Batta wins boys 18 title in Rio Del Oro tourney

Boys 18 singles champion Amit Batta, left, and
runner-up Ajai Shekhera. Photo by Paul Bauman

   SACRAMENTO -- Amit Batta has talked to the coaches at UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara and likes both schools.
   But the 16-year-old Los Altos resident has bigger aspirations.
   "My dream school is UCLA or Texas," Batta said Sunday after winning the boys 18 title at the Rio Del Oro Junior Excellence tournament at the Rio Del Oro Racquet Club. "I've always liked the combination of athletics and education, and I love their athletics and education.
   "Also, they're in great locations. Austin is a great city, and UCLA is in a nice part of Los Angeles. I have a ton of friends at UCLA."
   What about Stanford, just a lob away from Los Altos, or Cal across San Francisco Bay?
   "I'm very interested in them," conceded Batta, who lived in his parents' native India from age 10 to 15. "I'm hoping they reach out. I'm going to stop e-mailing them. I want them to want me."

   Batta does have one concern, though.

   "My friends say Cal is overcrowded," he said.

Girls 18 singles champion Rachel Eason, right, and
runner-up Jessi Muljat. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Batta, seeded second in the Rio Del Oro tournament, beat top-seeded Ajai Shekhera of Campbell 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 for the crown.
   In the girls 18 final, fourth-seeded Rachel Eason, 15, of Union City topped fifth-seeded Jessi Muljat, 14, of Sacramento 6-2, 6-4.
   Meanwhile, two tiny girls with immense talent, also playing up, breezed to titles.
   Third-seeded Katie Volynets, 13, of Walnut Creek overwhelmed unseeded Payton Saca of Sacramento, 6-0, 6-0 in the 16s.
   And top-seeded Connie Ma, 11, of Dublin, dominated unseeded Monica Stratakos of Saratoga 6-2, 6-1 in the 14s.
   Volynets, last year's USTA girls 12 national champion, is 4-foot-11 (1.5 meters) and 73 pounds (33.1 kilograms). Ma is 4-9 (1.45 meters) and 70 pounds (31.8 kilograms).

   Saca, who's 7 1/2 inches (19 centimeters) taller and 37 pounds (16.8 kilograms) heavier than Volynets, moderately praised her opponent.

Girls 16 singles champion Katie Volynets, left, and
runner-up Payton Saca. Photo by Paul Bauman

   "She's a good player when she hits the ball in her strike zone," offered Saca, who's also 13 but 6 1/2 months older than Volynets. "She's very competitive. She doesn't give up." 

RIO DEL ORO JUNIOR EXCELLENCE

At Rio Del Oro Racquet Club in Sacramento

Singles finals

   Boys 18 -- Amit Batta (2), Los Altos, def. Ajai Shekhera (1), Campbell, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
   Boys 16 -- Daly Meinert (1), Fresno, def. Andre Xiao (3), Saratoga, 6-3, 6-0.
   Boys 14 -- Aditya Gupta (1), Los Altos, def. Stefan Leustian (2), Mather, 7-6 (10), 5-7, 3-1, ret.
   Boys 12 -- Anas Abdelouahid (2), San Jose, def. Aryan Chaudhary (5), Santa Clara, 4-6, 6-2 [10-5].
   Girls 18 -- Rachel Eason (4), Union City, def. Jessi Muljat (5), Sacramento, 6-2, 6-4.

   Girls 16 -- Katie Volynets (3), Walnut Creek, def. Payton Saca, Sacramento, 6-0, 6-0.

Girls 14 singles champion Connie Ma, right, and
runner-up Monica Stratakos. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Girls 14 -- Connie Ma (1), Dublin, def. Monica Stratakos, Saratoga, 6-2, 6-1.
   Girls 12 -- Vivian Ovrootsky (2), San Jose, def. Claire Galerkin (1), San Francisco, 5-2, ret.

Doubles finals

   Boys 18 -- Donald Hall, Chico, and Max Yun (1), Walnut Creek, def. Amit Batta, Los Altos, and Ajai Shekhera, Campbell, 8-5.

   Boys 16 -- Daly Meinert, Fresno, and Andre Xiao (1), Saratoga, def. Kailas Shekar, Saratoga, and Dean Stratakos (4), Saratoga, 8-5.
   Boys 14 -- Stefan Leustian, Mather, and Zachery Lim (2), Fairfield, def. Aidan Mayo, Roseville, and Coby McCaig (4), Modesto, 9-8 (6).
   Boys 12 -- Aryan Chaudhary, Santa Clara, and Jake Vassel (1), Danville, def. Max Fardanesh, Albany, and Geoffrey Golan (2), San Jose, 8-4.
   Girls 18 -- Sara Choy, Palo Alto, and Catalina Rico (1), San Jose, def. Sarah Hu, Oakland, and Katya Tabachnik (2), San Francisco, 8-3.
   Girls 16 -- Hind Abdelouahid, San Jose, and Abbie Mulbarger (1), Woodbridge, def. Jacquie Tan (2), Elk Grove, and Jessica Tsukigi (2), San Jose, 8-6.
   Girls 14 -- Katherine Duong, Cupertino, and Connie Ma, Dublin, def. India Houghton, Tiburon, and Alena Pruett (4), Mountain View, 8-6.
   Girls 12 --Claire Galerkin, San Francisco, and Maryia Lucia, Roseville, def. Alisha Chulani, Los Altos, and Katherine Simone, Morgan Hill, 8-6.