Park and Cerullo win GU19 title

US juniors spend nearly seven months playing intense matches in pressure charged tournaments. Thirty-seven of those players decided to end their season by playing in a tournament than it is fun, relaxed and still gives them the opportunity to walk away with a national title.

The US Junior Doubles Championships, hosted by the Wilmington Country Club in Delaware, does not draw as many players as it used to – the highest being 107 in 1997-but it does bring in some of the very best US junior talent, as well as the occasional Canadian squad.

The Boys Under19 draw was dominated by Chris Callis and Alex Domenick, the No. 2 and 3 ranked juniors. The two have been playing in the tournament together for five years, and before playing with Chris, Alex paired with brother Matt. Both Callis and Domenick play doubles consistently, including other National tournaments and a recent pro event. The two did not drop a game during the tournament.

"I think the difference between a team like Chris and I who play a lot together is that we have team chemistry, and we know each other's game," Domenick said. "We beat then (the other teams) pretty badly, but still had good matches. When we were up by a lot, we'd play some fun shots."

The BU15 and BU17 also drew top-ranked players. Three of the top five U15 boys played, including No. 1 Dylan Murray who finished third in the BU19 with partner Taylor Tutrone, who is No. 12 in the BU17. Hunter Beck and Dylan Ward won the draw. The BU11 and U13 were combined in one draw, as were the GU17 and U19, as three teams are required for each draw.

The GU17/19 draw was won by Emily Park and Julie Cerullo, both members of the U.S. Junior Women's Team. Amanda Sobhy who finished the junior season atop the U15 and U17 standings and is ranked fourth in the U19, brought more top talent to the small draw with partner Jacqueline
Shea.

Tournament director Edmund Chilton said the players especially enjoy the mixed doubles.

"The mixed in particular is a hoot," Chilton said. "The kids love it."

Amanda Sobhy and Peter McCall edged out Olivia Fiechter and Philip Kelly to win the Mixed U15title. Fiechter and Kellys' match against Michael East and Annie Ballaine was the match of the draw, extending to five after Fiechter and Kelly relinquished their two game lead, before regaining control in the fifth.

"In the end Olivia and Philip out steadied them," Chilton said. "Michael got a little loose, and he is usually very steady. Annie was playing the left wall and made a few mistakes. There was good
consistency and movement by all throughout the match."

The teams of Chris Callis/Kathryn Corelli and Jason Michas/Julie Cerullo tied for the title in the Mixed U19.

Chilton was pleased with the high standard of play at the tournament, but would like to see more players. Chilton said scheduling the tournament at an ideal time is difficult, as there are so many junior tournaments and top players have to think about what works best for them, and their ranking. The tournament was held in February in the past, but numbers decreased in relation to the All Ivy Classic which draws in a lot of the New York players.

After Chilton moved the tournament to April, he faced the conflict of junior squash players having scheduling conflicts with their spring sport. Chilton set up matches at this year's tournament around individual competitors' schedules so everyone could make it to baseball, tennis, etc.

Chilton is not sure what month next year's National Junior Doubles will be in, as he will again work with US Squash to come up with an ideal weekend.

"We need to think about if to get higher numbers we are willing to compromise the level of play, or if it would be better to keep the small numbers," Chilton said.

The Tournament may have some added significance.

"If we want to keep the hardball doubles game going, we need to get juniors playing," Chilton concluded.

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