Batta, Taggart earn NorCal Junior Excellence titles

Amit Batta of Los Altos slugs a forehand during his
victory in the boys 18 final. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Amit Batta of Los Altos won the NorCal Junior Excellence boys 18 singles title for the second consecutive year on Sunday.
   The top-seeded Batta, who will attend the University of Washington in the fall, beat fourth-seeded Wilhelm Saiga of Belvedere Tiburon 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 at the Rio Del Oro Racquet Club in Sacramento.
   Unseeded Jillian Taggart, a hard-hitting 14-year-old Fair Oaks resident, topped fifth-seeded Elena Van Linge of Menlo Park, 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-1 for the girls 18 title.
   Van Linge eliminated top-seeded Katya Tabachnik of San Francisco in the semifinals and teamed with Taggart to win the doubles title.

NORCAL JUNIOR EXCELLENCE

At Rio Del Oro Racquet Club

In Sacramento, Calif.

Singles finals

   Boys 18 -- Amit Batta (1), Los Altos, def. Wilhelm Saiga (4), Belvedere Tiburon, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
   Boys 16 -- Cambell Nakayama (3), San Francisco, def. Steve Gould (1), Corte Madera, 5-7, 6-3, 6-0.

   Boys 14 -- Alex Lin (1), Gold River, def. Brandon Aprill (3), Mountain View, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5.
   Boys 12 -- John Kim (2), Sunnyvale, def. Ryan Torres, Pleasanton, 7-6 (4), 4-6 [12-10].

Jillian Taggart, 14, of Fair Oaks serves during her
win in the girls 18 final. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Girls 18 -- Jillian Taggart, Fair Oaks, def. Elena Van Linge (5), Menlo Park, 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-1.
   Girls 16 -- Connie Ma (3), Dublin, def. Klara Kosan (3), Carmichael, 6-2, 6-2.
   Girls 14 -- Monica Stratakos (1), Saratoga, def. Yuu Ishikawa (5), Mountain View, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
   Girls 12 -- Anushka Khune (4), Palo Alto, def. Rhea Rai (3), Cupertino, 6-0, 7-5.

Doubles finals

   Boys 18 -- Amit Batta, Los Altos, and Randy Cory (1), Salinas, def. Arjith Jayaraman, Gold River, and Karthik Padmanabhan (2), Saratoga, 8-1.
   Boys 16 -- Stevie Gould, Corte Madera, and Issa Yoshida (2), Campbell, def. Ethan Carroll, Sunnyvale, and Makund Madabhushi (1), San Jose, 8-3.
   Boys 14 -- Aryan Chaudhary, Santa Clara, and Hugo Hashimoto (2), San Jose, def. Luke Casper, Santa Cruz, and Philip Martin (3), Los Altos, walkover.
   Boys 12 -- John Kim, Sunnyvale, and Herrick Legaspi (1), Sacramento, def. Jason Lew and Patrick Toman (4), Pleasant Hill, 8-6.
   Girls 18 -- Jillian Taggart, Fair Oaks, and Elena Van Linge, Menlo Park, def. Sarah Bahsoun, Los Gatos, and Abbie Mulbarger (1), Woodbridge, 9-7.
   Girls 16 -- Katherine Duong, Cupertino, and Connie Ma, Dublin, def. Sydney Lee, Oakland, and Alena Pruett (3), Mountain View, 8-2.
   Girls 14 -- Maribella Zamarripa and Allura Zamarripa (2), Saint Helena, def. Nora Lee, Oakland, and Amber Marie Lee (1), Orinda, 8-3.
   Girls 12 -- Maryia Hyrnashka, Rancho Cordova, and Anushka Khune (3), Palo Alto, def. Martina Marica, San Jose, and Kamila Wong (2), Palo Alto, 8-3.