The 2017 USTA Florida Bobby Curtis Junior 12s/14s Doubles Championships, hosted by the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., concluded Monday afternoon. State titles were earned in the boys’, girls’ and mixed 12s and 14s age divisions as part of the section’s annual doubles championships.

Splitting sets for the third time in four matches, the boys’ 12s No. 2 seeds Andre Medicielo and Hunter Nussbaum once again came through on the pressure points to take the divisional crown. Up against the top-seeded pair of Julian Alonso and Andres Wolf, Medicielo and Nussbaum fell behind after losing the opening set 6-3 but clawed their way back to earn the second 6-2. In the match tiebreak, Medicielo and Nussbaum were able to hold off Alonso and Wolf, who had not dropped a set heading into the match, by the slim margin of 10 points to six.

The top-seeded tandem of Adam Duan and Solomon Giles capped off their run to the boys’ 14s title in emphatic fashion. They faced off with No. 2 seeds Peter Anastasakis and Yannik Rahman, but made quick work of the match, 6-1, 6-1. Duan and Giles lived up to their top billing throughout the tournament, winning seven of the 10 sets they contested by the score of 6-1 or 6-2 en route to taking all five matches in straight sets.

Having given away a mere six games in their four matches prior to the championship, No. 2 seeds Emily Barua and Cameron Didion were put to the test by the third-seeded duo of Mary Boyce Deatherage and Nyjah Head. Deatherage and Head entered the match fresh off a straight-sets upset of the draw’s top seeds. Barua and Didion secured the first set by a tight 6-4 score line and managed to put some distance between themselves and the No. 3 seeds in the second, eventually closing it out 6-3.

The only unseeded team to make a push for a divisional title, Cecilia Alcobe-Garibay and Ada Jane de Alcantara took on top seeds DJ Bennett and Didi Bredberg Canizares in the final of the girls’ 14s draw. In a tightly-contested first set, Bennett and Bredberg Canizares prevailed, 6-4. The upset-minded Alcobe-Garibay and Jane de Alcantara kept the pressure on in the second frame, but could not string enough games together to pose a serious threat, as the top-seeded tandem secured the victory 6-3.

For the mixed 12s final, No. 3 seeds Nyjah Head and Charlie Spencer took on seventh seeds Benjamin Kreynes and Blake Rothchild. Kreynes and Rothchild locked up their place in the championship tilt with ease, losing just one game against No. 6 seeds Jordan Fenton and Benjamin Willwerth. In much different fashion, Head and Spencer were the victors of a marathon semifinal dual with top seeds Regina Alcobe-Garibay and Pierce Garbett. The pairs each took a set by the score of 6-3 before Head and Spencer grabbed an extended match tiebreak, 12 points to 10. The final would last over two hours, with the No. 1 seeds toughing out the opening set seven points to four in a tiebreak. The second was almost as close, but it was Head and Spencer taking it to send the final into the decisive tiebreak, where once again, Head and Spencer won by the margin of 12-10.

DJ Bennett and Solomon Giles were looking to head home with a pair of state championships after reaching the final of the mixed 14s draw. The No. 1 seeds did not have to take the court in the semifinals, receiving a walkover from No. 4 seeds Natalie Block and Jeremy Friedland. In the championship round, second seeds Yair Gritzman and Lara Smejkal were the opponents after they got past the third-seeded pair of Brooke Dugarte and Ty Rothchild 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals. In the end, it would be Gritzman and Smejkal who would come out on top in a three-set battle. After sneaking out the first set 7-5, they saw Bennett and Giles rally to win the second frame 6-3. With the championship on the line, Gritzman and Smejkal clinched the title with a 13-11 triumph in the match tiebreak.

Complete draws and results from the 2017 USTA Florida Bobby Curtis Junior 12s/14s Doubles Championships can be found here.

 

2017 USTA Florida Bobby Curtis Junior 12s/14s Doubles Championships

Monday, Oct. 30

Championship Results

 

Boys’ 12s – (2)Andre Medicielo/Hunter Nussbaum def. (1)Julian Alonso/Andres Wolf 3-6, 6-2, 10-6

 

Boys’ 14s – (1)Adam Duan/Solomon Giles def. (2) Peter Anastasakis/Yannik Rahman 6-1, 6-1

 

Girls’ 12s – (2)Emily Barua/Cameron Didion def. (3)Mary Boyce Deatherage/Nyjah Head 6-4, 6-3

 

Girls’ 14s – (1)DJ Bennett/Didi Bredberg Canizares def. Cecilia Alcobe-Garibay/Ada Jane de Alcantara 6-4, 6-3

 

Mixed 12s – (3)Nyjah Head/Charlie Spencer def. (7)Benjamin Kreynes/Blake Rothchild 6-7(4), 6-4, 12-10

 

Mixed 14s – (2)Yair Gritzman/Lara Smejkal def. (1)DJ Bennett/Solomon Giles 7-5, 3-6, 13-11