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2013
USTA National Women’s Hardcourt Tennis Championships
By
J. Fred Sidhu
Thursday, June 6 2013
Top-seeded Megan
McCray
of Oceanside, Calif., easily advanced to the singles quarterfinals of
the USTA National Open Hard Court Championship at the Balboa Tennis
Club as she breezed past Linda
Guerzize of Palm Desert, Calif., 6-0, 6-1.
The 17-year-old McCray, who finished as the
runner-up in last year’s singles final, will face Mariko Atoji of San
Diego in a quarterfinal match scheduled for 9 a.m. (PDT) on Friday.
“I hope to get the (USTA) gold ball this year. It
makes me
want to play better and come in first this year,” McCray said following
her straight-set second-round victory over Guerzize. “I have to keep
consistent and make all of my shots. I have to hit good serves and good
returns as well.”
In other tournament action on Thursday, defending
champion and top-seed
Clarke Spinosa of Claremont, Calif. defeated unseeded Oliver Welsh of San
Diego, 6-1, 6-2, to reach the quarterfinals, where he will play
ninth-seeded Nicholas
Ballou of Orinda, Calif. at 10:30 a.m. (PDT) on Friday.
Second-seeded Derek
Siddiqui of Long Beach, Calif. also moved into the singles
quarterfinals, as he led ninth-seeded Danny Riggs of
Pompano Beach, Fla., 6-4, 2-0, in his fourth-round match when Riggs,
the grandson of former world champion Bobby Riggs, retired
with an injury.
Friday, June 7
After an exciting day of quarterfinal action, the
men’s
and women’s semifinal parings have been determined for the USTA
National Open Hard Court Championships at the Balboa Tennis Club.
In Saturday’s women’s semifinals, which are scheduled for 9 a.m. (PDT),
top-seeded Megan McCray
of Oceanside, Calif., will play unseeded Carolina Cuevas Bucio
of Chula Vista. In the other semifinal, second-seeded Morgan McCray of
Oceanside, Calif., will face third-seeded Kelly Shaffer of
Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
The 17-year-old Megan McCray, who
will celebrate her 18th birthday next month, is the younger sister of
19-year-old Morgan McCray.
The sisters will begin their collegiate tennis careers at Oklahoma
State University this fall. Morgan delayed starting school for one
year, so she could begin the school year at the same time with her
younger sister.
Men’s defending champion and top-seed Clarke Spinosa
of Claremont, Calif., needed three sets, but advanced to Saturday’s
semifinals with a hard-fought 3-6, 6-4, 6-0, quarterfinal victory over Nicholas Ballou of
Orinda, Calif. Spinosa will take on fourth-seeded Denis Nguyen of
Anaheim, Calif.
Third-seeded JC Aragone
of Yorba Linda, Calif. booked a semifinal spot after scoring a
thrilling 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 win over eighth-seeded Matt Seeberger of
Redwood City, Calif. Aragone will face ninth-seeded Tim Kpulun of
Fullerton, Calif., who advanced when second-seeded Derek Siddiqui
of Long Beach, Calif. retired from their quarterfinal match with an arm
injury at 4-6, 6-3. Both men’s semifinal matches will begin at 11 a.m.
(PDT).
This
Sunday’s schedule will feature the women’s singles final at 9 a.m.,
followed by the men’s singles championship at 11 a.m. All times are
(PDT).
Saturday, June 8
In the women’s semifinals, Megan McCray
defeated Carolina Cuevas Bucio of Chula Vista, Calif., 6-1, 6-0, while Kelly Shaffer
eliminated Morgan McCray
of Oceanside, Calif., 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
Tim Kpulun
outlasted third-seeded JC
Aragone of Yorba Linda, Calif., 6-7, 6-2, 6-1. In the
other men’s semifinal, Clarke
Spinosa scored a critical service break in the 11th game
of the third set to get past fourth-seeded Denis Nguyen of
Anaheim, Calif., 6-0, 4-6, 7-5.
Spinosa overcame a 3-0 deficit in the final set.
Sunday, June 9
It was a day to remember for 22-year-old Clarke Spinosa of
Claremont, Calif. and 17-year-old Megan
McCray of Oceanside, Calif., as they both captured singles
titles at the USTA National Open Hard Court Championships.
On a cool, mostly cloudy morning at the Balboa
Tennis
Club, the top-seeded Spinosa, who plays for the University of San
Diego, successfully defended the singles title he won a year ago, as he
defeated ninth-seeded Tim
Kpulun
of Newport Beach, 4-1, ret. in the men’s singles final.
The 28-year-old Kpulun, ranked 1418 in the ATP World Tour rankings,
aggravated a lower back injury and was forced to retire in the first
set.
A citizen of Sierra Leone, Kpulun competes on the
USTA Pro
Circuit and the International Men’s Tennis Circuit.
“It feels great. Anytime you win a gold ball it’s
special,
especially at this tournament,” Spinosa said. “There are always a lot
of fans and the competition is great. Overall it’s just a fantastic
tournament.
In the women’s singles championship, the
top-seeded McCray
overcame a difficult first set and defeated third-seeded Kelly Shaffer of
Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., 6-4, 6-1, to win the title.
The third time was the charm for McCray as she finished in third place
two years ago, earning a USTA bronze ball. Last year she won the USTA
silver ball as the runner-up.
This year, she finally took home the title and the
gold ball.
“I’m so happy to finally win first place this year
after
getting second and third the previous years,” McCray said following her
straight-set victory. “It feels really good. It’s the biggest
tournament of the year in San Diego.”
A total of 161 players participated in the 2013
USTA
National Open Hard Court Championships at the Balboa Tennis Club. The
men’s singles main draw featured a total of 99 players.
“It was a great week of tennis at the 2013 USTA
National
Open Hard Court Championships. This tournament has really become a
community event thanks to the support of our sponsors and the fans that
came out to watch the matches each day,” said Tournament Director
Colleen Clery Ferrell. “The players love the tournament atmosphere and
enjoy playing at a historic venue like the Balboa Tennis Club. We're
already looking forward to next year's event.”
For complete tournament draws and results, go to: http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=125688
Former tournament champions include ATP touring
professional Jack Sock
and University of Southern California players Zoe Scandalis and Gabriella DeSimone,
as well as former WTA touring professionals Gretchen Magers, Rosalyn Nideffer
and Allison Bradshaw.
The USTA National Open Hard Court Championships,
which was
voted, “2011 Tournament of the Year” by the San Diego District Tennis
Association, is sponsored by California American Water, Babycakes,
Cameo Paper and Janitorial Supply, Graphic Interfaces, Green Builder
Kitchen & Bath, Kashi, Lloyd Pest Control , Minutemen Press,
San
Diego Tennis District Association, Wells Fargo and Wilson.
In addition to the USTA National Open Hard Court
Championships, the Balboa Tennis Club is the site for many prestigious
tournaments throughout the year, such as the Maureen Connolly Balboa
Open, the San Diego District Championships, the San Diego Metropolitan
Tournament. The club, which is also the home of the San Diego Tennis
Hall of Fame, boasts over 1,400 members, and is visited by
approximately 6,000 day pass visitors each year. As a nonprofit
organization, Balboa Tennis Club is dedicated to offering the finest
facilities at an affordable price to help foster and develop the great
game of tennis in San Diego.
The history of the Balboa Tennis Club dates back
to 1922
when a small group of tennis enthusiasts raised $5,000 among
themselves, and with the cooperation from the City Recreation
Department, constructed six tennis courts adjacent to the present War
Memorial Building.
On April 24, 1924, the San Diego Tennis Association received a lease to
operate the courts for the public. The following year, a small
clubhouse with locker rooms was built, but it was not until June 1939
that Articles of Incorporation were drawn up, and the Balboa Tennis
Club actually was formed as a public, nonprofit corporation to foster
and develop the game of tennis in San Diego....and to encourage
competitive play with other clubs of this and other communities.
The club flourished many years at its original
location
and aided many young players in developing their games. In June 1966,
the club moved to its present location and in July, 1983, assumed all
the operational responsibilities of the Morley Field Tennis Complex. In
1989 Balboa Tennis Club was rated as America's Best Public Tennis
Facility by the USTA. In 2000, the San Diego District Tennis
Association named BTC as Club of the Year. In 2003, it received the
Outstanding Tennis Facility award from the USTA for large facilities in
the United States.
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