Fourth-seeded Nicole Mossmer of La Jolla, and 17th seeded Julia Haynes of the San Diego community of Rancho Bernardo, won semifinal matches on Friday and will meet in the singles final of the USTA Girls’ 16s National Championship on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Barnes Tennis Center.
Playing on Court No. 1, the 16-year-old Mossmer used a consistent all-court game to outlast sixth-seeded Katie Volynets of Walnut Creek, Calif., as she won 6-4, 6-2 in two-hours and 26 minutes.
“I am so happy. I watched this tournament when I was younger. To be in the finals is a great honor,” said an elated Mossmer. “I just stuck to my game plan. I used a lot of variety, so I was just mixing the ball up, coming to the net, and using my serve. I worked (the ball) around the court and finished well.”
The winner of Saturday’s 16s singles final will be awarded a USTA gold ball and a wild card into the Girls’ Singles main draw of the US Open Junior event.
“I’m going to treat it like I treat every match here. Obviously there is a lot on the line, but I’m just so excited to play,” Mossmer said as she spoke about Saturday’s final. Since the beginning of the year, Mossmer’s goal has been to play in the US Open Junior tournament and now she’s one match away from reaching that goal.
Haynes advanced to the final to meet Mossmer after winning a marathon three-set semifinal match on Stadium Court over ninth-seeded Hailey Baptiste of Washington, D.C., 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (0) in three-hours and 38 minutes.
After splitting the first two sets, the 15-year-old Haynes fell behind 3-0 and 5-3 in the third set, but kept fighting back as she won three of the next four games to send the deciding set to a tiebreaker at 6-6. By then, Haynes had all of the momentum and won seven straight points in the tiebreak to win the match and advance to the final.
“It feels so amazing. I’ve never gotten this far in a big tournament – ever. In the first set I was so nervous. I was playing tight. She was hitting a lot of winners. I didn’t know what to do,” Haynes said. “The thought occurred to me that I might lose the match, so I decided to go for it. I just told myself to keep fighting. To be so close to losing and end up winning – it’s just an amazing feeling.”
Tournament officials believe it is the first time in the history of the event that two San Diego area players ha advanced to the Girls’ 16s singles final. In Girls’ 18s quarterfinal singles action, top-seeded Kayla Day of Santa Barbara, Calif., overcame unseeded Emma Higuchi of Los Angeles, 6-1, 7-5 to advance to the semifinals. Day will play 17th-seeded Carson Branstine of Orange, Calif., on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. (PDT).
Complete scores and results for each division of the USTA Girls’ 16s & 18s Nationals Championships can be viewed at: http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=171037
The Girls’ 18s singles final will take place at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Admission and on-site parking at the Barnes Tennis Center is free Saturday and Sunday.
