With timely reverses, good power and numerous volleys, Andrew McGuinness and George Lemmon won the Boys Under 19 National Junior Doubles Championships for the second year in a row at Wilmington Country Club. For McGuinness, after sweeping their three matches, 3-0 each, the championship was his third U19 title in a row (and fourth overall—two with Lemmon, one with Devin McLaughlin and one with his brother, Trevor, five years ago), but Lemmon will be looking for a new partner next year as McGuinness aged out in January.
In the Boys U17, Kevin Flannery and Jamie Ruggiero were equally impressive by also running the table without the loss of a game (just as they did in the semis and finals in 2011). Their error free play and impressive speed helped them roll through their three matches to the championship. In the finals they defeated Jarrett Odrich and Henry Parkhurst. Flannery and Ruggiero picked up where they left off last year where they won the semis and finals without losing a game. But the match of the Under 17 draw came in the semis between Jarrett Odrich and Henry Parkhurst against the No. 2 seeds, Ian Rothweiler and Jordan Brail. Odrich/Parkhurst recovered from two love down to win the last three, 9, 13 and 10— overcoming the brilliant hands of Rothweiler in the opening two games. For Odrich/Parkhurst, this was their second doubles title, as they won the U15 in 2011.
U15: David Yacobucci & Boden Polikoff d. Christopher Dalglish & Michael Kacergis, 3-1.
U13: Griffin Glendinning & Lucas Stauffer d. Bo Anderson & Peter Miller, 3-2.
U11: Dylan Deverill & Scott Holthousen d. Graham Joyce & Carter Joyce, 3-0.
On the girl’s side, Lindsay Stanley and Scarlett Bergam, winners of the U13 in 2011, knocked off Toronto’s Madison Sangster-Newbury and Sarah Hopton in a thrilling five-game battle behind Bergam’s high backhand volleys and Stanley’s power.
Stanley and Bergam also played the U15 and looked to be a shoe-in for the title given their performance in the U17. But Sawyer Chilton and Annie Tyson combined their speed and Tyson’s straight volley drops to prevent Stanley and Bergam from double-dipping, beating them in the final, 15-11, 13-16, 16-13, 14-16, 15-6.
U13: Danica Deverill & Lindsay Kuracina d. Hattie Specter & Elizabeth Lentz, 3-1.
Although each of the draws were fun and well-contested at the National Junior Doubles, the mixed doubles divisions bring the most fun and excitement. It’s not often that the boys get to play with the girls, and vice versa, but the competitiveness and camaraderie comes through. In the U19, Andrew McGuinness and Olivia Fiechter won the championship handily, cruising through the five-team round-robin undefeated. But three other teams finished 2-2. With points breaking the tie, Kevin Flannery and Sydney Francis finished 2nd, Thomas Osbourne and Madison Sangster Newbury finished 3rd and Matthew Haffey and Sarah Hopton finished 4th.
Mixed U15: Sawyer Chilton & Henry Parkhurst d. Annie Tyson & Jonathan Lentz, 3-0 in the finals.
Close to 100 juniors participated in the 26th National Junior Doubles Championships in Wilmington (DE). Eighteen of the juniors made the long trek from Toronto, Ontario. Thanks to Chris and Paul Deratnay for their huge efforts to bring such a strong contingency. Having arrived about an hour before their first start time, many of their players needed to thaw due to no heat on their 11-hour bus ride. It was -5F when they left Toronto and, upon arriving in Wilmington, temps were in the 20’s.
