Piedmont's McDonald loses in Futures semis

Unseeded Mackenzie McDonald, shown in the 2012
Australian Open juniors, lost to seventh-seeded Jared
Donaldson in the semifinals of the $15,000 Tulsa
(Okla.) Pro Championships. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Unseeded Mackenzie McDonald of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area lost to seventh-seeded Jared Donaldson of Cumberland, R.I., 6-3, 7-6 (1) on Saturday in the semifinals of the $15,000 Tulsa (Okla.) Pro Championships.
   McDonald, 19, earned All-America honors this month after reaching the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga., in May as a freshman at UCLA.
   Last summer in Cincinnati, McDonald became the first unranked teenager to qualify for an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament, the highest level for men besides the Grand Slams. He is now ranked No. 691.
   Piedmont also is the hometown of renowned coach and commentator Brad Gilbert. As a player, Gilbert peaked at No. 4 in the world in 1990. 
   Donaldson, ranked No. 474 at only 17 years old, will play top-seeded Jarmere Jenkins of Coconut Creek, Fla., in today's final. Jenkins dismissed unseeded Ernesto Escobedo, 17, of West Covina in the Los Angeles area 6-3, 6-1.
   Donaldson, the runner-up to Sacramento native Collin Altamirano in the USTA  Boys 18 National Championships last summer, won a Futures tournament in Turkey two weeks ago.
   Altamirano lost in the second round in Tulsa to fifth-seeded Dennis Nevolo, a former Illinois All-American from Gurnee, Ill.   
    Jenkins, 23, has soared to No. 238 in just over one year after graduating from the University of Virginia in anthropology. Last year, he led the Cavaliers to their first NCAA team title, advanced to the singles final and won the doubles crown with then-freshman Mac Styslinger.
   As a wild card in Sacramento in October, Jenkins reached his first Challenger semifinal.