Youngsters battle back to win state titles

By NANCY MORGAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 28, 2000

The dedication, hard work and tenacity of Stacia Fonseca of Lutz and Sukhwa Young of Wesley Chapel has paid off with state singles championships in this month's USTA Florida Section Closed Junior Championships.

Fonseca won the girls 14-and-under title and Young the boys 16s. Fonseca, a fifth seed, lost the first set before eventually winning in three.

Young, the top seed, also won in three sets after rebounding from a second-set loss. "Before the tournament, my dad knew what I could do, but I was a little shocked to win," Fonseca, 14, said. "The final was a mental game for me. After I lost the first set, I settled down and didn't make as many errors. I also hit a ton of swinging volleys that helped me get into my net game."

After losing the first set 6-4, Fonseca regrouped to beat third-seeded Alexis Conill of Fort Lauderdale 6-1 in the second to force a third set.

"You're allowed a 10-minute break between the second and third sets and can talk with your coach," Fonseca said. "My coach (Richard Matuszewski) re-enforced with me to keep going at it and to be aggressive. I think both of us got our energy back for the third."

Since Fonseca, her parents and younger brother Brian moved from Connecticut to Florida three years ago, the teenager has trained with Matuszewski under the watchful eye of her father Raul. The whole family was on hand to see Fonseca win her five matches at the state event in Orlando and earn the state title.

Young, 14, had a similar experience with his competitors.

A semifinal win over Tampa's Ryler DeHeart and a final victory over Val Banada of North Miami Beach avenged earlier losses to both.

"Ryler DeHeart is a big server and I had lost the first set to him in the semifinal," Young said. "I was down 4-0 with him serving in the second set. I focused, decided I had nothing to lose and came back to win."

The final with Banada was their fourth matchup and the aggressive baseliner had already beaten Young twice before. Young's 6-3 score in the first set was answered by Banada with a 6-2 win to force the third set. Sharing service wins and breaks, a tiebreaker was needed to decide the match.

"I felt pretty confident going into the tiebreak," Young said. "This win evened our record with each other at 2-2."

Fonseca, Young and other competitors have but a short time to enjoy their state match results before preparations for the Florida Open 2000 begin.

Scheduled to compete along with Fonseca and Young in next month's national tournament (July 2-8 in Ft. Myers) are Miranda Gutierrez, Yumi Hasegawa, Brianna Williams and Cristina Lucin in the girls 16s; Michele Murman and Tara Sheehan in the 18s; DeHeart and Yuichi Uda in the 16s; Dax Hankerson, Taylor Ralph, Sebring Sierra and Sam Sutherland in the 18s.

OTHER STATE RESULTS: Local players that competed in the state singles championship and placed among the top eight finishers include Jamie Mera, a quarterfinalist in the girls 10s; Laura Gioia, third in girls 12s; Miranda Gutierrez, girls 14 consolation semifinalist; Yuichi Uda, fourth in boys 14s; Ryler DeHeart, third in boys 16s; Dax Hankerson, quarterfinalist in boys 18s.

SPTC JUNIORS: Tyler Snook was a finalist in the boys 10-and-under division at the SPTC Junior Open 2000 in St. Petersburg, while Alex Vuckovic won the boys 14s consolation, defeating Charles Joiner 6-1, 6-0. Navean Kumar was a finalist in the boys 18s consolation, as was Courtney Bogart in the girls 14s. Dilip Kamath reached the boys 12s consolation final.

ZEPHYRHILLS TENNIS: The Zephyrhills Tennis Association is offering a free week-long series of lessons July 4-10 for youths between the ages of 12 and 16. The sessions will be held on the McCannon Courts at Zephyr Park from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Tennis racquets and balls are provided for the participants.

Beginner adult lessons are every Tuesday morning from 7:30 to 9 a.m.

Call Roy Nyren at (813) 783-9309 for more information.

COMING UP: The 2000 Little Mo Nationals Florida Section event is July 1-3 at East Lake Woodlands for those 11-and-under. Call the club at (727) 785-2212 ... The River Hills Country Club in Valrico hosts its River Hills Summer Championships for juniors in both singles and doubles July 1-3. Call tournament director Scott Coleman at (813) 653-3776 by Wednesday's deadline ... The Temple Terrace Tennis Center is the site for the July 7-9 Adult Clay Court Classic, a singles competition for men and women in the open, 30-and-older, 40s and 50s age divisions. Call Scott Coleman at (813) 989-7180 by the July 4 deadline ... The Irish Clay Courts in Tampa host the Pro Grand Prix , a men's and women's open singles contest, July 10-14. Call Phil Irish at (813) 971-2935 by July 7.

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