By Marcia Frost
BERKELEY, Calif. -- The only thing that was dependable Monday was the weather (warm and sunny yet again), as seeds fell and others struggled to keep their place in the draw at the Berkeley Tennis Club and the Claremont Resort & Spa.
There were no problems for the top six seeds, as all advanced in straight sets. After defeating Kara Kucin (Belleair, FL), top-seeded Kristie Ahn (Upper Saddle River, NJ) admitted to having “first-round jitters” and was glad she was able to get that first match “out of the way so I can move on.”
Defending champion Gail Brodsky (Brooklyn, NY), the second seed, returned to Berkeley after a year of professional circuit events rather than juniors. “It’s very exciting,” she said, “It’s different (this year) because I don’t know many of the players and don't know what to expect.” It didn’t seem to affect her, as she looked pretty solid in her win over Mia Lancaster (Edmond, OK).
Seventh-seeded Jacqueline Cako (Brier, WA) fell to Kaitlyn Christian in straight sets. There were also three of the 17-32 seeds eliminated from the draw. Bryann Boren (Laguna Niguel, CA) defeated Nida Hamilton (Oak Brook, IL) in a short match compared to the three-and-a-half-hour marathon between Hanna Yu (Northbrook, IL) and Kate Fuller (Suwanee, GA), with Yu prevailing.
In another three-setter, Olivia Janowicz (Palm Bay, FL) beat Whitney Ritchie (Oklahoma City, OK). Though Janowicz admitted starting out shaky against the player she called “very consistent and a good mover,” she felt she was able to “figure her out and get into it better mentally.”
Some other lower seeds who survived scares on Monday included Blair Seideman (Glen Head, NY) (17-32), who just made it past Shelby Rogers (Daniel Island, SC), 7-5,7-6 (1); Mallory Burdette (Jackson, GA) (9), who ended up going the distance, even though she shut out the first set over Arienna Colffer (Corona, CA); and Hanna Mar (Burr Ridge, IL) (17-32), who needed a breaker in the final set over Michelle Kedzierski (St. Louis, MO). Thirteenth-seeded Julia Boserup (Boca Raton, FL) was forced to withdraw due to illness.
Dorothy Tang (Arcadia, CA), the youngest player in the tournament who turns 14 on Wednesday, ended her time in the main draw with a second-round loss to Jamie Yapp-Shing (Miami, FL), 7-5,6-2. Her dad said they chose to play the 18s “because I just wanted to improve her.” He also added that they played the 16s last year and “wanted to come to a different place. We have never been to Berkeley, and we wanted to check it out. It's very nice, and we are looking forward to spending time in (nearby) San Francisco.”
The only upset in doubles was Caroline Price (Duluth, GA) and Katherine White (Columbus, GA) over ninth-seeded Gabriella De Simone (Rancho Santa Fe, CA) and Stephanie Hoffpauir (Escondido, CA) (9-16), 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Despite pulling a stomach muscle in singles, fifth-seeded Lauren Herring (Greenville, NC) served under-handed, and she and partner Grace Min (Duluth, GA) advanced over Samantha Adams (New Braunfels, TX) and Ariel Morton (Houston, TX), 6-4, 6-2.
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Click on the links below for complete results and draws from all USTA National Championship tournaments:
Boys' 16s, 18s - Kalamazoo, Mich.
Boys' 14s - San Antonio, Texas
Boys' 12s - N. Little Rock, Ark.
Girls' 18s - Berkeley, Calif.
Girls' 16s - San Diego
Girls' 14s - Peachtree City, Ga.
Girls' 12s - Alpharetta, Ga.