Mendell & Krishna Capture 18s Titles
Ellery Mendell and Rishvanth Krishna claimed the Girls’ and Boys’ 18s singles titles on Sunday, closing out the 58th Annual Easter Bowl USTA Junior Spring Nationals presented by adidas at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Mendell, the top seed from Watkinsville, Georgia, lived up to expectations with a 6-2, 6-4 win over unseeded Yilin Chen. After the final point, the 16-year-old raised her arms and let out a scream as she secured the title.
“It feels so awesome and I’m really proud of myself,” Mendell said. “I’m really proud that I get to have my name on the same list as all those players.”
Boys’ 18s: Krishna Comes Through
In the Boys’ 18s final, unseeded wild card Rishvanth Krishna of Irvine defeated Peter Jorniak, 6-4, 6-2.
“I was nervous when the match started, but I relaxed as it went on,” said Krishna, a junior committed to Rice University. “I served really well today and was finding my forehand.”
Jorniak reflected positively on his run.
“I’ll look back at this as a very big accomplishment,” he said. “There’s always something you can improve on.”
Boys’ 16s: Kulkarni Rallies for Title
Wild card Anay Kulkarni of Arizona battled back to defeat No. 3 Piotr Gradzki, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
“I had a lot of highs and lows, and I’m really grateful I was able to pull through,” Kulkarni said.
Gradzki admitted he lost focus after winning the first set.
“I was thinking too much ahead. I wasn’t in the moment,” he said.
Girls’ 16s: Selvan Wins All-Maryland Final
Shristi Selvan captured the Girls’ 16s title with a 6-1, 7-5 win over top-seeded Sylvana Jalbert.
“She’s one of my best friends,” Selvan said. “I knew she might put pressure on herself, so I just stayed relaxed.”
Selvan credited her improved serve as the difference and called the win especially meaningful after losing in the first round last year.
Doubles Highlights
- Girls’ 18s: Chloe Zigliara & Sadira Ouyang won the title
- Boys’ 18s: Joseph Nau & Marcel Latak claimed gold
- Girls’ 16s: Selvan also won doubles with Emery June Martin
- Boys’ 16s: Arjun Krishnan & Garin Arun took the title
Sportsmanship Award Winners
- Boys’ 18s: Hunter Nelson
- Girls’ 18s: Chloe Zigliara
- Boys’ 16s: JiHyuk Im
- Girls’ 16s: Tanvi Pandey
- Boys’ 14s: Michael Chervenkov
- Girls’ 14s: Violetta Mamina
- Boys’ 12s: Jaden Joyner
- Girls’ 12s: Cordelia Skye
