North Carolina, California Winners @USTA 14U Junior Team Tennis at National Championships
Wilmington, N.C. and Southern California team from San Diego, Calif. claim intermediate and advanced titles
CAYCE, S.C (Oct. 21, 2013) — Two teams were crowned Sunday at the 2013 USTA Jr. Team Tennis 14U National Championships, held at the Cayce Tennis and Fitness Center in Cayce, S.C., Oct. 18 – 20. A team from Wilmington, N.C., representing the USTA Southern Section, captured the Intermediate Division title while a team from San Diego, Calif., representing USTA Southern California, earned the Advanced title.
The 2013 USTA Jr. Team Tennis 14U National Championships brought together the top 32 teams at the Advance and Intermediate level from various USTA Sections throughout the country.
“This week featured a fun group of really enthusiastic kids,” said Adrienne Di Menna, USTA Jr. Team Tennis National Manager. “We crowned two brand-new national champions, yet the biggest win was seeing how the teams interacted with one another and established friendships. With technology and social media being what it is today, we think it’s awesome that we have players from different sections staying in touch long after they’ve left South Carolina. I think they all realize that we’re part of one big national team, trying to grow this sport.”
The Wilmington team, defeated a team from San Diego, Calif., 56 games to 44 in the Championship match. Earlier in the tournament, they defeated a team from Oklahoma City, Ok. 50-34 in the semifinals.
The team is coached by Lauren Isenhour and Jon Ingham and features: Keegan Bigoness, Lila Das, Lexi Lampkin, PJ Middleton, Taylor Walicki, Patrick Senior, Holland Baynard, Kara Ferner, Eddie Janosko, Robert Schuett and Westley Gaines.
“This is huge for them, this has been a goal that they’ve had for over a year now, talking about it every week at practice,” said Isenhour, of her squad that just missed Nationals last season. “Our team has worked so hard for this moment right here, so we’re really proud of them.”
The San Diego team, defeated a team from Providence, R.I., 50 games to 37 in the Championship match. Earlier in the tournament, they defeated a team from Ocean Springs, Ms., 56-34 in the semifinals.
The team is coached by Solomon Liu and features: Jennifer Kerr, Julia Ronney, Andrew Hu, Robert Liu, Kiev Moores, Nicholas Appel, Timothy Sah, Ryan Seggerman, Nicole Mossme and Olia Javidi.
“There’ll be a huge party when we get back home that’s going to be off the hook,” said Coach Liu. He and his team of 10 from San Diego were experiencing their first Jr. Team Tennis National Championship. “It was a fantastic experience. There’s no guarantees going forward, so to do this in the first year is special. Some of our kids are aging out [in the 14 & Under division], but we’ll try to come back in a few years and win it all in the 18s.”
—S. Houseknecht
