WESTBORO, MA - USTA New England junior players have made their presence known on the national scene throughout 2010 and, during the long Thanksgiving weekend, continued to impress with a strong showing at the USTA National Boys' and Girls' Open Championships.
Nicole Frenkel of Winchester, MA, who won three major New England championships last summer, took her game to the national stage and came home with a championship in 14 singles and doubles (teaming with Ellyse Hamlin of Fairfield, CT) at a National Championship event in Syracuse, NY.
Frenkel, who was the event's top seed, defeated Jessica Golovin of New York, 6-1, 6-1, in the final.
Braintree, MA resident Catalin Mateas won the boys' 14 event held in Mobile, AL, when he topped No. 1 seed Terrance Whitehurst (Tallahassee, FL) , 6-0, 6-2, in the championship match.
Bloomfield, CT's Dayna Lord entered the girls' 18 event in Latham, NY as the No. 16 seed, but emerged as the winner, securing her title with a 6-4, 6-2 win over second-seeded Tina Jiang ( Bridgewater, NJ) in the final.
Lexington, MA resident Ben Tso, who won a singles gold ball last summer, teamed with Brian Astrachan (Orange, CT) to win the doubles event in the 16s at Longfellow Tennis Club.
Ben Tso (center) with coach Jeff Bearup and doubles partner Brian Astrachan.
Nolan Paige (Fairfield, CT) was a finalist in both singles and doubles at a boy's 18 event.