Monday, March 27 FILA Easter Bowl Recap: Boys/Girls 18U And 16U Action Gets Underway  

FILA Easter Bowl action ramped up on Monday with the Boys & Girls 16’s and 18’s taking the courts to kickoff play for the higher age divisions. See how the juniors fared on Monday as play heats up at one of the nation’s premier junior tournaments.

Boys’ and Girls’ 18 & Under Singles
The Boys’ 18U singles draw was met with a huge upset to begin Monday’s action as No. 1 seed James Lian fell in his R64 match to University of South Carolina commitment Gabe Avram. No. 2 seed Stephan Gershfeld was also given a tough test in his first round match but did enough in the end to get past Caden Hasler by a final score line of 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

The Girls’ 18 singles draw also began Monday, and it was defending FILA Easter Bowl 16U champion and No. 1 seed Valerie Glozman of Washington who showed why she might be the player to beat yet again in Indian Wells. Her dominant 6-2, 6-0 victory sent her into the R32 with confidence as she takes the court again Tuesday. Southern California native and No. 2 seed Tianmei Wang also cruised to the next round with a straight set victory in her opening match.

Boys’ and Girls’ 16 & Under Singles
Boys’ 16U play got off to a mostly chalk start on Monday in R64 action, although unseeded player Xavier Calvelo pulled off the upset of the day with a tight three-set comeback victory over No. 3 seed Ian Mayew. The top two seeds Dominick Mosejczuk and Mitchell Sheldon took care of business in their first round matches with convincing straight set victories.

On the Girls’ 16U side, all eyes were on No. 2 seed Leena Friedman to see how she would fare in her first Easter Bowl match after claiming the USTA Winter Nationals singles championship in Florida. Friedman delivered with a dominant performance and is onto the R32 to be played on Tuesday afternoon. No. 1 seed Claire Hill of North Carolina also got the job done in her first round matchup and set up a second round clash against Southern California’s Amy Lee.

Boys’ and Girls’ 14 & Under Singles
The 14’s continued their quest for FILA Easter Bowl success on Monday with all Round of 16 matches taking place. Long Beach’s Liam Alvarez continued to stake his claim in the desert as the No. 2 seed and top-ranked player remaining with a win over No. 9 seed Safir Azam. For the girls, it was No. 2 seed Nancy Lee of Massachusetts who took a massive step toward the title and booked her quarterfinal spot.

Boys’ and Girls’ 12 & Under Singles
In the youngest age division of the tournament, No. 1 Boys’ 12U seed Zesen Wang remained strong in his Easter Bowl debut, earning himself a spot in the quarterfinals. The top eight seeded players have all advanced to the quarterfinals of the Boys’ 12U draw. The Girls’ 12U Round of 16 also wrapped up on Tuesday, with No. 2 seed Caroline Shao of Boca Raton leading the charge into the quarterfinals as the top remaining seeded player.

FILA Easter Bowl action continues Tuesday from the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The full round-by-round schedule of play can be found by clicking here.