2018 USTA May National Level 2
Top Seeds Anthrop, Sieg Reach Singles Finals
May 21, 2018

For the third consecutive day the 2018 USTA May National Level 2, featuring some of the nation’s top boys and girls in the 16s division, finished its slate of matches indoors, including all four singles semifinals.
With the National Campus once again receiving heavy rain in the morning and afternoon, the schedule was trimmed down to include the main draw singles quarterfinals and semifinals along with two rounds of main draw doubles and consolation singles action.
The boys’ final will feature No. 1 seed Jack Anthrop (Orlando, Fla.) taking on fourth seed Trinity Grear (Adelphi, Md.). Anthrop has been the most dominant player in the draw, winning all five of his matches in straight sets while surrendering a total of 20 games. On Monday, Anthrop defeated No. 12 Gabrielius Guzauskas (Hinsdale, Ill.) 6-1, 6-4 in the quarterfinals before holding off third-seeded Dillon Blake (Miami, Fla.) 6-2, 7-6(4) in the semifinals.
Grear had not been challenged in his run to the semifinals, never losing more than three games in a set. He brushed aside seventh seed Billy Suarez (Huntington, N.Y.) in his first match Monday before his encounter with No. 2 seed Jacob Bickersteth (West Bloomfield, Mich.) in the semifinals. A back-and-forth opening frame eventually went the way of Grear, seven points to four in the tiebreak. However, Bickersteth would rebound to claim the second, 6-3. Grear got back into a groove quickly in the decisive match tiebreak, racing out to a 7-3 advantage en route to a 7-6(4), 3-6, 10-5 victory.
The girls’ top two seeds, Madison Sieg (Greenwich, Conn.) and Leyden Games (Newport Beach, Calif.) will battle for the title on Tuesday. No. 1 Sieg turned in a pair of solid performances Monday to safely move into the championship match. She started her day off by taking down No. 11 Sophie Williams (Charleston, S.C.) 6-3, 6-2. That was followed up by a 7-5, 6-4 triumph over unseeded Jaleesa Leslie (Apopka, Fla.), a contest in which Sieg managed to break serve seven times.
Games found herself in a difficult spot in her opening match of the day, falling behind after losing the first set easily, 6-1, to 15th-seeded Alexis Blokhina (Plantation, Fla.). From that point on, Games displayed a tremendous level of tennis, storming back for a 1-6, 6-2, 10-5 victory in that match and swiftly handling her doubles partner No. 3 seed Brooke Theis (Lake Forest, Ill.) 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinal round. Games claimed nine consecutive games in that matchup, taking the score from 2-2 in the opening frame to 6-2, 5-0 before closing it out.
The doubles draws have been trimmed down to the final four going into Tuesday. On the boys' side, the fifth-seeded tandem of Bickersteth and Eil Gordon (Highland Park, Ill.) have had fortune on their side so far, advancing through the first three rounds without striking a ball. They will be up against unseeded hopefuls William Mroz (Bradenton, Fla.) and Suarez, who upset No. 3 seeds Andy Mackler (Lake Mary, Fla.) and Benjamin Zipay (Osprey, Fla.) along the way. In the other boys' semifinal, the four seeds Anthrop and Kian Vakili (Longwood, Fla.) have been awarded a walkover versus Blake and Grear, securing their spot in the final.
The girls' top seeded duo of Karly Friedland (Hollywood, Fla.) and Ariel Johnson (Coconut Creek, Fla.) will be in action on Tuesday after receiving a walkover from Rylie Hanford (Chesterland, Ohio) and Emily Pittman (Indianapolis) in the quarterfinals. Next up for them is an unseeded team, Violeta Martinez (Port Saint Lucie, Fla.) and Sara Snyder (San Juan, P.R.), coming off an impressive upset of the No. 3 seeds Ameila Honer (Newtown, Pa.) and Saige Roshkoff (Haverford, Pa.). The other semifinal pits second-seeded Games and Theis against No. 4 seeds Olivia Almy (Southborough, Mass.) and Jesse Hollins (Orchard Park, N.Y.). Both pairs survived tough quarterfinal tests, with Games and Theis defeating the No. 5 seeds Blokhina and Sieg 7-5 while Almy and Hollins overcame upset-minded Rachel Gailis (Studio City, Calif.) and Daria Smetannikov (Morganville, N.J.) 7-6(2).
Action continues Tuesday morning at 8:00 a.m. with the doubles semifinals and consolation third round matches. The two singles finals are scheduled for 10 a.m. For more information on the 2018 USTA National Level 2 Championships, click here.
Live scoring for all main draw and consolation finals can be found here.