club of Memphis (Tenn.), respectively.

The nation’s top junior tennis players competed in eight USTA National Championships across the country last week. The winners of the USTA Boys’ and Girls’ 18s events will each be invited back to the sites of their tournaments for pro events next year. Fratangelo will receive a wild card entry into the qualifying draw of the 2011 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, and Price will be given a wild card into the qualifying draw at the 2011 Cellular South Cup.

Fratangelo, who turned 17 during the event, entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed and solidified his ranking as the No. 1 player in the USTA Boys’ 18s National Standings. After capturing last year’s Boys’ 16s National Clay Court title, he defeated unseeded Alexios Halebian, a 16-year-old from Glendale, Calif., who trains full time at the USTA Training Center Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., 6-4, 7-5, in this year’s 18s final. Fratangelo partnered with Nathan Pasha of Atlanta to reach the doubles final as well, but the team lost to top seeds Emmett Egger of Issaquah, Wash., and Shane Vinsant of Keller, Texas.

Price, 17, the daughter of former NBA star Mark Price, was seeded No. 13, and defeated local favorite Catherine Harrison of Germantown, Tenn., in the semifinals before upsetting top-seed Whitney Kay of Alpharetta, Ga., 6-3, 6-3, in the final. This marked the first 18s championship for Price, who swept the girls’ 16s titles at the 2009 Easter Bowl, teaming with Kay to win the doubles title.

Highlights from other USTA National Junior Clay Court Championships

No. 8 seed Michael Redlicki, 16 of Hawthorn Woods, Ill., won the first national title of his career at the USTA Boys’ 16s National Clay Court Championships. Redlicki came from a set down to defeat No. 5 Gordon Watson of Naples, Fla., 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, in the final.

After reaching the singles final at a USTA National Championship in each of the last three years, top-seeded Daniel Kerznerman, 14, of Brooklyn, N.Y., broke through at the USTA Boys’ 14s National Clay Court Championships in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Kerznerman beat No. 9 Benjamin Tso of Lexington, Mass., 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. Kerznerman, who trains full-time at the USTA Training Center Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., also reached the doubles final.

In a match featuring two 12-year-olds from Bradenton, Fla., Tornado Ali Black beat Maria Shishkina 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(4), to win the USTA Girls’ 14s National Clay Court Championships in Plantation, Fla. The win gave Black her second national title, and helped avenge a loss to Shishkina in the girls’ 12s final of the Eddie Herr International in November.

Below is the complete list of championship results from this week’s USTA National Clay Court Championships. The complete draws are available on www.usta.com.

USTA Boys’ 18s National Clay Court Championships Delray Beach Tennis Center, Delray Beach, Fla., July 18-25 Singles: (1) Bjorn Fratangelo, Pittsburgh, d. Alexios Halebian, Glendale, Calif., 6-4, 7-5. Doubles: (1) Emmett Egger, Issaquah, Wash., and Shane Vinsant, Keller, Texas, d. (2) Bjorn Fratangelo, Pittsburgh, and Nathan Pasha, Atlanta, 6-0, 3-2, Ret.

USTA Girls’ 18s National Clay Court Championships The Racquet Club of Memphis, Memphis, Tenn., July 18-25 Singles: (13) Caroline Price, Duluth, Ga., d. (1) Whitney Kay, Alpharetta, Ga., 6-3, 6-3. Doubles: Breaunna Addison, Boca Raton, Fla., and Kelsey Laurente, Miramar, Fla., d. (7) Katie Goepel, Chatham, N.J., and Blair Shankle, Comfort, Texas, 6-1, 6-1.

USTA Boys’ 16s National Clay Court Championships Delray Beach Tennis Center, Delray Beach, Fla., July 18-25 Singles: (8) Michael Redlicki, Hawthorn Woods, Ill., d. (5) Gordon Watson, Naples, Fla., 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Doubles: (6) Anthony Delcore, Omaha, Neb., and Mihir Kumar, Carmel, Ind., d. (3) Richard Del Nunzio, Forest Hills, N.Y., and Thomas Pura, Pacific Palisades, Calif., 7-6, 6-4.

USTA Girls’ 16s National Clay Court Championships Virginia Beach Tennis & Country Club, Virginia Beach, Va., July 18-25 Singles: Hayley Carter, Columbia, S.C., d. (3) Jamie Loeb, Ossining, N.Y., 6-3, 3-6, 6-0. Doubles: (4) Kourtney Keegan, Roswell, Ga., and Hannah King, Dunwoody, Ga., d. (3) Jamie Loeb, Ossining, N.Y., and Leighann Sahagun, Queens Village, N.Y., 6-0, 6-3.

USTA Boys’ 14s National Clay Court Championships Jimmy Evert Tennis Center, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., July 18-25 Singles: (1) Daniel Kerznerman, Brooklyn, N.Y., d. (9) Benjamin Tso, Lexington, Mass., 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. Doubles: (5) Taiyo Hamanaka, Eastchester, N.Y., and Aron Hiltzik, Wilmette, Ill., d. (3) Christian Garay, Columbus, Ga., and Daniel Kerznerman, Brooklyn, N.Y., 7-6(6), 6-4.

USTA Girls’ 14s National Clay Court Championships Frank Veltri Tennis Center, Plantation, Fla., July 18-25 Singles: Tornado Ali Black, Bradenton, Fla., d. (14) Maria Shishkina, Bradenton, Fla., 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(4). Doubles: (1) Katrine Steffensen, Scarsdale, N.Y., and Taylor Townsend, Stockbridge, Ga., d. (2) Mariana Gould, Boise, Idaho, and Gabrielle Smith, Henderson, Nev., 7-5, 6-3.

USTA Boys’ 12s National Clay Court Championships Hanes Park, Winston-Salem, N.C., July 18-25 Singles: (3) Anudeep Kodali, Raleigh, N.C., d. (7) Nathan Ponwith, Scottsdale, Ariz., 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(6). Doubles: (2) Robert Levine, Bedford, N.Y., and Nathan Ponwith, Scottsdale, Ariz., d. (1) Anudeep Kodali, Raleigh, N.C., and Abhin Sharma, Alpharetta, Ga., 6-4, 6-4.

USTA Girls’ 12s National Clay Court Championships Polo Club of Boca Raton, Boca Raton, Fla., July 18-25 Singles: (6) Cristina Rovira, Port St. Lucie, Fla., d. Sofia Kenin, Pembroke Pines, Fla., 6-2, 7-5. Doubles: (10) Kenya Jones, Memphis, Tenn., and Kaitlyn McCarthy, Cary, N.C., d. (6) Jada Hart, Colton, Calif., and Maddie Pothoff, Tucson, Ariz., 0-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Posted on July 26, 2010
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