USTA Florida’s top junior players were gathered at the USTA National Campus on October 14 through October 16 to compete in the Bobby Curtis Doubles Sectional Championships.
This past weekend saw the 16- and 18-year-olds in action, with every pair with one goal in mind, taking home the coveted championship plaque.
This year’s competition saw one girl win back-to-back titles. Alba Martinez won the 2022 Girls’ 16s draw, and this year she paired up with Georgia Kulevich in the 18s bracket. The pair was dominant all weekend long, winning every set, including a match 6-0, 6-0. In the championship, the duo took down the top seeded Isabella Aguiar and Natalie Outcalt in a 6-3, 6-3 fashion.
In the Girls’ 16s, Jenna Delmarsh and Chelsea Caspu also had a great showing on their road to becoming champions. The two didn’t drop a set in their five matches and took down the top seeded Lyla Messler and Kendall Smith in the finals.
Individually, Lyla played extremely well, and found herself a champion alongside Nicholas Rizzo in the Mixed 16s draw.
For the Boys’ side of the court, it was top seed friendly all weekend long. Kyle Chesman and Nikolas Stoot entered as the first seed for the 16s draw. The pair was rolling and edged out an insane semifinal match against Maddox Bose and Nicholas Rizzo. It ultimately came down to a tiebreaker set for Chesman and Stoot to win 4-6, 6-4, 10-8. They rode that momentum to a championship win in their next match.
In the 18s bracket, Kartik Mandla and Alex Feies, who were also the first seed, saw the same success as Chesman and Stoot. Much like them, Mandla and Feies saw their toughest match come in the semifinals, where they matched up against Siddharth Moturi and Charlie Spencer. The first set went to Moturi and Spencer, but Mandla and Feies answered back to force a tie breaker set. It was back and forth for a while, until Mandla and Feies rallied a few in a row to sneak out a 10-8 final set win. This duo carried this into the finals where they won against Zach Friedland and Benjamin Saltman.
Winning the Bobby Curtis tournament is an amazing achievement for all Florida players. Check out how the draws played out for the 16s & 18s, and which athletes came out victorious in the Sunshine State.
Boys 16s
Championship: Kyle Chesman (Port Saint Lucie)/Nikolas Stoot (Miami) d. Minato Koido (Naples)/Bardo Bucknell (Naples) 7-5, 7-5
Third Place: Stefan Correa (Miami)/Sklar Phillips (Naples)
Fourth Place: Maddox Bose (Winter Haven)/Nicholas Rizzo (Sarasota)
Consolation Winners: Felix Puyplat (Ocean Ridge)/Kayden Collins (Delray Beach)
Girls 16s
Championship: Jenna Delmarsh (Palm Beach Gardens)/Chelsea Casapu (Naples) d. Lyla Messler (Largo)/Kendall Smith (Port Saint Lucie) 6-4, 6-4
Third Place: Sienna Frizelle (Lutz)/Anastasiya Papazian (Bradenton)
Fourth Place: Rachel Ames (Ocala)/Emersyn Isaac (Lutz)
Consolation Winners: Maria Navarro (Palm Beach)/Isabella Pisarcyzk (Sunrise)
Mixed 16s
Championship: Nicholas Rizzo (Sarasota)/Lyla Messler (Largo) d. Sklar Phillips (Naples)/Maria Navarro (Palm Beach) 4-2, 4-1
Boys 18s
Championship: Kartik Mandla (Orlando)/Alex Feies (Orlando) d. Zach Friedland (Hollywood)/Benjamin Saltman (Winter Haven) 7-6, 6-3
Third Place: Max Pettingell (Sarasota)/Brennon Chow (Miami)
Fourth Place: Siddharth Moturi (Orlando)/Charlie Spencer (Orlando)
Consolation Winners: Marco Ziets-Segura (Wesley Chapel)/Lucas Castillo-Sanchez (Wesley Chapel)
Girls 18s
Championship: Alba Martinez (Weston)/Georgia Kulevich (Bradenton) d. Isabella Aguiar (Wellington)/Natalie Outcalt (Ponte Vedra Beach) 6-3, 6-3
Third Place: Sara Shumante (Bradenton)/Bella Payne (Bradenton)
Fourth Place: Juhnyee See (Coconut Creek)/Gabriella Rawles (Bradenton)
Consolation Winners: Gabriella Goyins (Pensacola)/Melis Wiesinger (Venice)
Mixed 18s
Championship: Brennon Chow (Miami)/Sabrina Jaramillo (Orlando) d. Malhar Patel (Orlando)/Alyssa Novoa (Apopka)
