News & Features

by Colette Lewis, 17 August 2023

Special from Zoo Tennis

KALAMAZOO, Mich. - After finishing in third place as a 14-year-old in 2021, Cooper Woestendick could have concluded he'd proven himself in the 16s age division and should move up to the 18s at the USTA National Championships in Kalamazoo.

Instead, the resident of Olathe, Kansas pursued the 16s title again in 2022, only to lose to eventual champion Darwin Blanch in a three-set quarterfinal, although that blow was softened by the gold ball in doubles with Mitchell Lee.

With a November birthday, Woestendick had one more chance in the 16s this year, and despite a ITF World Junior ranking of 71, opted for a third run at the 16s title. He got it, shrugging off the pressure to defeat Lachlan Gaskell 6-4, 6-2 at Kalamazoo College's Stowe Stadium, claiming the elusive title and with it, a main draw wild card for the US Open Junior Championships.

The second-seeded Woestendick, who did not drop more than five games in a match until the final, was confident he could contend in the 18s, but wanted the test of being a heavy favorite in the younger division.

"This is what I came to do, get some confidence," Woestendick said after his 6-2, 6-1 win over No. 32 seed Noah Johnston in the semifinals, played indoors at the Markin Tennis Center due to morning rain showers. "I'm very happy with my play so far. The matches where the score indicates like I'm killing people, but it's closer than it looks, that's the matches I want. Matches I don't play perfect, don't play my best tennis, but still get through it, that's what I've been doing."

In contrast, Gaskell was forced to fight through long, dramatic matches to advance to the final. The 16-year-old left-hander from Delray Beach, Florida, seeded No. 27, defeated No. 9 seed Joseph Oyebog 7-5, 5-7, 7-5 in the fourth round and No. 5 seed Dominick Mosejczuk 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. In his semifinal against Jagger Leach, the son of Lindsay Davenport and Jon Leach, Gaskell played a near-perfect third set to beat the No. 6 seed 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. Leach had beaten top seed Maxwell Exsted 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.

Although Gaskell took a 4-1 lead to start Sunday's final, the toll of his time on court began to show, leaving him unable to sustain his advantage once Woestendick recovered from a slow start.

"Definitely the nerves were there at the very beginning," Woestendick said. "I think we both actually played tight, it wasn't just me, but I just wasn't playing my best tennis. Mixed with the nerves, and with the breeze, it's not a good combination, so I just kind of won ugly."

Woestendick was in danger of going down 4-0 in the first set, but managed to save three break points, which kept a comeback viable.

"That was huge," Woestendick said of fighting back to hold for 3-1. "I was so furious with myself, but I told myself I needed that game. I knew if I could fight enough, I could still win playing not my best tennis. Even though I didn't get the next game, I knew if I could keep fighting, I could get it back."

With Gaskell serving at 4-2, Woestendick began to raise his level, while Gaskell won only one point in his next two service games. Serving at 5-4, Woestendick began to get a rhythm on his serve, and with a backhand winner, converted his first set point.

"I didn't serve well in the beginning, my toss was all over the place, with the wind," said Woestendick, who double faulted five times in the first set. "And honestly, the nerves impact the serve a lot, being tight in the legs and the arm, so once I became free, I started serving a little better."

Woestendick won seven games in a row, going up 2-0 in the second set, and although Gaskell showed signs of staying with Woestendick by holding his next two service games, he lost his serve at love in the seventh game and Woestendick held for the title, finishing it with an ace.

"Honestly, I was just too tired, and I just wanted to make it not look bad," said Gaskell, who grew up playing Woestendick in the USTA's Missouri Valley section. "If he played solid, like he did, he had it. He deserved it. Even if I was on top of my game, he probably still would have had it. He was definitely the best player I've played in this tournament."

"I'm really happy I won this tournament," said Woestendick, who is coached by his father Dan and USTA National Coach Sylvain Guichard. "I would say I was a pretty decent favorite in every match I played. And that's exactly why I played this tournament, so I could have that pressure on me. I wanted the pressure, and I handled it pretty well. Today, I didn't handle it great, but that's what I came here to do, to win these matches that I should win, so I'm very happy with that."

Woestendick's win ends a streak of four consecutive left-handed 16s champions; he is the first right-hander to take the 16s title since Brandon Nakashima in 2017.

Woestendick was not able to claim his second consecutive Kalamazoo 16s doubles title, with No. 14 seeds Nicholas Patrick and Maxim Kalinin defeating Woestendick and Exsted, the top seeds, 7-6(7), 6-1 in the final, played outdoors at Stowe Stadium.

Patrick and Kalinin, playing together for the first time, saved four set points in the first set tiebreaker, then dominated the second set for the title.

Patrick, who won last month's USTA National Clay Courts doubles title with Oliver Narbut, needed a new partner when Narbut reunited with frequent partner Ian Mayew.

"We teamed up for the first time this tournament, and it turned out better than we could have imagined," said Patrick, a 16-year-old from Coal Valley, Illinois.

"This is my first experience in a semifinal or final," said Kalinin, a 16-year-old from Mamaroneck, New York, who collected his first USTA gold ball this week. "I didn't expect to be here, but here we are."

Patrick and Kalinin had excelled in tiebreakers all week, whether regular or match deciding, and they rose to the occasion again in the final.

"We've played great in tiebreaks," Patrick said. "I think we've lost one tiebreak, but been very successful. That just comes with trusting our ability to come back, even if we are down, even if we are getting beat a little bit. I think as the tournament went on, we just trusted each other. He trusts me on my serve, I trust him; it's just one of those things where we really kind of bonded, got closer, throughout the tournament."

Mayew and Narbut won the bronze ball in 16s doubles, when Jack Kennedy and Keaton Hance were unable to play the third place match due to an injury.

Mayew took fifth place in the tournament, with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Drew Fishback in the feed-in consolation final. Mayew, the No. 13 seed, lost in the second round of the main draw, his first match of the tournament, then went on to win 11 consolation matches, with just one of those a walkover.

Leach took third place in singles, defeating Johnston 6-3, 6-3.

Kennedy was the recipient of the Bobby Kaplan Sportsmanship Award for 16s.

Next Up - Girls 16s

Check back this afternoon for our wrap of the Girls 16s from San Diego, California - as TRN continues with our exclusive coverage of Championship Week.

• Aug 14 - Championship Week Rewind
• Aug 15 - Ascenzo Stays Aggressive to Claim Boys 12 Title
• Aug 15 - Wang Adds Second Gold Ball With 12s Singles Title
• Aug 16 - Konduri Sweeps 14 Hard Court Titles After Sweeping Clays
• Aug 16 - Middleton Sweeps Girls 14s Hardcourt Titles
• Aug 17 - Woestendick's Determination Leads to Kalamazoo 16s Title
• Aug 17 - Lyutova Fights Back to Win Another Girls 16s Title
• Aug 18 - Tien Claims Second Straight Kalamazoo 18s Title
• Aug 18 - Big Year Continues for Ngounoue with 18s Hard Courts Title

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About Colette Lewis

Colette Lewis has covered topflight U.S. and international junior events as a freelance journalist for over a decade. Her work has appeared in Tennis magazine, the Tennis Championships magazine and the US Open program. Lewis is active on Twitter, and she writes a weekly column right here at TennisRecruiting.net. She was named Junior Tennis Champion for 2016 by Tennis Industry Magazine.

Lewis, based out of Kalamazoo, Michigan, has seen every National Championship final played since 1977, and her work on the tournament's ustaboys.com website led her to establish ZooTennis, where she comments on junior and college tennis daily.