Carmel’s Patrick Fletchall had a successful week at the USTA/Midwest Section Closed Junior Championship this week with matches in Indianapolis.
The event is the most prestigious junior tournament in the Midwest Section, and finished up Thursday, June 28, with the final matches in boys and girls singles. Over 1,000 talented junior players from all five USTA/Midwest Section States – Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin – competed in the event. These players are some of the best in the country and many have already committed to colleges across the nation. The tournament includes four age groups and players must earn the right to play or be endorsed by their respective USTA Districts.
Fletchall and his partner Lucas Horve of Forsyth, Ill. won the Boys 18-and-under Doubles championship, beating the team of Andrew Zhang (of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) and Natan Spear of Chicago 6-1, 1-6, 10-8, the final set a 10-point super tie-break.
Winners from the USTA/Midwest Section Closed Junior Championship are automatically included in the section quota for the USTA Boys’ and Girls’ 12, 14, 16 and 18 National Championships this August. Other top finishers in each division will be included in the section quota provided they meet the designated tournament requirements.
Fletchall also reached the final of the Boys 18-and-under Singles event, but lost to Zhang 4-6, 6-1, 6-1. Even though he didn’t capture the singles title, Fletchall was happy to make it to the finals and believes his doubles win helped prepare him for the match.
“It felt really good because I actually have never made it past the round of 16 in the outdoor Closed, and since it was my last one it felt really good to get through and to make the finals in my hometown,” Fletchall said. “I think winning doubles was a huge confidence booster in the tournament; I had that win under my belt and it took some pressure off me. I think it was overall a good success in doubles.”
Fletchall recently graduated from Carmel and is a two-time individual singles champion, with a record of 44-0 over his past two years. He also helped the Greyhounds to back-to-back team state championships.
Okemos, Mich. hosted the 14-and-under and 12-and-under age divisions, the finals of which featured three Hamilton County players.
In the Boys 12 Singles, Carmel’s Dylan Long won the championship by beating Andrew Spruck of Palatine, Ill., 7-5, 6-2.
In the Girls 12 Doubles, Fishers’ Mischa Briggs teamed with Kathryn Wilson of Columbus to win that division. They defeated Chicago’s Sophie Baker and Sophia Kim of Hinsdale, Ill., 7-5, 6-2.
Carmel’s Lauren Long joined Evansville’s Ellie Myers to reach the final of the Girls 14 Doubles. They lost to Madeline Atway of Powell, Ohio and Susanna Maltby of Glen Ellyn, Ill., 4-6, 6-4, 10-5.
