USTA News

Rookie of the Year Award

Action: Lloyd Clayton

For previous years' awards see: 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001

Honorary Referee: Jane Brody New York Times columnist and author
Ron & Kathy Creager Outstanding Umpire Award: Doug Hentschel
Dr. Allen B. Stowe Sportsmanship (18s): Cory Parr
Bobby Kaplan Sportsmanship (16s): Isamu Tachibana
BrieLynn Wes Richards Sportsmanship Award (feed-ins): Justin Kronauge
2006 Orrin B. Hayes Green Jacket Award: Ken Nielson
2006 Orrin B. Hayes Green Jacket Award: Rob Passage
2006 Heart Center for Excellence Community Service Award: Pam Shebest
2006 Heart Center for Excellence Community Service Award: Fred Miller
2006 RX Optical Distinguished Service Award: Susan Einspahr
2006 Pat & Rolla Anderson Youth Volunteer Award: Alison Koopsen
2006 Pat & Rolla Anderson Youth Volunteer Award: Corey Lager

Kalamazoo--

The 2006 Nationals in Kalamazoo certainly didn't end prettily or predictably.

Jesse Levine gave his concession speech before the 18s final, presenting Donald Young with his second consecutive National 18s championship, while 16s champion Brennan Boyajian felt so miserable after his 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (5) victory over Ryan Thacher that he spent the hours before his flight back home lying on a bench outside the Kalamazoo airport.

After feeling ill late Saturday evening, Levine was diagnosed with food poisoning, and the vomiting and diarrhea could not be counteracted by the intravenous fluids he was given Sunday morning.

"I knew when I couldn't get out of bed this morning that it would be trouble," said the second seed from Boca Raton, Fla. "I thought maybe the IV would help, and it definitely made me feel better--if I didn't have the IV I couldn't be out here on the court right now--but I feel bad I couldn't compete."

Over 2000 tennis fans packed Stowe Stadium on yet another perfect day in a week full of them, and those who arrived early enough to see the 16s final could offset their disappointment over the 18s walkover by savoring one of the closest 16s finals in the 64 year history of the tournament in Kalamazoo.

For Weston Fla.'s Boyajian, his third straight National 16s title was a much more daunting challenge than the first two. The 16-year-old righthander won the 2006 Easter Bowl and Clay Courts without dropping a set, but in Sunday's final, down 2-5 in the third set, he fought off illness and three match points to claim the USTA's most prestigious championship and a main draw wild card into the U.S. Open Junior Championships.

Thacher, a 6-foot-3 lefthander from Studio City Calif., was serving for the first set at 5-4, but Boyajian broke him at love, held for 6-5 and then broke Thacher again to steal the first set.

Thacher immediately stopped the slide in the second set, breaking Boyajian twice in the first three games. At 4-2, Boyajian serving, the five-deuce game went to Thacher, and Boyajian asked for a trainer, complaining of stomach pain. When play resumed, Thacher held for the set, and the ensuing ten-minute rest break didn't appear to help Boyajian, as he was immediately broken in the third set's opening game, and received a point penalty for racquet abuse.

Even though Thacher started his service game up 15-0 due to that outburst, he was broken, but won four of the next five games for a 5-2 lead in the third.

Serving for the match at 5-2, Thacher was up 30-0, and three points later, held his first match point.

Playing noticeably more agressively, Boyajian shut the door on Thacher's first opportunity with a deft backhand volley. Taking his time, stretching and going to his towel, Thacher's deliberate play couldn't stem the tide and he dropped the next two points to make it 5-3.

With Boyajian serving at 3-5, in no time it was 15-40 and Thacher had two more match points.

On the first, Thacher was inside the service line to put away a sitter. Boyajian was out of the play, having guessed wrong, but Thacher hit the ball off his frame, sending it wide and long. As 2000 fans gasped in disbelief, Thacher prepared for his third chance to end the match.

A drop volley by Thacher brought the speedy Boyajian toward the net; shoveling it back, Boyajian retreated in time to hit a scintillating deep forehand winner off Thacher's reply. Two Thacher errors later and it was 5-4, but still the Californian had the match on his racquet. A missed volley by Thacher, an incredible Boyajian passing-shot winner off an overhead and a shanked forehand by Thacher gave the Floridian a 0-40 advantage and a reason to loudly urge himself to "C'mon, fight." Another Thacher forehand error made it 5-5, and although Thacher had a break point in the next game, both players held to force the tiebreak.

After over two and a half hours on the court, neither boy was exuding energy and after the second point in the tiebreak, Boyajian was bent over holding his shorts. But he managed two winners--a passing shot and a drop volley--for a 3-1 lead, at which time Thacher called for a trainer.

During the medical timeout, the trainer had Thacher lie on his stomach and bend his legs, and within minutes he was back on Court One. Boyajian won the next two points for a 5-1 lead however, and as they changed ends, Thacher was on the brink of elimination. But suddenly it was 5-4 on Thacher's serve, after Boyajian lost both of his serve points, one on a double fault. It was then Thacher's turn to double-fault, giving Boyajian his first match point, and sensing that the tension of the situation was overwhelming the players, the crowd clapped loudly before Thacher stepped up to serve again.

After he missed his first serve at 6-5, everyone held their breath, but his second landed safely in and Thacher passed Boyajian to stay alive.

But there were no more heroics left for Thacher-- Boyajian stroked a first serve and aggressively challenged Thacher's return. When Thacher's reply went long, Boyajian had his third National title of 2006, and both players received a standing ovation from the crowd. Boyajian, however, was not able to truly enjoy it.

Although he managed to stay upright during the trophy ceremony, Boyajian could muster only a brief postmatch press conference. With his focus no longer on the tennis match, Boyajian began to feel nauseous and within an hour of his match's conclusion, was vomiting.

Usually animated and gregarious, Boyajian was pale and quiet, lying down at any opportunity, including while waiting for his flight home to Ft. Lauderdale via Detroit.

Donald Young celebration was muted due to the food poisoning of his opponent; Boyajian's due to his own. But both have etched their names in the record books and are a part of the history of the Nats at the Zoo.

Kalamazoo--

The top two seeds in each division will meet in Sunday's finals at the National Championships in Kalamazoo.

No. 1 seed Brennan Boyajian and No. 2 seed Ryan Thacher earned their chances at the 16s title with straight set victories under the clear blue skies and low humidity that have been the norm all week.

In the 18s, top seed Donald Young will defend his title against second seed Jesse Levine, with the winner earning a main draw wild card for the U.S. Open later this month.

Boyajian formulated a strategy to counteract the power of Alex Domijan, his semifinal opponent and it lead to a 6-3, 6-4 victory.

"I was going to his backhand, but also making him hit on the run," said Boyajian. "Don't just keep it to his backhand, because then he'll get used to it and start hitting that. I knew I couldn't just loop the ball...or give him a short ball. He'd hit a winner."

Domijan, who trains at the Saddlebrook Tennis Center near Tampa, is only 14, but already over 6-foot-4. As the 12th seed, he was a surprise semifinalist, and he was optimistic despite the loss.

"I thought I played well today," said Domijan. "He's improved his game a lot. I used to play him a lot--not recently--and he just used to get the ball back. Now he's added a lot of offense to his game, and that made it very difficult to beat him."

Without a huge serve to rely on, Boyajian often finds himself battling for every game, but it was Domijan that gave up the key service break in the second set. At 3-3, Domijan survived an eight deuce game, but after Boyajian held for 4-4, Domijan was quickly broken and the 2006 Easter Bowl and Clay Court champion served it out.

His opponent in the Easter Bowl final will be across the net again on Sunday, as the No. 2 seeded Thacher dispatched fifth seed Adam El Mihdawy of Long Island City New York, 6-4, 6-0. Thacher broke El Mihdawy only once in the first set, with the key point of the match coming at 5-4 40-30, Thacher's set point.

Every kind of stroke was displayed, but the 6-foot-three inch lefthander from Studio City Calif. executed the "tweener" which kept him in the point.

"I think it's a totally useful shot," said Thacher. "I don't do it to get the crowd all riled up. I think it was the best way I could have gotten to the ball. I actually mis-hit it, but it turned out better that way, because it got up high on him and he wasn't expecting it."

Thacher eventually won the point with a backhand down the line and a demoralized El Mihdawy threw his racquet, drawing a point penalty. He never recovered his game.

"The second set I got a little tired," said El Mihdawy. "There were some good points, I just didn't win any of them."

"Adam hits his share of winners," said Thacher. "But going for as much as he does, he'll make mistakes also. I feel like I move around the court pretty well and I can run down shots, so if I keep the majority of my balls in the court, it would be a good strategy for me."

Thacher, who went down in straight sets to Boyajian at the Easter Bowl, described his play in that match as "frankly pretty stupid." He said he expects to keep it together better on Sunday, "and hopefully have a better result."

For his part Boyajian is expecting a battle. "There's going to be long points, baseline points, but a good match for sure."

In the 18s, Donald Young thoroughly dominated No. 4 seed Marcus Fugate, breaking the hard-serving righthander from New York five times, while losing his own serve only once in a 6-3, 6-1 win.

Young approached the net often, and his aggressive play was a response to his loss to Fugate in a Florida Futures event in January.

"Last time, he attacked me and came in, and that's how he beat me," said the 17-year-old, who now lives in Atlanta. "I missed a couple of shots when he put the pressure on me, so I tried to do the same."

"I couldn't physically stay in the points as long as I wanted to," said Fugate, 18. "So I was trying to go for a little more, a little too early and it didn't pay off."

The only three-set match of the day saw second seed Levine outlast third seed Tim Smyczek 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-4, in a battle of depth and pace from baseline to baseline.

Levine, of Boca Raton Fla., spurted to a 4-1 lead in a first set that lasted over an hour. Smyczek got that one break back when Levine couldn't covert four set points at 5-3, and when a close baseline call deprived him of the first set, Levine lost his composure.

Slamming a ball so forcefully that it shot into the crowd, Levine received a point penalty for ball abuse, drawing boos from the large crowd. With a 15-0 lead in his next service game, Smyczek held, then broke a still angry Levine at love, but couldn't serve out the set, which lead to tiebreak, notable mainly for Levine's frequent double faults.

"Maybe for the rest of the first set I let it carry over a little bit," said Levine. "I was thinking too much about last year," he said, referring to his difficulties with line calls in a three-loss to Sam Querrey in the 2005 semifinals. "It definitely took its toll the rest of the first set."

With Levine struggling with his emotions, Smyczek, from Hales Corners, Wisc. couldn't capitalize and proceeded to lose nine straight games after winning the first game of the second set.

"I was able to fight back a little bit in the third," said Smyczek, who evened the match at 4-4, "but when it came down to it, I'll just say I had another tough call go against me." At 4-5 30-15, Smyczek hit what he thought was an ace, but it was called a fault, and when his second serve missed, his position was precarious.

"It seemed like every time there was a ball anywhere near the line for either of us the line judges were pretty eager to have their voices heard," Smyczek said. Two points later, he was shaking Levine's hand at the net and wishing him well in Sunday's clash of lefthanders.

The doubles championships were decided on Saturday afternoon, with top seeds Alex Clayton and Donald Young securing the title with a 6-1, 6-4 win over an ailing Jamie Hunt and his partner Nate Schnugg, the second seeds.

Hunt took the court more for his partner than for himself, a victim of an upset stomach that had surfaced after breakfast. Down 5-1 he vomited several times, and took a medical timeout and looked on the verge of retiring when in the next game, he was sick again.

"You can't retire in this kind of match just because you're throwing up a little bit," said a pale and shaky Hunt afterward. "I just tried my best."

At 3-2 in the second set, Hunt was sick again, but continued to play and managed to hold his serve for 4-4. But the strength of Clayton and Young, the 2005 US Open Junior Doubles Champions, told in the end, as they broke Schnugg for the victory and the main draw U.S. Open wild card that goes with it.

"It was pretty honorable that he kept on playing when he was throwing up like that," said Clayton during the rather subdued postmatch interviews. "He fights hard, I've know it for a while. I'm sorry that he got sick."

In the 16s doubles, fifth seeds El Mihdawy and Bradley Klahn, playing together for the first time, defeated the third seeded team of Jarmere Jenkins and Austin Krajicek 7-6 (2), 6-2 to capture their first gold balls as USTA National champions.

"Throughout the first set we didn't have many break point opportunities," said Klahn, of Poway Calif. "They served well, and played well. But in the tiebreak, we stepped it up, made a lot more returns, made them play some volleys and we got a few errors out of them."

El Mihdawy, who lives only minutes away from the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadow New York, is counting on a wild card to the U.S. Open Junior Championships for he and Klahn, although Klahn admits that although it was a goal to win in Kalamazoo, it was not expected.

"We're both good singles players," Klahn said. "so I expected us to do well, but winning it is a little bit of a surprise, considering there's a lot of good teams in the tournament. But it was always possible."

The 16s singles championship match begins on Sunday at 11:30 a.m., followed by the 18s final, which will be best of five sets.

Kalamazoo--

Five times the tournament's most exciting match hung in the balance, but continued. It wasn't until the sixth and final match point that the crowd could exhale after Adam El Mihdawy and Jarmere Jenkins battled for over two hours in their 16s quarterfinal Friday. El Mihdawy, the fifth seed, finally grabbed his fifth chance in the third set tiebreak to earn a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (9) victory.

Jenkins, the fourth seed, saved the match for the first time at 4-6 in the tiebreak with a service winner. El Mihdawy then double-faulted to waste chance #2.

"As soon as I missed the first serve I knew I was double-faulting," the 16-year-old from Long Island City, NY said after the match. "I didn't have a choice, I had to," he joked.

The third match point, at 7-6, Jenkins again bombed a service winner, and at 8-7 saved another at the net. The lunch crowd, enjoying the perfect tennis weather, cheered heartily as the tension mounted with each point.

At 8-8, Jenkins tried an ineffective drop shop, but inexplicably El Mihdawy netted the easy putaway. Now it was El Mihdawy's turn to face the pressure of a match point, and Jenkins controlled the action from the beginning. With El Mihdawy pulled off the court and deep behind the baseline, Jenkins stood at the net waiting to put away the volley and the match, but somehow El Mihdawy flicked an unreachable crosscourt passing shot by him and it was 9-9.

After another change of ends, Jenkins served again, but hit a backhand wide to give El Mihdawy one more chance. This time he made sure on his first serve and pasted a backhand winner to record his second third-set tiebreak victory in as many days.

"I wasn't as nervous going into the tiebreaker," said El Mihdawy, who defeated 11th seed JT Sundling in a third set tiebreak on Wednesday. "It gave me a little bit more confidence."

On Saturday, El Mihdawy will face second seed Ryan Thacher, who also needed to survive a long tiebreak to advance, although it was in the second set, not the third, in his 6-1 7-6(8) victory.

Unseeded Ty Trombetta was overwhelmed in the first set by the 6-foot-3 lefthander from Southern California, but when Thacher failed to serve it out at 5-3, Trombetta seized the opportunity.

"I played a poor game," said Thacher, who turns 17 in October. "And he started elevating his game and anticipating where my balls were going to go and running them down. Then it got nitty-gritty."

Trombetta, of Hallendale Fla., held set points at 6-5 and 8-7 in the tiebreak, and Thacher a match point at 7-6, but he finally ended it with a backhand volley winner at 9-8.

"He could have easily gotten demoralized being down a set and a break with me serving for the match," said Thacher. "But he stayed in there and that's to his credit; if a couple of things had gone his way it could have been a third set."

Thacher and El Mihdawy last played in the finals of the Winter Nationals in Scottsdale in January, a meeting Thacher won easily.

"He really took himself out of the match early," Thacher said. "I anticipate that he'll fight a lot more. There's a few things I remember about the match, but as a whole, it may be as if we've never played before."

In the other 16s semifinal, 12th seed Alex Domijan faces top seed Brennan Boyajian.

After the thrills of the 16s matches, the 18s quarterfinals were anticlimatic. Tim Smyczek, the third seed, defeated fifth seed Alex Clayton 6-4, 6-2, but didn't look at the match as routine.

"It may have looked easy," said the 18-year-old from Hales Corners WI, "but it wasn't as easy as the score showed."

Smyczek credited his return and an off day by Clayton serving for the bulk of his success.

"He always serves big," said Smyczek, "but today he was just missing a lot of first serves and I was able to capitalize on his second a lot."

In Saturday's semifinal Smyczek will meet second seed Jesse Levine who dominated seventh seed Kellen Damico 6-1, 6-1.

"I know Kellen didn't play his best tennis obviously" said Levine, who has lost only 12 games in his five matches. "I did my best to try to keep him out of his game."

Smyczek and Levine met in the quarterfinals in 2005, with Levine winning that contest. "I know he's going to be out for some revenge," said Levine, 18. "Everytime we've played it's been a tough match. I'll definitely have a game plan going into it."

Levine credits his work at the Bollettieri Academy in Bradenton Fla. for preparing him for the high level of tennis he's played in the past few months.

"I've been hitting a lot with guys like (Tommy) Haas and (Max) Mirnyi and I get to play sets with them all the time," said the lefthander from Boca Raton, Fla. "It's a different mentality they have, and a different ball as well....some of other guys haven't had that experience. It's definitely helped me a lot."

Saturday's other semifinal will pit top seed Donald Young against No. 4 seed Marcus Fugate.

The doubles finalists were decided Friday afternoon in both divisions.

Unseeded giant-killers Nicolas Andrews and Jamie Hutter, who had upset the top seeded team of Boyajian and Zach Hunter on Thursday, could not find a way to stop the third seeds--Jenkins and partner Austin Krajicek, 6-3, 6-3 winners. Jenkins and Krajicek, who have been playing together for a year and call themselves "shake and bake," meet the newly formed team of Adam El Mihdawy and Bradley Klahn. Fifth seeded, El Mihdawy and Klahn, who teamed up only because Klahn's previous partner withdrew with an injury, overcame another new combo, Devin Britton and Waylon Chin, the second seeds, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.

In the 18s it will No. 1 versus No. 2 as Clayton and Young, the 2005 US Open Junior Champions, go against Jamie Hunt and Nate Schnugg. Clayton and Young put an end to the run of unseeded Steve Forman and Cory Parr 6-4, 6-4, Friday afternoon, while Hunt and Schnugg took the last four games of the match to squeeze by the fifth seeded team of Chase Buchanan and Fugate 6-1, 5-7, 7-5.

"He dips it, and I rip it," said Clayton in describing their style. "Clayton's serve brings us out of a lot things," Young said, while Clayton credited Young's crosscourt return and lefty forehand as a strength of the team.

The doubles finals will follow the singles semifinals on Saturday afternoon.

Kalamazoo--

Both top seeds were challenged in the first set but cruised through the second in Thursday's quarterfinal action at Stowe Stadium.

Brennan Boyajian, the No. 1 seed in 16s, stumbled briefly in his match with sixth seed Drew Daniel of Shawnee Mission Kan. on an overcast day in Kalamazoo. Serving for the first set at 5-4, Boyajian failed to finish, but won the next eight points to take the set 7-5. The Weston Fla. resident carried that momentum throughout the second set, breaking Daniel three times, the final break ending the match by a 6-1 score.

Even though Boyajian has crafted a nineteen-match winning streak at the 2006 National level tournaments, he admitted to some concern against Daniel, who like Boyajian, turns 17 next month.

"I was actually worried at 2-1 in the first, when I was down," Boyajian said. "But at five-all, I knew it was just back on serve and it would be fine." Raising his game to put Daniel away, Boyajian then encountered a familiar problem.

"Then I started that letting up thing again," said Boyajian. "I was up 2-0 in the second and then at 2-1 he was up 40-0, and I was thinking, no, not again." His focus sharpened, Boyajian didn't lose another game.

In Saturday's semifinal, he will face 12th seed Alex Domijan, the 14-year-old taking the tournament by storm in his first appearance. After his upset of third seed Brad Klahn on Wednesday, the 6-foot 4-inch Gainesville native suffered no letdown, defeating Isamu Tachibana of Austin Tex. 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-1.

"I thought I was going to win easier today," Domijan said, "but you can't take anybody for granted. I almost panicked a little bit after I lost the first set, but luckily I kept it together."

Tachibana was serving for the first set at 5-3, lost that game and the next two, but Domijan couldn't finish when he had the chance at 6-5. The ensuing tiebreak was also a seesaw affair, but despite two double faults, Tachibana prevailed. In the second and third sets Domijan quickly took 3-0 leads, and he credited his serve and his service return as primary reasons for his win.

"I think my serve really helped me and my return I kept deep in the court, and really didn't give him an advantage on his serve."

With two years difference in their ages, Domijan and Boyajian have not played recently even though both compete regularly in Florida and on the National circuit. In Saturday's semifinals in Kalamazoo, the battle of Florida will be decided.

In the 18s quarterfinal on Thursday, top seed and defending champion Donald Young wriggled out of a tough spot in the first set, downing sixth seed Mike McClune of 7-6(3), 6-1. After each player held three times to start the match, then traded breaks to 4-4, McClune got another break, and was serving for the first set. But Young broke McClune at love and seized control of the tiebreak that soon followed when the 16-year-old Californian dropped both his serves at 2-3.

"The game plan was I wanted to come in and attack more," said the 17-year-old from Atlanta Ga. "But I started out a little tentative, a little nervous, and he was playing well, hitting deep and hard."

In the second set, McClune couldn't locate his first serve and failed to hold even once; the game he won was a break of Young's serve to even the set at 1-1.

"In the beginning he served pretty well," Young said. "and then all of a sudden he started throwing in a couple of double faults. Maybe he was a little tired, I don't know what it was but I'm happy it happened."

Young has not lost a set in his five matches in 2006, and has won 12 matches in a row on the Stowe Stadium courts. In Saturday's semifinal he will face fourth seed Marcus Fugate, who won their last meeting in straight sets, in a January Pro Circuit Futures event in Florida.

Fugate, who had needed three sets to claim his third and fourth round wins, won only one set on Thursday, when 15th seed Wil Spencer retired trailing 7-5. With Fugate serving at 3-4 30-40, Spencer rolled his ankle and immediately fell to the ground in pain. Although he received treatment, first on the court and then at the sidelines, and continued play, he was unable to use the speed that fuels his game. Spencer held serve for 5-4, and even had a set point during Fugate's next service game, but his movement was inhibited.

"At the time when he fell over, and I saw him rolling around, I thought he hurt it, but I didn't think he hurt it as bad as he thought he did," Fugate said. "I expected him to come out banging the ball and moving just as well as he had before."

Fugate was wary of letting up, and even though he admitted to "shanking about five balls" after Spencer's injury, he was determined put it out of his mind. For his part, Spencer was willing to continue, even if it was just pounding balls that came his way, but felt that the pain and swelling might be a sign of further damage. He is returning to his home in Florida for x-rays, while Fugate will be preparing for his match with Young.

"I beat him this year, so I feel confident going into the match," said the 18-year-old from Fairport New York. "We have similar styles of game, I just think that I'm just a bit bigger than he is, that's all."

The 16s doubles quarterfinals followed the singles quarterfinal matches, and there was one big upset, as top seeds Boyajian and partner Zach Hunter lost to Nicholas Andrews and Jamie Hutter 6-4, 6-2. Andrews and Hutter, an unseeded team from California, had no trouble with the recent Clay Court champions and on Friday will face the third seeded team of Jarmere Jenkins and Austin Krajicek. Jenkins and Krajicek defeated the 13th seeds Daniel Nguyen and Aba Omodele-Lucien 6-4, 6-2. In the bottom half, second seeds Devin Britton and Waylon Chin will meet fifth seeds Adam El Mihdawy and Brad Klahn. Britton and Chin rolled over unseeded Chris Reiman and Bryan Swartz 6-1, 6-1, while El Mihdawy and Klahn rebuffed fourth seeds JT Sundling and Ryan Thacher 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

The gangly righthander from Florida admitted he is still maturing when it comes to playing big matches.

"Normally when I play the top players in these type of tournaments, I lose the match before I even go on the court," he said.

But after dropping the first set, Domijan, the No. 12 seed, decided it was time for a change, and he began to play less tentatively, using his serve and forehand more confidently.

"At the beginning, I was waiting for him to miss, and he really never misses." said the native of Gainesville, who trains at Saddlebrook. "In the second and third sets I felt I was more aggressive and caused him to miss and I dictated more of the points."

When Klahn doublefaulted on game point at 3-4, Domijan seized his opportunity and served out the match as if he'd been doing it for years.

"It's something you have to learn with experience," said the 5th place finisher at the 2006 Clay Courts. "You can't just say you believe you can win and then go out there and win."

Domijan will face 26th seed Isamu Tachibana in Thursday's quarterfinals. Tachibana, of Austin Tex., ended the run of unseeded Ravi Yegya-Raman of Cherry Hills NJ, 7-5, 6-2. The other 16s quarterfinal being played on Thursday will pit top seed Brennan Boyajian against sixth seed Drew Daniel. Boyajian continued his National-level winning streak, (he has not lost a set in eighteen consecutive matches,) defeating Thousand Oaks California's Denis Lin 6-4, 6-3. Daniel, for the third match in a row, needed to rally from a first-set loss, this time overwhelming 29th seed Daniel Moss 1-6, 6-1, 6-1.

In the bottom half of the draw, second seed Ryan Thacher quickly dispatched unseeded Daniel Nguyen of Oxnard Calif., 6-3, 6-1, but the other three matches were lengthy and tense.

Fourth seed Jarmere Jenkins was down 4-0 in the third set to unseeded Reece Milner of Los Angeles, Calif. before he woke up and began pressuring the underdog. With the crowd solidly in his corner, Milner, who beat the 25th and 13th seeds Monday and Tuesday, couldn't win the crucial points down the stretch, giving Georgia's Jenkins a berth in the quarterfinals against Adam El Mihdawy.

El Mihdawy, the fifth seed, dropped the first set, just as he had in his Tuesday victory, but managed to play nearly flawless tennis when it counted and defeated 12th seed JT Sundling of Thousand Oaks, Calif. 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (1).

"I started a little slow; I double-faulted three times in one game to get broken, but I got it going in the second set and finished strong," said the New Yorker who turns 17 next month. "The kid (Sundling is 15) had a good forehand and he kept hitting to my backhand and I really didn't get any forehands to attack."

But in the tiebreak, El Mihdawy eliminated his errors and coaxed several from Sundling to come away with the win.

"He made a few errors and I kept the ball deep, didn't really let him hit his forehand," El Mihdawy said.

The only unseeded player in either draw is 16-year-old Ty Trombetta of Hallandale Fla. Trombetta lost his first set of the tournament to 24th seed Casey Watt of Gibsonia Pa. on Wednesday, but nearly three hours later he had secured his quarterfinal spot, outlasting Watt 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4). Trombetta will meet Thacher on Friday.

The 18s division couldn't match the 16s for third set tiebreaks or upsets on Wednesday. The top seven seeds advanced to the quarterfinals, with 15th seed Wil Spencer joining them. Spencer, the third place finisher in the 16s last year, found himself down 4-0 in the second set to 25th seed Reid Carleton of Naples Fla., but battled into a tiebreaker, which he won to earn a 6-2, 7-6 (6) victory and a Thursday matchup with fourth seed Marcus Fugate. Fugate, who had needed three sets to complete his Monday and Tuesday matches, took care of business quickly on Wednesday, defeating Tampa Fla.'s Clint Bowles, the 12th seed, 6-1, 6-3.

Fifth seed Alex Clayton struggled in the first set against 17th seed Jason Jung of Torrance, Calif, but found his rhythm for 6-4, 6-1 win and will face third seed Tim Smyczek in a Friday quarterfinal. Although Smyczek said he was a little surprised by the relentless serve-and-volley attack of 16th seed Houston Barrick of Brentwood Tenn., Smyczek effectively counteracted it, earning a 6-2, 6-4 win. Second seed Jesse Levine has lost only ten games in four matches this week, and Wednesday he gave 15-year-old Chase Buchanan of New Albany Ohio a few lessons in consistency and depth during his 6-2, 6-0 victory.

Top seed Donald Young had no struggles with 2006 18s Clay Court champion Michael Venus, counter-punching his way to a 6-3, 6-3 decision over the New Zealand native and setting up a Thursday meeting with another Michael---McClune.

McClune, the sixth seed, could not shake 14th seed Johnny Hamui even after capturing the first set 6-4, losing a tiebreak in the second (5) before cruising to a 6-1 in the third win.

"I was up 5-3 (in the tiebreak) and just lost focus," said the 2004 and 2005 consolation tournament winner in Kalamzoo. "I was serving at 5-4 and he played two good points--I missed one short forehand--and I think it was focus that I lost."

"He played well, we were having a good match," said McClune, who turns 17 in less than two weeks. "I can't really get mad over that."

The longest match in the 18s on Wednesday saw 20th seed Davey Sandgren of Gallatin, Tenn. and No. 7 seed Kellen Damico blast serves and groundstrokes for over three hours before Damico claimed a 4-6, 7-6 (8), 6-4 win, saving a match point in the second set tiebreak.

Sandgren had saved three set points at 6-3 in that tiebreak, but didn't get his first serve in at 7-6 and after his second serve was returned, blasted a forehand several feet wide. A few more errors later and Damico evened the match, but cramping began inhibiting his movement in the third and he was tended by the trainers after the match.

"I couldn't jump up or land on my serves," said the 17-year-old from Parker, Colo. who was unable to climb the stairs to the media tower. "Moving lateral was fine, but no up and down movement. I'm glad I could fight through it."

Damico was elated when told he was not playing until Friday, giving him time to relax and rest before his contest with Jesse Levine on Friday. "I usually hit twice (on a day off), but I probably won't leave the hotel room tomorrow."

After having defeated Sandgren easily in the third round of Kalamazoo last year, Damico commented on the contrast between the two matches.

"His serve was big last year, and it's bigger this year." Damico said of Sandgren, who is a freshman at University of Tennessee. "He's not missing as much and he's hitting his forehand better."

The quarterfinals in 18s doubles were played on Wednesday evening and top seeds Alex Clayton and Donald Young survived a scare before defeating the sixth seeds Matt Allare and Justin Kronauge 3-6, 7-5, 6-1. They will face the unseeded team of Steve Forman and Cory Parr who eliminated their third consecutive seeded team under the lights Wednesday night. Forman and Parr split tiebreaks with the seventh seeds Dylan Arnould and Johnny Hamui before pulling away for a 7-6(6), 6-7(6) 6-1 win. The other semifinal on Friday will feature second seeds Jamie Hunt and Nate Schnugg against fifth seeds Chase Buchanan and Marcus Fugate. Hunt and Schnugg defeated eighth seeds McClune and Tyler Hochwalt 6-4, 6-3 while Buchanan and Fugate beat fourth seeds Ryan Lipman and Rhyne Williams 6-2, 6-3.

The 16s doubles quarterfinals are scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

Long matches were common during fourth round action at Stowe Stadium Tuesday but 18s top seed Donald Young and the 16s No. 1 Brennan Boyajian steered clear of any such complications, continuing their straight-set strolls through their draws.

Young eliminated 19th seed Chris Racz 6-0, 6-3, while Boyajian took care of 17th seed Frank Carleton 6-3, 6-2, but other results were not nearly as routine. Despite clear skies and temperatures in the 70s, cramping was a theme in many of the matches that went three sets.

In the 16s, second seed Ryan Thacher, exiled to a back court for the first time in the tournament, lost five straight games after taking a 5-2 first set lead to fall behind 31st seed Waylon Chin. But Chin began cramping and had several medical timeouts and changeover treatments after the second set, with Thacher prevailing 5-7, 6-3, 6-0.

Meanwhile on Court Two, 29th seed Daniel Moss and 14th seed Kayvon Karimi battled for two and a half hours before Moss came through with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory. Casey Watt and Bo Seal also had a lengthy battle, both cramping late in the the third set before Seal fell to the court with loud moans. Leading 5-3, he lost that game, took a medical timeout and after losing the next, retired, giving the equally fatigued Watt the 5-7, 7-5, 5-5 (ret.) victory.

Tenth seed Denis Lin and No. 21 Walker Kehrer went the full distance before Lin squeaked by with a 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5) win, while the day's biggest upset in the 16s was another marathon match--Isamu Tachibana's 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4) nail-biter over seventh seed Austin Krajicek.

In the second set tiebreak, Krajicek fell behind 3-0 but reeled off seven straight points to even the match, momentum that did not spill over into the third set. After more than two hours of play, the outcome was still very much in doubt, but when Krajicek saved four match points serving at 5-6 nearly an hour later, destiny appeared to be on his side.

"He came up with some big serves," said Tachibana, the 26th seed. "There was nothing I could do about it."

Showing no sign of disappointment at failing to convert those chances, Tachibana instead took a commanding lead in the tiebreak. After losing both his serves at 1-4, Krajicek tossed his racquet, prompting the chair umpire to cite him for racquet abuse, a point penalty that would have given Tachibana the match.

"He threw his racquet across the court," said Tachibana, 16. "The chair umpire called point penalty racquet abuse, but the referee came out on the court and rescinded the code violation so it wasn't match."

"It definitely upset me," said the soft-spoken Texan, who is playing in his first Nationals at Kalamazoo. "I was walking up to the net to shake his hand. That's never happened to me. I talked to the chair umpire--she did the right thing; he'd been throwing his racquet and had gotten a warning before."

A shaken Tachibana proceeded to lose his next two serves and when Krajicek won the next point to bring it to 6-4, the tension mounted. But Tachibana was determined not to go meekly. "I knew to put the pressure on him, try to get to the net and put it away." He did just that to record the biggest win of his junior career.

Of the 16 players remaining in the 16s division, four are unseeded and all eliminated seeded players Tuesday. Ty Trombetta has yet to lose a set in four matches, and on Tuesday easily took out 20th seed Drew Courtney. Ravi Yegya-Raman rebounded to oust 16th seed Devin Britton 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 and Reese Milner bounced Clay Court finalist and 13th seed Andrew Kells 7-6 (1), 6-1. Daniel Nguyen had no trouble with 28th seed Michael Sicora, winning 6-3, 6-1.

Battles of attrition were not confined to the 16s division, as both third seed Tim Smyczek and fourth seed Marcus Fugate needed to come back from first set losses to claim their places in the round of 16. Smyczek spotted 31st seed Cory Parr a set before reversing the trend, winning 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.

"He came out swinging for the fences and was making his shots," Smyczek said. "He put the pressure on me early. But I was able to turn it around pretty quick and get up a break in the second." From there the 18-year-old from Wisconsin took control of the match, often finishing at the net if he sensed Parr back on his heels.

Fugate needed three sets for the second straight day, with Jason McNaughton on the short end of the 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-3 score.

Wil Spencer, the fifteenth seed, and Rhyne Williams, the 29th seed punished each other for three hours and fifteen minutes before Spencer finally wore down the 15-year-old from Tennessee 7-6 (5), 6-7 (2), 6-3. Williams had a 5-1 lead in the second set, but Spencer battled back to 5-3 when Williams called a trainer for what appeared to be heat exhaustion. The lengthy delay did not appear to help Williams halt Spencer's momentum, and although Williams brought himself even, he could not get in front in the final set. Spencer appeared able to play another hour if necessary and showed no signs of the fatigue that seemed to pervade the air.

Other long and exciting 18s matches featured 20th seed Davey Sandgren outlasting unseeded Brad Mixson 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5), and in the day's last singles contest, 12th seed Clint Bowles overcoming a 5-2 third set deficit to defeat 23rd seed Dylan Arnould 6-3, 6-7 (6), 7-5.

After three hours of tennis, Arnould glimpsed his first match points when serving at 5-4 in the third.

But Bowles, a lefthander from Tampa, didn't relent, and continued firing away despite a cramp in his right quad. He saved one match point by nicking the sideline, leaving Arnould with nothing to do but give the "good" sign.

The lengthy match produced some very tired legs.

"It wasn't like a full cramp, but I've experienced it before, and when it happens it's going to get worse after that," said Bowles. "So I didn't put any legs into my serve and played one point at a time and went for my shots."

Last year's 16s champion Nate Schnugg, the 10th seed in the 18s this year, fell to 17th seed Jason Jung 7-6 (4), 7-5. The oft-injured Jung has a history of playing well in Kalamazoo; last year, unseeded, he upset 7th seed Nikita Kryvonos, reaching the round of 16.

"To win this tournament is a really big deal," said the Torrance Calif. resident. "All the focus is on you. It brings up the level of your game, because you really want it."

The 18s doubles fourth round was completed Tuesday evening, and there was one major surprise, as the unseeded team of Steve Forman and Parr upended third seeds Kellen Damico and Dennis Lajola 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (2). The other seven teams advanced as predicted to tomorrow's quarterfinals.

Kalamazoo--

Brennan Boyajian and Ryan Thacher, the top two seeds in the 16s division, sailed through their first matches at Stowe Stadium Sunday in front of a noontime audience of appreciative fans.

In a battle of 2006 Easter Bowl champions, Boyajian, the 16s winner in Palm Springs, took out 14s titleist Evan King 6-0, 6-1. When Chicagoan King, still only 14, finally managed to win a game, he mocked himself by striking a triumphant pose, playing to the crowd on Stowe Stadium\'s court 3.

Boyajian displayed some theatrics of his own during that game, when on one point he hit two \"tweeners,\" the first one successful, the second one well long.

\"I came out trying to play my best,\" said the 16-year-old from Weston Fla., who has now won 15 consecutive National-level matches in straight sets. \"He\'s one in the country in the 14s, so I knew it wasn\'t going to be easy. But he didn\'t play so good, I don\'t think.\"

Not to be outdone, second seeded Ryan Thacher made short work of Jason Zafiros 6-1, 6-0, and after the match admitted that his experience last year at Kalamazoo made a difference.

\"I played on the front courts last year,\" said the lefthander from Studio City, Calif. \"I like it actually. I was a little nervous, but I think that\'s normal. I do like the chance to play in front of a crowd.\"

Although third seed Brad Klahn and fourth seed Jarmere Jenkins struggled a bit, both advanced, and in fact, only two of the 32 seeds failed to make Monday\'s third round. Jason Lin of Irvine Calif. came from behind to upset 18th seed Marc Powers of Stamford Conn. 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and No. 32 seed Andy Magee of Rolling Hills Estates Calif. could not sustain his quick start and fell to Geoffrey Lewis of Durango Colo. 1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-0.

One of the most dramatic matches of the day at Stowe saw Mac McAnulty of Chicago Ill., survive cramps and vomiting to defeat James Crystal of Waccabuc Ny 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. Late in the third set McAnulty\'s distress caused a significant delay while the court was cleaned up, but it didn\'t keep him from retaking the court and claiming his victory on Court Two.

The 18s division had no main draw singles play on Sunday, but the third round of doubles was played at Western Michigan University. All 12 of the seeded teams remaining advanced to the round of 16, but two of the top four seeds dropped the first set before pulling through. The second seeded team of Jamie Hunt and Nate Schnugg defeated Andrew Crone and Kevin Galloway 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 and the fourth seeded team of Ryan Lipman and Rhyne Williams fought back to put away Denny Fafek and Jay Wong 5-7, 6-1, 6-2. Top seeds Alex Clayton and Donald Young struggled but prevailed 7-5, 7-6 (3) over Reid Carleton and Jonathan Wolff. Third seeds Kellen Damico and Dennis Lajola had an easier time, defeating Scott Burtzlaff and David Nguyen 6-3, 6-1.

On Monday, Stowe will feature third round singles in both division, while the 16s doubles third round and consolation matches will occupy the courts at WMU.

Kalamazoo--

It was a beautiful day in Kalamazoo for the 64 main draw tennis matches staged over eleven hours at the Stowe Stadium courts. It ended after 7 p.m with a thrilling 18s contest capping the day\\\'s nonstop action.

The 16s division took to the courts first, and there were a few surprises, but the top eight seeds advanced. Jason Smith, the ninth seed, was upset by Ty Trombetta 7-6 (4), 6-0, while 15th seed Kyle McMorrow was defeated by Daniel Nguyen 6-4, 7-6 (5). Reese Milner took out 25th seed Erik Hannah and Marcus Rebersak sent 30th seed Tyler Bowman to the back draw with a 6-4, 7-5 victory.

The 16\\\'s top seeds Brennan Boyajian and Ryan Thacher moved through in straight sets, but Boyajian was challenged in the second set by Brian Fang, who held a set point serving at 5-4. Boyajian has not lost a set in Nationals 16s competition in three tournaments, and the righthander from Weston Fla. turned back Fang\\\'s efforts to end that streak, taking the match 6-1, 7-5.

\\\"I just started missing everything,\\\" Boyajian said of his performance in the second set. \\\"I wasn\\\'t feeling too good. Hopefully I can pick it back up again tomorrow.\\\"

The 18s produced much of the day\\\'s drama, and most of that came in the late afternoon matches. Fourth seed Marcus Fugate, a finalist at the Clays two weeks ago, was down a set and a break to Zach Nichols, but released his anger by smashing his racquet and turned the match around.

\\\"They always say to keep your racquet in your hand,\\\" said the usually placid New Yorker. \\\"But I feel there are emotions that can\\\'t be endured with a racquet in your hand, so I just had to let it go.\\\"

Fugate then won nine straight games and finished \\\"by concentrating on my serve in the third.\\\"

Only two seeds fell in 18s play, with Florida\\\'s Jonathan Wolff defeating 26th seed Matt Brewer of Tennessee and Southern Californian Steve Johnson putting out Mateusz Kecki, the 22nd seed from Sacramento 3-6, 7-6 (1), 6-2. Once Johnson had secured his win on Stowe\\\'s Court Two, he headed to the back courts to watch his friend Steve Forman, a 2005 finalist in the 16s at Kalamazoo.

Forman\\\'s opponent, Zachary Watson of Virginia, showed no signs of being intimidated by Forman\\\'s 2005 results or his seeding (30). Using a punishing forehand, Watson took a tight first set 7-6 (5) and when Forman evened the match with a 6-3 win in the second, the stage was set.

Serving at 5-6 in the third, Forman, down 0-40, saved two match points. At 30-40, he and Watson produced the point of the tournament. Every conceivable tennis shot was struck in the rally: drop shot, swinging volley, overhead, down-the-line forehand, crosscourt backhand, lob. Each boy seemed to have won the point several times over, and the crowd that lined the benches erupted in cheers and whistles after Forman finally snatched it.

\\\"I put everything I had into that\\\" Forman said. \\\"I normally wouldn\\\'t have chased down that lob. I don\\\'t know how that even got in. I should be out right now.\\\" Watson had two more ads in the game, but Forman changed his strategy and stayed alive.

\\\"My serve is my biggest weapon, so I quit trying to kick it to his backhand and tried to just hit some big serves,\\\" Forman said. \\\"It went in, I don\\\'t know how, but it did.\\\"

Once he reached the tiebreak, Forman again lived dangerously, going from a 4-0 lead to 4-4, but the 17-year-old from Del Mar, Calif. immediately got a minibreak and won the final two points on his serve.

Top seeds Donald Young and Jesse Levine had no need of such miracles, as they again dominated; Young defeated Eric Quigley 6-2, 6-2, while Levine had an even easier time with Jeff Dadamo, taking a 6-1, 6-1 victory.

There were no 18s doubles on Monday, but the 16s played their third round matches. The top five seeded teams advanced to Tuesday\\\'s fourth round.