Altamirano to face rival in USTA boys 18 quarters

Collin Altamirano of Sacramento will face
Jared Donaldson in a rematch of last year's
USTA Boys 18 National Championships final.
File photo by Paul Bauman

   Collin Altamirano will renew his rivalry with Jared Donaldson today in the USTA Boys 18 National Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich.
   The fifth-seeded Altamirano, 18, of Sacramento, and the top-seeded Donaldson, 17, from Glocester, R.I., reached the quarterfinals with straight-set victories on Thursday.
   Altamirano clobbered 31st-seeded Yancy Dennis of Reisterstown, Md., 6-2, 6-0, and Donaldson outplayed 11th-seeded Logan Smith of Carlsbad in the San Diego area 6-4, 6-2.
   Altamirano beat Donaldson 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in last year's best-of-five-set final to become the first unseeded player in the tournament's 71-year history to win the title.
   But Donaldson routed Altamirano 6-2, 6-1 in the quarterfinals of the $15,000 Oklahoma City Futures in June en route to the title.
   Donaldson is ranked No. 309 in the world among men, and Altamirano is No. 846.
   In the girls 18 quarterfinals in San Diego, second-seeded Catherine "CiCi" Bellis of Atherton advanced, but No. 17 Michaela Gordon of Saratoga lost. Both are 15.
   Bellis, the second-ranked junior in the world, trounced 14th-seeded Ena Shibahara of Rancho Palos Verdes 6-2, 6-1. Gordon fell to top-seeded Louisa Chirico, a Harrison, N.Y., resident ranked No. 219 in the world among women, 6-1, 6-4.
   Meanwhile, top-seeded Katie Volynets of Walnut Creek reached the girls 12 final in Alpharetta, Ga., with a 6-0, 6-2 win over 13th-seeded Charlotte Owensby of Boca Raton, Fla.
   Volynets will face sixth-seeded Sedona Gallagher of Henderson, Nev., in the final.

USTA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

(Results of Northern Californians only)

Boys 18

In Kalamazoo, Mich.

Singles round of 16

   Collin Altamirano (5), Sacramento, def. Yancy Dennis (31), Reisterstown, Md., 6-2, 6-0.

Doubles round of 16

   Collin Altamirano, Sacramento, and Deiton Baughman (1), Carson, def. Walker Duncan and Emil Reinberg (13), Atlanta, 6-0, 6-4.

   William Griffith, Fresno, and JT Nishimura (5), San Jose, def. Michael Genender, Los Angeles, and Vincent Lin, Schaumburg, Ill., 7-6 (1), 4-6 [10-6].

Girls 18

In San Diego

Singles quarterfinals

   Louisa Chirico (1), Harrison, N.Y., def. Michaela Gordon (17), Saratoga, 6-1, 6-4.

   Catherine Bellis (2), Atherton, def. Ena Shibahara (14), Rancho Palos Verdes, 6-2, 6-1.

Boys 16

In Kalamazoo, Mich.

Singles round of 16

   Sam Riffice (6), Roseville, def. Evan Zhu, Greenbelt, Md., 6-3, 6-2.

   Victor Pham, Saratoga, def. Patrick Kypson (3), Greenville, N.C., 6-1, 6-3.

   Alexander Keyser (14), Danville, def. Anudeen Kodali (32), Durham, N.C., 6-4, 2-6, 6-1.

Singles quarterfinals

   Connor Hance (9), Torrance, def. Victor Pham, Saratoga, 6-1, 6-3.

   Oliver Crawford, Spartanburg, S.C., def. Alexander Keyser (14), Danville, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.  

Doubles round of 16

   Robert Loeb, Hilton Head, S.C., and Alex Phillips (3), Peachtree City, Ga., def. Alexander Keyser, Danville, and Srevas Kolachalam, Campbell, 6-4, 6-2.

Girls 12

In Alpharetta, Ga.

Singles semifinals

   Katie Volynets (1), Walnut Creek, def. Charlotte Owensby (13), Boca Raton, Fla., 6-0, 6-2.