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Boy's 18 Champ: Sameer Kumar
© USTA Midwest
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Girl's 18 Champ: Sara Daavettila
© USTA Midwest
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Boy's 16 Champ: Jibril Nettles
© USTA Midwest
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Girl's 16 Champ: Meg Kowalski
© USTA Midwest
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The USTA/Midwest Section Closed Junior Championships, the most prestigious junior tournament in the Midwest Section, ended yesterday with the final matches in boys and girls singles. Over 1,000 talented junior players from all five USTA/Midwest Section States – Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin - competed in the event. These players are some of the best in the country and many have already committed to colleges across the nation. The tournament includes four different age groups, and players must earn their right to play or be endorsed by their respective USTA District.
Winners from the USTA/Midwest Section Closed Junior Championship are automatically included in the section quota for the USTA Boys’ and Girls’ 12, 14, 16, and 18 National Championships this August. Other top finishers in each division of the USTA/Midwest Section Closed Junior Championship will be included in the section quota provided they meet the designated tournament requirements.
MIDWEST CLOSED PHOTO GALLERY
18 & Under and 16 & Under Championships
Indianapolis, Indiana
Boys’ 18-and-under Singles:
- Sameer Kumar (Carmel, Ind.) d. Martin Joyce (Hinsdale, Ill.) 6-7(6); 7-6(3); 6-3
“This is one of the biggest tournaments I play all year. It’s the best players from across the Midwest, and the Midwest is one of the strongest [USTA] sections in the country,” Kumar said. “This is definitely one of the biggest titles I’ve won in the last few years. I’m obviously really happy.”
Kumar, a local Indiana player from nearby Carmel, was not only happy about the win, but excited about winning in his hometown in front of people he knows and on courts he’s trained on for years.
“This means a lot. I’m from Carmel so it definitely means a lot, to win in my home town,” Kumar said. “I thought I did really well in this tournament, especially in later matches.”
Girls’ 18-and-under Singles:
- Sara Daavettila (Williamston, Mich.) d. Brienne Minor (Mundelein, Ill.) 6-0; 7-6(2)
Daavettila, just coming off a win at the US Open National Playoffs Midwest Section Qualifying Tournament one week ago, was excited about this victory as it’s one of the largest tournaments she plays.
“This is when everyone comes together to see who’s the best in the Midwest,” Daavettila said. “It’s a great tournament every year. It’s so long too. It’s really a grind when you get to these last few days, so to pull it out, it’s a great win.”
Boys’ 16-and-under Singles:
- Jibril Nettles (Detroit, Mich. ) d. Davis Wong (West Bloomfield Mich.) 6-3; 6-2
“It’s nice to know that all of the hard work that I put in at home pays off,” Nettles said. “Being around a bunch of great players in the Midwest, it’s nice to compete against one another and see where you stand against the rest.”
Girls’ 16-and-under Singles:
- Meg Kowalski (La Grange, Ill.) d. Ava Thielman (Shelby Township, Mich.) 6-1; 6-0
Kowalski, a winner two years ago, says this year’s win means even more because she knows she’s had to compete against many great players to reach this point.
“It means so much more because I’ve played so many great players. It’s just amazing to see how hard work pays off,” she said. “Every good player in the Midwest plays this tournament so, just to come out and play and battle against all of the other amazing people from the Midwest, it’s just incredible.”
Boys’ 18 Doubles:
- Martin Joyce and Hunter Tubert (Huntington, WV) d. Sameer Kumar and Vincent Lin (Shaumburg, Ill.) 6-4; 5-7; 1-0(10-4)
Girls’ 18 Doubles:
- Lauren Goodman (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and B. Minor d. S. Daavettila and Alyvia Jones (Midland, Mich.) 6-1; 6-4
Boys’ 16 Doubles:
- Robert Krill (Elm Grove, Wis.) and Nicholas Marino (Northbrook, Ill.) d. Lucas Horve (Forsyth, Ill.) and Jack Randall (Lockport, Ill.) 6-3; 6-4
Girls’ 16 Doubles:
- • Kolie Allen (Lombard, Ill.) and M. Kowalski d. Ahmeir Kyle (Saint Joseph, Mich.) and Haleigh Porter (Flossmoor, Ill.) 6-1; 6-3
14 & Under and 12 & Under Championships
Okemos, Michigan
Boys’ 12-and-under Singles:
- Eli Gordon (Highland, Park, Ill.) d. Grant Durham (Madison, Wis.) 6-3; 6-1
Girls’ 12-and-under Singles:
- Sydni Ratliff (Gahanna, Ohio) d. Tyra Richardson (Chicago, Ill.) 2-6; 7-6(3); 6-1
Boys’ 14-and-under Singles:
- Robert Cash (New Albany, Ohio) d. Cole Shoults (Carmel, Ind.) 6-4; 6-3
Girls’ 14-and-under Singles:
- Zoey Weil (Columbus, Ohio) d. Maria Goheen (Aurora, Ill.) 7-6(3); 6-0
Boys’ 12 Doubles:
- Eric Perkowski (Lincolnshire, Ill.) and Joseph Stafford (Livonia, Mich.) d. Gabe Brown (Port Huron, Mich.) and Ozan Colak (Okemos, Mich.) 6-4; 6-2
Girls’ 12 Doubles:
- S. Ratliff and T. Richardson d. Soren Leichter (Bloomington, Ind.) and Brooke Theis (Lake Forest, Ill.) 6-1; 3-6; 10-5
Boys’ 14 Doubles:
- R. Cash and Jack Dabek (Dublin, Ohio) d. Michael Bukhalo (Glenview, Ill.) and Andrew Zhang (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) 6-1; 6-0
Girls’ 14 Doubles:
- Paige Kompa (Columbus, Ohio) and Z. Weil d. Emily Desai (Greenwood, Ind.) and Karina Miller (Ann Arbor, Mich.) 6-2; 7-5
Click here for complete draws and results for the 14-and-under and 12-and-under divisions.
Click here for complete draws and results for the 16-and-under and 18-and under divisions.