USTA Girls' 18 National Championships

August 13, 2006--An air of melancholy nostalgia seeped over the Almaden Valley Athletic Club on Sunday as Ashley Weinhold and Lauren Albanese prepared for the final.

Since 1990, AVAC has been home to the Girls' 18 National Championship. More than one of the most prestigious junior tournaments in the country, it has been a refuge for the tennis community to escape to each August. The care that is poured into each detail is heartfelt from the fresh flower arrangements, to the methodically hung banners, organized display cards, and to the canopies shading those who have come to watch.

Similar to many of the players on court, the players running the show are a class act in their own right. "We want this tournament to be a positive experience for everyone involved," co-director Jennifer Pitzen said.

Throughout the week, compliments of appreciation are expressed from parents, coaches, and girls. Throughout the week new connections are made and old ones rediscovered. This year, however, more worried questions of, "Where's the tournament going to be next year?" rang in everyone's ears.

After 16 years, AVAC will no longer host The Girls' 18 National Hard Court Championship. The new site is yet to be determined.

Co-director Andrea Norman who sent Ashley Weinhold and Lauren Albanese out to the court for their final match said, "This is the last match that will be played at AVAC."

Weinhold came on strong dictating points with her lethal slice backhand, keeping Albanese on the defense. Albanese said, "I just tried to keep it deep at first."

Her strategy paid off and at 4-3, despite Weinhold's chances to tie it up again, Albanese steamrolled ahead to win 6-3, 6-0 with her heavy ground strokes and strong balance. Albanese said, "I think I relaxed once I won the first set and could go for more. I put pressure on her second serve and I just tried to relax after I got the break."

While Weinhold couldn't pin point where her game began to unravel after the match, she said, "I had my chances. I think it was a combination of pressure and anxiety...This was a hard one to lose."

Raw disappointment and sadness are tough feelings to come to terms with at any stage and every age. These emotions linger longer and overcoming them to reach a sought after dream, as four-year Hard Court veteran Lauren Albanese did on Sunday takes more than just hard work and drive, it takes faith, belief, and willingness to make time.

Congratulations to all the players who participated in the Girls' 18 National Hard Court Championship, this last meaningful year and all the memorable years preceding. The volunteers and committee members appreciate the efforts, stories, and love for the sport of tennis each person brings to this event.

August 12, 2006--Four years ago Lauren Albanese first came to San Jose, a budding teenager with raw talent, hard strokes, and a strong will to work hard. Her goal: To win hard courts.

This year, Lauren Albanese, who is seeded fifth, is one match away from reaching her goal and winning the prestigious ticket to New York. Unseeded Hilary Barte of Newhall, CA, played a competitive two-set semifinal against Albanese saying after the match, "I played well but the better player won today." Albanese could not contain her cries of joy on match point as she won 6-4, 7-5. Cool and serious, focused and light she says, "I've come here to win the tournament."

Ashley Weinhold, seeded three, has come to do the same. After winning the first set 6-3 against number eight seed Madison Brengle, Weinhold allowed the second set to slide, going down 6-1 in a matter of minutes. In almost repeat fashion, as she had done in the quarterfinals against Lindsay Burdette, Weinhold picked up her game two notches in the third set and let the winners fly attacking, moving forward and punishing every sitter she forced from Brengle. When asked about intended strategy and what she expects for Sunday's final, she answers in a matter of fact tone, "Last match. Might as well lay it out on the line."

Weinhold and Marand seemed to do just that in the doubles championship match against Lindsay and Mallory Burdette. They came up slightly short this time, losing in a tight three-setter, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. "We hadn't played a team in the tournament that put so much pressure on us," Weinhold says.

Older sister Lindsay who had been in the 2004 final with Alexa Glatch, used her experience to keep the positive energy flowing throughout the match. She says, "I gave it my all. I didn't care if we won or lost. I just wanted to go for it."

Excited and appreciative as they held their tightly bound bouquet of roses and their new golden balls, the Burdette sister's can now think of New York and the US Open.

Lindsay agrees saying, "Our goal for this tournament was not to think about the Open. Now we can and we'll prepare."

Eldest sister Erin who won the doubles final in 2001 with partner Megan Bradley, and who has been watching Lindsay and Mallory in action all week says, "I may have to take a trip to New York now too."

August 11, 2006--Unassuming, unrelenting, soft spoken with a girlish laugh off court and a focused fist pump on, number three seed Ashley Weinhold pulled out her first three-setter of the tournament against number eleven seed Lindsay Burdette in her quarterfinal match on Friday.

"I knew she was a solid player. I knew I had to mentally wait for her to crack," Weinhold said.

A vision of determination, it seemed as if Weinhold did everything but wait in the third set, as she took a commanding 5-0 lead in a matter of minutes. Weinhold stomped on second serves, using her agility and quick hands to make her way to net and execute her penetrating trademark volleys. Burdette said, "I got tired in the third set...I wish I pumped myself up more. I knew what she had to offer."

When asked if ready for doubles, Burdette said, "Doubles is different. Mallory and I are fresh and more upbeat for that...the consolation is going to be tough though."

Both physically and mentally demanding, tennis is a sport of perseverance, tactic, precision, and determination. At this level, the fundamental strokes and mechanics are textbook. It's the personality behind the styles that reveal themselves through the battle and the ability to fight.

August 10, 2006--Drama is oftentimes associated with highperformance athletes. Diva is often the label given to women that reach a certain caliber. At this point in the tournament, every girl left is a diva in her own right

Kelcy McKenna sports her own tie-dye creation. She wears a new one every match.
© Alana Marcu

One girl catches a nap between matches at the Almaden Valley Athletic Club,
Thursday, August 10.
© Alana Marcu

Some bring their drama to the court with antagonizing gestures, questionable line calls, and distracting strategies. These are the competitors that oftentimes do anything in the name of winning. Others use more mindful tactics--embellishing injuries or claiming dehydration in distress. These are the ones that usually train eight hours a day in the most severe heat (usually Florida). They are the ones who exited a bit earlier than expected and can't possibly continue fighting for a lower stake.

Of course these stereotypes are not quite so black and white but for some reason, there seems to be little variations among the shades of grey this year.

Kelcy McKenna, however is the rainbow-colored exception. The Oregon native who has been playing tennis since the age of ten, wears a self-made tie-dye shirt for every match. After beating Clay Court Champion Mallory Burdette in the second round, the alpha seed fell to Hilary Barte of Newhall, CA, in two sets and has been going strong in the back draw since.

After winning both her consolation matches on Thursday, McKenna said, "I try to focus on the match I am playing and not look ahead too much."

She is no stranger to team sports as she plays on her high school volleyball team. She said, "I am looking forward to the college experience and playing tennis for a school...I love volleyball and started doing tie dye shirts for my team in seventh grade but I love tennis more and couldn't continue to do both at this level."

The smiling Kelcy McKenna who declined to say what schools she is interested in faces Cristala Andrews at 10 am on Friday.

She doesn't like to play with jewelry, though she likes to make it and she doesn't have a lucky or a favorite shirt that she likes to play in. Her dad is her coach. She considers her overhead her best shot because of her volleyball skills and she thinks Hard Courts is fun with everyone watching.

Perhaps this tennis diva should give some of the drama queens a tip or two on attitude and class.

Melanie Oudin talks to her mother after her win over number one seed Mary Gambale on Wednesday, August 9th.
© Alana Marcu

Maria Sanchez with her partner Lyndsay Kinstler play number two seeds Mary Gambale and Julia Cohen, Wednesday, August 9th.
© Alana Marcu

NorCal girl Maria Sanchez smiles after her win over number two seed Julia Cohen.
© Alana Marcu

Co-tournament directors Andrea Norman and Jen Pitzen take a 30 second break from running the tournament to pose with Tim English
© Alana Marcu

The 2006 Nationals' welcome sign at the San Jose International Airport
© Alana Marcu

one seed Mary Gambale and number two Julia Cohen took lightening quick leads as they faced first time opponents Melanie Oudin and Maria Sanchez in the round of 32.

Gambale started out in usual fashion, hitting high moon balls and forcing a slew of errors from 14-yr. old Oudin to take the first set 6-3.

Cohen seemed to have it even easier, going up 5-1 as Sanchez over-hit her already big ground strokes and rocketed balls well beyond the baseline.

Oudin said, "I was a little nervous in the first set...I knew I had to be patient and wait to attack."

Sanchez said, "I went out there tight and missed a lot. I knew I had to loosen up and make adjustments to win."

As if on cue, the underdogs stepped up their games and stopped with their errors.

Down 3-6, 3-5, Oudin began attacking Gambale's loopy shots and coming in behind them. She began to force errors from the number one seed and pushed her on the defense. "I knew she just got balls back and didn't have anything in her game to hurt me. Once I realized that and focused, I only lost one more game."

Sanchez said, "I began to work the point and execute better." Sanchez fought off two set points at 5-2 and avoided a scoring scuffle at 5-4 to win the first set 7-5.

Oudin rolled through Gambale in the third set inching her way to net and moving forward behind every shot. She won 3-6, 7-5, 6-1. She said after, "I think I can beat anyone now that I beat the number one."

Sanchez defeated Cohen by a final score of 7-5, 6-3. Sanchez who has already signed with USC for the Fall said, "I am trying to take it one match at a time now...I have no expectations really."

The singles wild card to the US Open may be a vanished vision for Gambale and Cohen but dreams of winning the doubles are still within reach as the two prepare for their quarterfinal match against Cristala Andrews and Chelsea Gullickson.

August 8, 2006--Shinann Featherston and Stefana Petrelli brought some of their New York grit to San Jose, as they each toughed out their Tuesday matches in nail biting third set tiebreakers.

Featherston, an alpha seed in the tournament, started out strong against opponent Kelly Ullery of Wellington, FL, to take the first set 6-2. "I played well in the beginning" said Featherston, "I came out attacking."

Featherston's aggressive strategy began failing her in the second set, however, as she started to dump normally simple, sitting approaches and basic ground strokes into the bottom of the net. "I didn't play my best tennis," Featherston admitted, "I lost the second set 6-2."

Featherston knew she would have to change tactics in the third set. "I just tried to keep the ball in play," she said.

As Ullery served with two match points on her racquet at 40-15, Featherston said, "I could tell she was nervous...I just kept the balls in and went for my shots. I knew the pressure was on her to win."

Featherston clawed her way back and fought off one more match point to send the match to a deciding third set tiebreaker.

Down 4-5 in the tiebreaker, Featherston hung on, winning the next three points to take the match by a final score of 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(5).

Fellow Fed Cup teammate Stefana Petrelli found herself in a similar situation against Candyce Boney from North Las Vegas, NV. Petrelli who pulled her stomach muscle in the first round of the tournament said, "I almost retired after I lost the first set 6-4."

Petrelli moved ahead quickly in the second set with her careful setups and graceful volleys to win 6-3. "I had been told she missed a lot so I told myself to be patient but I couldn't believe her gets," Petrelli said.

As set three entered a tiebreaker at 6-6, Boney was overruled on a first point call. Petrelli zoomed ahead making it 5-0 with little effort. Boney's game seemed to rapidly unravel as the two-hour plus match came down to a defining seven points. Petrelli won with a big first serve at 5-2 in the breaker. The final score: 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(2).

Featherston, who had finished long before, stayed to watch. The two walked to the tournament desk together to report the score.

August 7, 2006---With dusk comes the cool San Jose summer night breeze. Most players have long finished with matches and most spectators abandon the few stragglers still playing to battle it out under the bright court lights.

Suffering from a 6-0, 4-0 deficit on Monday night, Whitney Taney and Liza Wischer managed to stay positive and stay aggressive against Logan Hansen and Carolyn McVeigh to come back and win 0-6, 6-4, 6-2.

"We weren't playing our best at first," Taney said in reflection, "When we were down 6-0, 4-0, we finally got one game and than played a solid two more to go up 4-3."

"We gained momentum, closed in and won eight straight games after," Taney said excitedly.

Taney and Wischer, who have played doubles together since the 12's didn't seem to have a strategy going into the match against Hansen and McVeigh.

"We never played them as a team," Wischer said, "And we always try to just close in and put pressure."

In other doubles action, number one seeds Ashley Weinhold and Sanaz Marand of Texas pounced on opponents Lauren Meier and Marisa Schonfeld in the round of 32, winning 6-1, 6-0.

Schonfeld said after, "They didn't let us close. We felt like we were getting caught a lot."

Weinhold looked sharp with her rock steady hands and boxer-like footwork as she closed in on sitters and picked off middle ball after middle ball that partner Marand set up with a serve or deep ground stroke.

"Our strengths are our communication and energy," Weinhold said, "I'm always looking to move."

Doubles resumes on Wednesday with Taney and Wischer set to play Weinhold and Marand.

When asked about expectations or added pressures both teams said, "We can only take one match at a time."

August 6, 2006--Big serves and bigger returns cinched the match for number three seeds Lindsay and Mallory Burdette in their first round of doubles play on Sunday against fellow Southern players Jamie Hampton and Anamika Bhargava. A lop-sided match of momentum shifts, solid half volleys, and gamesmanship set the tone on court two at the Almaden Valley Athletic Club on Sunday.

"I definitely felt nerves and pressure," older sister Lindsay said after, "But I didn't expect all the dialogue coming from Jamie and Anamika...it was a tough second round." Hampton, who is seeded seventh in singles, paired up with old doubles partner Anamika Bhargava. The veteran team took advantage of these first round nerves by forcing the Burdettes to make errors in set one. They used isolating tactics to close in tight and finish points off with unretrievable overhead winners to win the first set 6-4.

An unsettling opening set led the way to a more confidently played second set for the Burdettes. Older sister Lindsay, the obvious leader of the duo, stepped her game up and shook off the jitters to replace them with steady hands, solid serves, and focused fist pumps. Following sister Lindsay's lead, Mallory bumped up her shots as well by hitting lethal forehand returns past Hampton and Bhargava. "We just turned it around," Lindsay said, "We knew Jamie would hit hard and Anamika would hit spinny so we tried to isolate Anamika."

When asked if she adheres to older sister's guidance, Mallory said, "Of course I listen to Lindsay out there and we really just started to play well today."

The Burdettes took the second set 6-2 and continued with their sharp tactics in the third set to quickly take a commanding 5-2 lead. What at first appeared to be an unraveling of Hampton and Bhargava, seemed later as if it would turn around and become a close comeback as the score jumped to 5-4. Suddenly the pressures of closing the match echoed the first set nerves. Hampton and Bhargava began to both stay back at the baseline, forcing the Burdettes to make rushed errors.

Down 5-4, Hampton served to stay in the match. A series of fast points brought the game score to 30-15.

A little help from the wind brought a sailing return from Lindsay back inside the court, making it 30-30.

After the match, Hampton walked despondently to the trainer. She said, "We had a mental lapse...usually one of us will pick the other up if one's not playing well but we hadn't played doubles in a while so it didn't happen today."

"We dish it out and take it in," Mallory said after, "We help each other out when we play."

August 5, 2006--As usual the college coaches' forum kicked off registration day of the Girls' 18 National Championship. With over 75 schools participating in the event, 200 plus girls and parents weaving between each table, and an armada of helpers and volunteers serving lunch to the coaches, and making sure things ran smoothly from 10:30 am-2pm, the event seemed to be a success. Rutgers University coach, Ben Bucca said, "It was so nice to be under the canopies outside with the breeze."

Marie Norton, the college coaches' forum chair, did a superb job of accommodating coaches and adding style to the event. Under white circus canopies lay perfectly aligned tables dressed in maroon linens, accented by fresh summer flower arrangements. This year, at a few coaches' requests, a private area was even sectioned off in the Open Bible Church (the site of the forum) for players and coaches to meet and talk without the hectic outside bustle.

Following the forum, the College Informational Seminar presented by the USTA Junior and Collegiate Competition Department from 3:30-4:45 pm, invited parents and players to learn more about college recruiting. Elke Juul, Administrator of Junior and Collegiate Competition for USTA answered questions regarding the different rules and regulations of the NCAA. Lew Brewere, Director of Junior Competition, and Glenn Arrington, National Manager of Collegiate and Corporate Tennis also provided insight on the recruitment process. This marked the first seminar of its kind at a National Event.

It wouldn't have been opening day at Nationals, however, if Malibu Grill didn't set up in the parking lot to serve their classic BBQ chicken, vegetable lasagna, garlic bread, salad and carrot cake. Players, coaches, and volunteers formed a line which extended around the lot at first. Most returned for seconds and thirds.

But the real buzz of the evening seemed to arrive after 8:30pm when attendees of the coaches' cocktail reception straggled back to the tournament headquarters from the Tollhouse Larkspur Hotel for some Malibu leftovers. Head of Registration, Sally Darling said, "The party was still going on when I left...there were over sixty coaches that came and it was so nice to see them talk and mingle, especially some of the big competitors." It was the most successful coaches' reception in eight years.

Play begins promptly at 8:00 am on Sunday, August 6th. With no withdrawals and all sixteen seeds registered, and looking for the wild card to New York's US Open, coaches, scouts, and spectators look forward to a week of competitive, gritty tennis ahead.