DAY, OSUIGWE AND GAUFF ADVANCE TO 18s QUARTERFINALS AT
USTA BILLIE JEAN KING GIRLS’ 16S & 18S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Girls’ 16s Singles Semifinals Scheduled for Noon on Friday

SAN DIEGO – (August 9, 2018) – The Girls’ 18s top-seeds all won straight set victories on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 16s & 18s National Championships at the Barnes Tennis Center.

On a warm, humid day on the Southern California coast, top-seed Kayla Day of Santa Barbara, Calif., eased past 11th seed Gabriella Price of New City, N.Y., 6-4, 6-2 in 83 minutes.

After using an early service break to win the first set in 47 minutes, Day took control of the second set with two early service breaks. Day, a former tournament champion, jumped out to a commanding 5-1 lead and went on to serve out the Round of 16 match.

“I served really, really well today and that helped me on the bigger points. It feels really good. I’ve gotten a lot of matches here. I’m happy with the way I’ve been competing,” Day said. “I’ve been playing better each match, so I hope to just go out tomorrow and compete and have fun.”

Day, who won the Girls’ 18s singles title in 2016, will meet 17th seeded Vanessa Ong of Oklahoma City on Friday. Ong dismissed fifth-seeded Caty McNally of Cincinnati 7-6 (5), 0-6, 6-3.

Second-seeded Whitney Osuigwe of Bradenton, Fla., cruised past 16th seeded Chloe Beck of Watkinsville, Ga., 6-1, 6-1 in 55 minutes.  Osuigwe is scheduled to face ninth-seeded Katie Volynets of Walnut Creek, Calif., on Friday.

In one of the most entertaining matches of the day, third-seeded Cori Gauff of Delray Beach, Fla., moved into Friday’s quarterfinals after defeating 33rd seed Connie Ma of Dublin, Calif., 6-1, 7-5.

After winning the first set in 35 minutes, Gauff erased a 3-0 second set deficit and came back to close out the straight-set match in one-hour and 41 minutes.  The 14-year-old Gauff will play 12th seeded Natasha Subhash, Fairfax, Va., for a spot in Saturday’s 18s semifinals.

All Girls’ 18s singles quarterfinal matches are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. (PDT) on Friday.

Sixteen-year-old Gianna Pielet continued her march through the Girls’ 16s singles draw as the top-seed from El Paso, Texas booked her spot in the semifinals with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over 33rd seeded Elaine Chervinsky of Boca Raton, Fla.  Pielet will face fourth-seeded Allura Zamarripa of Saint Helena, Calif., on Friday at noon.

After knocking out second-seed Valencia Xu on Wednesday, 17th seeded Misa Malkin of Tucson, Ariz., advanced to the Girls’ 16s semifinals with a hard-fought 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over 33rd seeded Vivian Ovrootsky of San Jose, Calif.  Malkin will play her semifinal match on Friday at noon against third-seeded Fiona Crawley of San Antonio.

For updated tournament draws in each division, please go to: https://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=208363#&&s=7

This past April, the USTA renamed the USTA Girls’ 16s & 18s National Championships to honor tennis icon Billie Jean King, a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. King is scheduled to attend the final two days of the tournament.

All tournament matches played on Stadium Court at the Barnes Tennis Center will be streamed live on the tournament website through Friday, August 10. The link is available at www.ustagirlsnationals.com/

The Tennis Channel schedule for the final two days of the tournament will be as follows:

Saturday, August 11
Girl’s 18s Singles Semifinals – 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. PDT (2 to 6 p.m. EDT)
Girl’s 16s Singles Final – 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. PDT (7:30 to 9:30 p.m. EDT)

Sunday, August 12
Girl’s 18s Singles Final – 1 to 3 p.m. PDT (4 to 6 p.m. EDT)

Over 400 of the top junior tennis players in the country, aged 16 and 18 and under, are competing for the title of National Champion, as well as a wild card entry into the Women’s Singles main draw of the 2018 US Open (for the 18s Champion) and a wild card into the 2018 US Open Junior Championships (for the 16s Champion).  The 18s Doubles Champions will also receive a wild card into the US Open Women’s Doubles main draw.

The updated starting times for each day of the tournament will be as follows:
Friday, August 10 through Sunday, August 12 — 9 a.m. (PDT)
(Starting times subject to change)

Admission and on-site parking at the Barnes Tennis Center is free each day of the tournament.
USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 16s & 18s National Championships
Barnes Tennis Center
San Diego, Calif.
Thursday’s Results

Girls’ 18s Singles
Round of 16
Kayla Day (1), Santa Barbara, Calif., def. Gabriella Price (11), New City, N.Y., 6-4, 6-2
Whitney Osuigwe (2), Bradenton, Fla., def. Chloe Beck (16), Watkinsville, Ga., 6-1, 6-1
Cori Gauff (3), Atlanta, def. Connie Ma (33), Dublin, Calif., 6-1, 7-5
Salma Ewing (4), Lakewood, Calif., def. Dalayna Hewitt (10), Pepper Pike, Ohio, 7-6 (2); 6-2
Natasha Subhash (12), Fairfax, Va., def. Savannah Broadus (33), Carrollton, Texas, 6-4, 6-4
Vanessa Ong (17), Oklahoma City, def. Caty McNally (5), Cincinnati,7-6 (5), 0-6, 6-3
Katie Volynets (9), Walnut Creek, Calif., def. Abigail Forbes (17), Raleigh, N.C., 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
Kacie Harvey (15), Jensen Beach, Fla, def. Carolyn Campana (17), Hillsborough, Calif., 4-6, 7-5, 6-4

Girls’ 16s Singles
Quarterfinals
Gianna Pielet (1), El Paso, Texas, def. Elaine Chervinsky (33), Boca Raton, Fla., 7-5, 6-1
Fiona Crawley (3), San Antonio, def. Maribella Zamarripa (33), Saint Helena, Calif., 6-2, 6-2
Allura Zamarripa (4), Saint Helena, Calif., def. Hibah Shaikh (8), Teaneck, N.J., 6-2, 6-4
Misa Malkin (17), Tucson, Ariz., def. Vivian Ovrootsky (33), San Jose, Calif., 7-6 (4), 6-4

For complete scores and results, go to: https://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=208363#&&s=7