New York’s Jamie Loeb Captures Girls 18s Singles and Doubles Titles at Winter Nationals
Sixteen-year-old Jamie Loeb of Ossining, N.Y. swept the Girls 18s Singles and Doubles Titles at the 2011 USTA 18s Winter National Championships, and 17-year-old Jared Hiltzik of Wilmette, Ill., won the boys’ 18s title on Monday. Many of the nation’s top junior tennis players competed in eight USTA National Championships, the last major national junior championships of 2011, in five cities in Arizona last week.
Loeb, the event’s number five seed, defeated second-seeded Mayo Hibi of Irvine, Calif., 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, in the Girls18s Final in Mesa, Ariz., and teamed with Madeline Lipp of Lake Forest, Ill., to win the doubles title. She dropped just two sets in seven matches en route to the title. The win gives Loeb her second USTA Winter National title in as many years after winning the Girls 16s Title in 2010.
Hiltzik entered the tournament as the number two seed and defeated top-seeded Kristofer Yee of Las Vegas, 6-2, 6-3, to capture his first career national singles title in Phoenix. Hiltzik dropped just one set, in a tie-break in his fourth round match, en route to the title. He will enroll at the University of Illinois in the fall.
Current professionals who own USTA Winter National titles include: Christina McHale (12s, 2004); Donald Young (14s, 2002); Alexa Glatch (14s, 2002); and Jack Sock (12s, 2004, and 16s, 2008).
Highlights from other USTA Winter National Championships include:
►Paul Oosterbaan, a 16-year-old from Kalamazoo, Mich., became the first junior from the Kalamazoo area (the longtime home of the USTA Boys’ 18s National Hardcourt Championships) to win a USTA national title at the USTA Boys’ 16s Winter National Championships in Scottsdale, Ariz. Oosterbaan, the number five seed, beat 12th seeded Marshall Sharp of Memphis, Tenn., 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, in the final.
►Third-seeded Jessica Ho of Wexford, Pa., who turns 15 on Jan. 5, continued her strong play in December, defeating the 12-seed Allison Miller of Norcross, Ga., 6-2, 7-6(3), in the girls’ 16s final in Tempe, Ariz., to win her first career national singles title. Ho reached the girls’ 16s quarterfinals at both the Eddie Herr and the Orange Bowl last month. Prior to reaching the singles final, Miller teamed with fellow Georgian Lindsey Hodge of Roswell to win the doubles title.
►Thirteen-year-old Francis Tiafoe of College Park, Md., swept the singles and doubles titles at the USTA Boys’ 14s Winter National Championships in Tucson, Ariz. Tiafoe, the top seed in both the singles and doubles draws, beat the number four seed Michael Genender of Los Angeles, 7-6(4), 6-2, in the singles final, and partnered with Chase Colton of Davie, Fla., to win the doubles title. Tiafoe reached the semifinals at both premier international 14-and-under events–Les Petits As in France and the AEGON Junior International in England, in January of 2011.
Below is the complete list of championship results from last week’s USTA Winter National Championships.
USTA Boys 18s Winter National Championships
Phoenix Tennis Center, Phoenix, Ariz., Dec. 27-Jan. 2
►Singles: (2) Jared Hiltzik, Wilmette, Ill., d. (1) Kristofer Yee, Las Vegas, 6-2, 6-3.
►Doubles: (6) Nolan Paige, Fairfield, Conn., and Aaron Revzin, Needham, Mass., d. George Goldhoff, Woodlands, Texas, and Erik Nordahl, Eden Prairie, Minn., 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.
USTA Girls 18s Winter National Championships
Gene Autry Tennis Center, Mesa, Ariz., Dec. 27-Jan. 2
►Singles: (5) Jamie Loeb, Ossining, N.Y., d. (2) Mayo Hibi, Irvine, Calif., 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
►Doubles: (2) Madeline Lipp, Lake Forest, Ill., and Jamie Loeb, Ossining, N.Y., d. (1) Ashley Dai, Temple City, Calif., and Kourtney Keegan, Roswell, Ga., 6-2, 6-4.
USTA Boys 16s Winter National Championships
Scottsdale Ranch Park, Scottsdale, Ariz., Dec. 27-Jan. 2
►Singles: (2) Paul Oosterbaan, Kalamazoo, Mich., d. (12) Marshall Sharp, Memphis, Tenn., 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
►Doubles: (5) Nicholas Crystal, Waccabuc, N.Y., and Chase Perez-Blanco, Miami, d. Eduardo Nava, Woodland Hills, Calif., and Javier Restrepo, Miami, 6-4, 6-3.
USTA Girls 16s Winter National Championships
Kiwanis Recreation Center, Tempe, Ariz., Dec. 27-Jan. 2
►Singles: (3) Jessica Ho, Wexford, Pa., d. (12) Allison Miller, Norcross, Ga., 6-2, 7-6(3).
►Doubles: (5) Lindsey Hodge, Roswell, Ga., and Allison Miller, Norcross, Ga., d. (1) Shannon Hudson, Virginia Beach, Va., and Victoria Olivarez, Virginia Beach, Va., 0-6, 6-4, 6-3.
USTA Boys 14s Winter National Championships
Tucson Racquet Club, Tucson, Ariz., Dec. 27-Jan. 1
►Singles: (1) Francis Tiafoe, College Park, Md., d. (4) Michael Genender, Los Angeles, 7-6(4), 6-2.
►Doubles: (1) Chase Colton, Davie, Fla., and Francis Tiafoe, College Park, Md., d. (9) Taylor Fritz, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., and Riley Smith, Los Alamitos, Calif., 6-2, 7-6(3).
USTA Girls 14s Winter National Championships
University of Arizona’s Robson Tennis Center, Tucson, Ariz., Dec. 27-Jan. 1
►Singles: (2) Kenadi Hance, Torrance, Calif., d. (11) Raquel Pedraza, Claremont, Calif., 7-5, 4-6, 6-1.
►Doubles: (3) Brienne Minor, Mundelein, Ill., and Zoe Spence, Chicago, d. (4) Caroline Dolehide, Hinsdale, Ill., and Alexis Nelson, Saint Paul, Minn., 5-7, 6-0, 6-4.
USTA Boys 12s Winter National Championships
Reffkin Tennis Center, Tucson, Ariz., Dec. 27-Jan. 1
►Singles: (1) Noah Makarome, Wesley Chapel, Fla., d. (3) Sam Riffice, Roseville, Calif., 5-7, 6-2, 7-5.
►Doubles: (5) Ryan Seggerman, Coronado, Calif., and Ivan Thamma, San Diego, d. (1) Sam Riffice, Roseville, Calif., and Noah Schachter, Steilacoom, Wash., 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
USTA Girls 12s Winter National Championships
Reffkin Tennis Center, Tucson, Ariz., Dec. 27-Jan. 1
►Singles: (3) Anna Bright, Boca Raton, Fla., d. (4) Riley McQuaid, Tustin, Calif., 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
►Doubles: Katie Chang, Rancho Santa Mirage, Calif., and Claire Liu, Thousand Oaks, Calif., d. (6) Jessica Anzo, Temecula, Calif., and Nnena Nadozie, Inglewood, Calif., 7-6, 1-6, 7-6.
