The Section's best young junior tennis players from Arizona, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas made their way towards Albuquerque in early June for the Southwest's premier junion event - the Southwest Closed. 

With 24 separate divisions in singles and doubles, and a range of competitors from 10 and under all the way to 18 and under, the event showcases our top young talent. 

The Southwest Junior Closed is also an L3 (level three), the only tournament in the Section with this high of a point designation, and on par with some of the country's elite national events. It is the Section's highest point producer for ranking purposes and is open only to residents of USTA Southwest.

The event is also the last event for players looking for a bump in points so they can get onto the Southwest Zonals and Intersectional travel teams. 

With 301 players in our field this year, the event is typically one of the largest junior annual events held in the Southwest. With a return to Albuquerque after a two-year run in Tucson, players returned to New Mexico and found much cooler climates than the Tucson destinations of years past.

Playing sites at this year's events included the renovated Jerry Cline Tennis Center, Albuquerque Academy and Tanoan Country Club. All of those sites have been host venues for the Junior Closed in the past, including in 2009-2010.  

In Boys' 18s, Phoenix's Augustus Ge (pictured, above) disposed of El Paso's Bryan Cunningham 6-4, 6-3 in the singles final. The third-seeded Ge, who still has one more year of 18s play, did not drop a set during the event en route to the title.

Cunningham did manage to pick up the doubles title, pairing with Scottsdale's James Ponwith to oust Gregory Anderson (Tucson) and Arjun Bal (Glendale, Ariz.)

The Boys' 16s El Paso's Nathan Brown, the top seed at the event, put on an impressive run, smashing through five opponents, losing just 16 games in 10 sets of play. Brown upended Tucson's Yash Parikh in the singles final.

El Paso's Wilson Lambeth and Tucson's Michael Lee captured the doubles final with a win over Scottsdale duo Luke Castens and Adrian Cordova, 8-5.

In Boys 14s, top-seeded Brandon Stringfellow (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) - pictured, right -  survived a huge test in the quarterfinals against Joshua Xu 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, then found his groove, disposing of fourth-seeded Carlos Hassey (Surprise, Ariz.) and second-seeded Cole Stofflet in the semifinals and finals in straight sets, respectively. 

Stringfellow also paired with Stofflet to earn the doubles title.

In Boys' 12s, top-seeded Maximo Lawlor (Litchfield Park, Ariz.) outlasted second-seed Cezar Rata (Glendale, Ariz.) 6-0, 4-6, 6-4 in a tough final. Lawlor also hauled in the doubles title, pairing with Harsh Parikh (Tucson).

In Boys' 10s Orange Ball 60', Tucson's Jared Perry, the top seed, downed second-seeded Holland Snell of El Paso, 4-1, 2-4, 7-3.

In Girls 18s, Alexandra Letzt, the top seed from Scottsdale, overcame a sluggish start in the final, but hit the gas afterward, downing second-seeded Michelle Satterfield (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) 5-7, 6-0, 6-0.  

Phoenix duo Allie Sanford and Michelle Satterfield captured the doubles title, defeating Letzt and Madison Clarke (Phoenix) in the final. 

In Girls 16s, fifth-seeded Taylor Bridges (Mesa, Ariz.) downed fourth-seeded Marjorie Antohi (El Paso, Texas, prevailing 7-5, 6-3.

Bridges (pictured, right) had endured a marathon semifinal victory over Shailla Alda (Phoenix) in the semifinals, winning 6-0, 6-7, 7-6.

Melissa Pick (Albuquerque) and Caroline Amos (Tucson) picked up the doubles crown, downing Alda and Sara Kuuttila (Albuquerque) in the finals, 8-3.  

The Girls 14s second-seed Josie Frazier (Scottsdale, Ariz.) took out top seed Ivana Corley (Albuquerque, NM) in  a 6-4, 6-2 final. Frazier did not drop a set in any of her five singles matches en route to the championship. 

Frazier also paired with fellow Phoenician Grace Koester to earn the doubles title with a win over Zoey Nelson (Goodyear, Ariz.) and Alexandra Ochotorena (Albuquerque), 8-2.

In Girls 12s, top-seeded Carmen Corley (Albuquerque) dispatched third-seeded Lauren Stein (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) 6-2, 6-1.

Stein did pick up the doubles title, teaming with Maya Roderick (Tempe, Ariz.) - pair is pictured right - to down Amber Hochstatter (Anthem, Ariz.) and Madelynn Chavez (Albuquerque) 9-7.

In Girls 10s Orange Ball 60', Teodora Vuksan (Mesa, Ariz.) defeated Madeleine Snell in the final.

 Las Cruces, New Mexico sister pair of Alexis and Bailey Massey snagged the doubles title.

Other winners in the SILVER singles divisions included  - B16s, Nic Puehse (Carefree, Ariz.)  -, B13s Max Geiger (Scottsdale); B12s, Brendan Perry (Tucson, Ariz.); G16s, Maria Cardenas (El Paso, Texas), G14s, Natasha Puehse (Carefree, Ariz.). Top seeds captured 13 of the 24 total divisions of play. 

Congratulations to all of our new Southwest Junior Closed Champions! It was a great four days of tennis in Albuquerque. We would be remiss if we didn't thank volunteer Sally Grabham, as well as our host sites and their staffs for their support of this year's tournament. Thanks also to our Albuquerque-area officials.

USTA Southwest held a Player Party on the opening night of the event at the tournament headquarters, Jerry Cline Tennis Center, which included prizes from sponsors All About Tennis and Solinco. Solinco also provided a terrific player prize package for the Southwest Junior Closed. 

Champions from the 2013 USTA Southwest Closed:   

BOYS
Boys 18 Singles GOLD –Augustus Ge (Phoenix)
Boys 18 Doubles - James Ponwith (Scottsdale)/Bryan Cunningham (El Paso, Texas)
Boys 16 Singles GOLD – Nathan Brown (El Paso, Texas)
Boys 16 Doubles - Wilson Lambeth (El Paso, Texas)/Michael Lee (Tucson, Ariz.0
Boys 16 Singles SILVER – Nic Puehse (Carefree, Ariz.)
Boys 14 Singles GOLD – Brandon Stringfellow (Phoenix)
Boys 14 Doubles - Stringfellow/Cole Stofflet (Scottsdale)
Boys 14 Singles SILVER - Max Geiger (Scottsdale)
Boys 12 Singles GOLD – Maximo Lawlor (Litchfield Park, Ariz.)
Boys 12 Doubles - Harsh Parikh (Tucson)/Maximo Lawlor (
Boys 12 Singles SILVER - Brendan Perry (Tucson, Ariz.)
Boys 10 Singles Orange Ball 60' – Jared Perry (Tucson, Ariz.)


GIRLS
Girls 18 Singles GOLD – Alexandra Letzt (Scottsdale, AZ)
Girls 18 Doubles - Michelle Satterfield (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) /Allie Sanford (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Girls 16 Singles GOLD– Taylor Bridges (Mesa, Ariz.)
Girls 16 Doubles  - Melissa Pick (Albuquerque)/Caroline Amos (Tucson, Ariz.)
Girls 16 Singles SILVER –Maria Cardenas (El Paso, Texas)
Girls 14 Singles GOLD – Josie Frazier (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
Girls 14 Doubles - Frazier/Grace Koester (Paradise Valley, Ariz.)
Girls 14 Singles SILVER - Natasha Puehse (Carefree, Ariz.)
Girls 12 Singles GOLD– Carmen Corley (Albuquerque, NM)
Girls 12 Doubles - Lauren Stein (Paradise Valley, Ariz.)/Maya Roderick (Tempe, Ariz.)
Girls 10 Singles Orange Ball 60' – Teodora Vuksan (Mesa, Ariz.)
Girls 10 Doubles - Alexis and Bailey Massey (Las Cruces, NM) 

SPONSORS

ALL ABOUT TENNIS  - Special thanks goes out to USTA Southwest Sponsor All About Tennis, the Southwest's largest retail tennis store.

Please support All About Tennis, a consistent and longtime supporter of many USTA Southwest efforts, including the USTA Southwest League program, our summer junior travel teams and the Southwest Junior Closed. 

You can visit them in store in at their location at 10245 North Scottsdale Road in Scottsdale, Ariz. Or, you can call (480) 946-7707 or visit their online store at www.allabouttennis.com. 

SOLINCO - Solinco Sports. Solinco specializes in the development and production of the high quality, and technologically advanced performance tennis equipment. including racquets and strings.

Solinco provided string for participants that reach the Round of 16 and an assortment of other products for this year's Southwest Junior Closed. We thank them greatly for their assistance! 

To find out more about Solinco, log onto www.solincosports.com. 

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