The August edition of “Over the Net” is finally here bringing with it two large
tournaments and the latest Sectional news! First, we will cover the 32nd Amy Yee Jr. Champs
tournament, then a Dual 5 at the Tacoma Lawn and Tennis Club and finally, the 2011 Junior
Championship Sectional Tournament. Our featured interview is with Noah Schachter who talks
about his amazing Sectional performance.
The Amy Yee Jr. Champs tournament from August 7-10 was bustling with excitement as
Andrew Finkleman had a big win over Jack Katzman 6-1, 6-1 in Boys 12U. Boys 14U winner
Ethan Romney beat Larry Zhao 6-1, 6-3. In a close match Zack Elliott lost to Matthew Alderson
in Boys 16U 6-4, 6-3. Matthew Alderson also won his doubles with Ryan Cheung. In a
seemingly quick match, Boys 18U winner Vincente Varas defeated Matthew Herron 6-2, 6-1.
Girls 12U champion Crystal Xu brought up some excitement as she beat her opponent Allison
Du 6-0, 6-1. Lydia Venditti lost in Girls 14U as Catherine Allen squeezed out a win 6-4, 6-2. In
Girls 16U, Kathleen Park lost with the exact same score 6-4, 6-2 to Sabrina Demerath. Finally in
Girls 18U, Saroop Dhatt swept Kara Ikeda off the court 6-0, 6-1. Nice clean, straight set wins
victors!
The Tacoma Lawn and Tennis Club Dual 5 on August 11-15 saw some very close
matches in the finals. In Boys 10U, Matthew Hagerty had a tight match with Brian Park winning
6-4, 6-4. Thomas Yu, sadly, was forced to beat his twin brother, James Yu, 6-2, 6-3 in Boys 12U.
But they made up after winning doubles together in Boys 12U. Boys 14U brought another nailbiting match as Brian Hou defeated Andrew Newell 6-3, 7-5. But compared to the Boys 16U
finals, that match would be considered a warm-up as Goutham Sundaram split sets with Troy
Tronrud, taking the match 6-2, 1-6, 10-7. An even closer match occurred in 18U, with Brent
Chin splitting sets with Wendell Watanabe, winning 6-4, 3-6, 10-7. Wow, almost nothing gets as
close as that! Angel Le had no sympathy for Kaitlin Tan, beating her 6-1, 6-0 in Girls 10U. Girls
12U Eva Goncharova made it to the final but lost 7-5, 6-2, to Sasha Cayward. Girls 14U Charlie
Naddeo did not nearly have quite as close of a match, taking her win against Catherine Allen
with a solid 6-1, 6-3. Charlie Naddeo also won her doubles in 14U along with Megan Hagerty.
Nora Tan could not have made her match closer, winning in Girls 16U against Michelle Wang 46, 6-1, 10-7. Nora also won her doubles in Girls 16U with Michelle Lui. Lastly, Girls 18U Tracy
Landram did not make much of a scene as she took out Angela Chen 6-2, 6-2. “Over the Net”
would also like to congratulate the Watanabe brothers since both brothers were able to pull out a
doubles win, their picture and a short description is provided below. Nice playing everyone!
Now for the news of the day – Sectional results! Sectionals were hosted at the Tualatin
Hills Tennis Center in Beaverton, Oregon on August 18-22. In Boys 12U, Noah Schachter took
out Anderson Park in the finals 6-0, 6-0. Number four seed Ty Gentry beat Andrew Newell 6-4,
6-0 in Boys 14U. Mitch Stewart split sets with Toshiki Matsuya in Boys 16U winning 6-1, 4-6,
6-2. Kent Andreasen lost in Boys 18U to number one seed Michael Chamerski in a close 6-4, 64. Girls 12U Champion Vivian Glozman defeated Elizabeth Scotty in a nail-biting 7-5, 4-6, 6-2.
Then she won doubles for 12U with her partner Emily Rees. Madisyn Bryant had a tough match
in Girls 14U losing against Bess Waldram 6-3, 6-0. Bess also won her doubles with Charlie
Naddeo. Girls 16U number one seed Samantha Hampton beat number two seed Michelle Lui 64, 5-7, 6-1 and won her doubles with Nora Tan. Dasha Ivanova of Girls 18U barely beat Maya
Jansen 7-5, 1-6, 6-2 and also won her doubles with Arianna Fardenesh. But that is not all! Do not
forget about 10U! This year, the Boys and Girls 10U was changed due to the new USTA rule and
instead of playing on a full court, the court for the 10U players was reduced. Additionally, the
matches went only to four games (sudden death at three all) and the kids played with low-
pressure tennis balls. So let’s see how the players did! Boys 10U winner Wade Nichols played
great, taking the win 4-1, 4-0 against Mateo Fuenmayor. Teaming up, they won doubles too!
Girls 10U champion Virginia Larner had a close match with second place Kaylynn Noyd,
winning 4-1, 4-3. Fabulous job everyone!
Now for an interview with the number one player in Boys 14U and 12U as well as winner
of Boys 12U Sectionals. Winning sectionals without even losing a game! Please welcome Noah
Schachter!
Ben Elliott: How did you manage not to lose a game in Sectionals?
Noah Schachter: After I won the first match without losing a game, I made it a goal of mine to
try to not lose any more games. I stayed really focused on this goal. One match I had a game
where I was down 30-40 and a couple games went to deuce but I was able to pull it out and not
lose a game during the tournament.
BE: Where do you practice?
NS: I practice at the Tacoma Lawn and Tennis Club, University of Puget Sound, and the
Lakewood Racquet Club.
BE: How do you practice?
NS: I try to play tennis about 5 times a week at least for about 60-90 minutes each day. I mix it
up with regular group lessons, private lessons, and match play. I also play soccer in the fall for
cross-training and basketball in the winter and spring.
BE: Who is your coach?
NS: Mark Hanson is my head coach and advisor. I also work with other coaches: Jake Hobaugh
and Greg Smith.
BE: What are your tennis goals for the future?
NS: I would love to be a professional tennis player or play tennis in college. My other goal is to
win a USTA gold ball in singles.
BE: Who is your favorite tennis player?
NS: My favorite player is Roger Federer. He is an all-court player and a good sport.
BE: How have you been spending the summer?
NS: I travelled all summer. I started at the end of June training in Carson, Calif., followed by the
National Opens Boys 14s in Long Beach, Calif. I played the #2 seed first round so that was
tough. I lost in three sets though. Then I went to the Boys 12s National Clay Courts in WinstonSalem, N.C. I got 6th place in singles. I went to the Boys 14s Zonals in Colorado Springs. That
was fun. I went 4-1 in both singles and doubles. The team did pretty well too. My final big
tournament was the Boys 12s Hardcourt Nationals in Little Rock, Arkansas. I got 5th place in
singles after losing in the quarterfinals in three sets. But my doubles partner Sam Riffice from
CA and I won the doubles title so I got a gold ball in doubles.
Great interview – thanks Noah!
The Watanabe brothers and their partners at the Dual Five Tacoma Lawn and Tennis Club
tournament this summer.
From left to right: Vincente Varas, Aman Manji, Spencer Watanabe, and Wendell Watanabe.
Partners Spencer and Aman won Boys 16U and partners Vincente and Wendell won Boys 18U
doubles.
That wraps up this August edition of “Over the Net”! Any comments, questions, or
tournaments you would like us to report on, do not hesitate to email me at
benjaminelliott@comcast.net. I am always looking for something to report on!