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WIESBADEN-NORDENSTADT, Germany — All seeds advanced to Friday’s quarterfinals of the DODDS-Europe high school tennis championships, but that didn’t mean there were no surprises in Thursday’s first-day matches.
“This was a tough match,” Jennica Botonis of Bitburg, the unbeaten second seed, said after needing three sets to down American Overseas School of Rome’s unseeded Maria La Via 6-1, 6-7 (5-7) 6-4.
“She’s by far the best player I’ve played this year.”
Besides bringing what Botonis called “a terrific backhand,” to the fray, La Via, who often appeared to have little difficulty returning Botonis’ big serve, also might have benefited from the mystery factor that comes into play here.
“She’s from Italy,” said Botonis, who drew a first-round bye. “I didn’t know anything about her.”
Botonis dominated the first set, but La Via quickly adjusted to the pace of Botonis’ game. She also displayed a serve nearly as powerful as her opponent’s in evening the match.
The two seemed headed for a second tiebreaker in the third set before Botonis gathered herself and began moving La Via around the court. They traded service breaks to put the match at 5-4 before Botonis won the match on another service break.
Next up for Botonis is unseeded Isabelle Ignacio of Baumholder, who eliminated Hannah Brand of Sigonella and Melanie Seitz of Giessen in straight sets.
The girls’ top seed, defending champion Krista Citkovska of SHAPE, had little trouble in her only match of the day. Citkovska, who hasn’t lost a game all year, downed Ashley Martinez of Naples at love.
If the seeds hold, Botonis will get a shot at ending Citkovska’s shutout string in Saturday’s championship match.
“She beat me pretty badly last year,” Botonis said. “I’ve been working on my game all year trying to get better.”
In boys singles, Heidelberg’s top-seeded and unbeaten Nick Garcia breezed into the quarterfinals at love, and second-seeded Claudio Giraldi, the defending champ, dispatched Patrick Barrenchea of Wiesbaden 6-3, 6-1.
Garcia, a sophomore, is playing in his first European event. Commitments to the German national team precluded his playing for the school in the past, his father, Mark, said Thursday.
Quarterfinal play begins here at 8 a.m. Friday, with the semis to follow later in the day. Saturday’s finals are set to start at 8 a.m.
First-day resultsWIESBADEN-NORDENSTADT, Germany — First-day championship-bracket results Thursday from the three-day European high school tennis championships being played at the Vitis Tennis Center here and at the Hochheim Tennis Center in Hochheim and the Medenhalle Tennis Center in Medenbach. Matches are best-of-3 sets; some tiebreaker scores unavailable. (Available tiebreaker scores and seedings in parentheses; individual forfeits not listed):
Girls singles
First round—Lucrezia Bisignani (Marymount) def. Lauren Duke (Patch) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2; Jemela McKinzy (5, Wiesbaden) def. Jessica Lamothe (Lakenheath) 6-1, 6-2; Cedell LaClair (Incirlik) def. Eryn Mertins (Kaiserslautern) 5-7, 6-2, 6-4; Ellyn Edwards (Alconbury) def. Jesalyn Draper (Vicenza) 6-0, 6-0; Vittoria Musotto (Milan) def. Laura Williams (Hanau) 6-0, 6-0; Isabelle Ignacio (Baumholder) def. Hannah Brand (Sigonella) 6-1, 6-1; Melanie Seitz (Giessen) def. Crystal De La Paz (Aviano) 6-3, 6-0; Katherine Schaffer (Vilseck) def. Naile Sanders (Ankara) 6-1, 6-1; Ashley Martinez (Naples) def. Susannah Edwards (London Central) 6-4, 8-6 (tiebreaker not used).
Second round—Bisignani def. Kirsten Norwood (Mannheim) 6-1, 6-0; McKinzy def. LaClair 6-1, 6-2; Krista Citkovska (1, SHAPE) def. Martinez 6-0, 6-0; Jennica Botonis (2, Bitburg) def. Maria La Via (American Overseas School of Rome) 6-1, 6-7 (5-7) 6-4; Allison Luthman (3, Ramstein) def. E. Edwards 6-3, 2-6, 6-3; Chelsea Cotter (4, Heidelberg) def. Sanders 6-3, 6-3; Ignacio def. Seitz 7-5, 6-3; Musotto def. Lori-Ann Daley (6, Würzburg) 6-0, 6-2.
Girls doubles
First round—April Feazelle and Rebecca Lamp (Vilseck) def. Reagan Womble and Christina Buffington (Vicenza) 6-1, 6-0; Holly Goldie and Colleen McMaster (London Central) def. Buse Guven and Brianna Fitch (Brussels) 6-3, 6-2; Jennifer Wheeler and Sarah Rosenstein (Mannheim) def. Melissa Holt and Sara Hauserman (Hanau) 6-1, 6-1; Alex Patrizi and Lucia Trombi (Milan) def. Rachel Seachris and Ashley Meeder (Kaiserslautern) 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (9-7); Crystal Steltenpohl and Heather Acre (AFNORTH) def. Monica Giddens and Kate Mooney (Naples) 7-6 (tiebreaker unavailable), 6-0; Audrey Neubauer and Caitlin Schwartz (Bitburg) def. Martin Diana and Aine Tyrell (Marymount) 6-0, 6-1; Ashlee Kozel and Sofia Engel (Bamberg) def. Melissa Seidow and Brooke Gillespie (Incirlik) 6-2, 6-1; Angela Conner and Stefanie Fair (Aviano) def. Kelli Montano and Stefanie Montano (Würzburg) 6-2, 6-1; Kereen Griffith and Ali Perez (Heidelberg) def. Jolinda Melvin and Aurdriana Bustoz (Baumholder) 6-0, 6-2; Carmen Fucillo and Valerie D’Alterio (American Overseas School of Rome) def. Caitlin Cloum and Heather Brown (Alconbury) 6-4, 2-6, 6-3; Jenna Harris and Felicia Lamothe (Lakenheath) def. Katie Arreloa and Heather Albright (Sigonella) 6-0, 6-0.
Second round—Jackie Ventrice and Lindsey Jones (1, Ramstein) def. Kosel and Engel 6-2, 6-2; Goldie and McMaster def. Feazelle and Lamp 6-0, 6-1; Wheeler and Rosenstein def. Patrizi and Trombi 6-1, 2-6, 6-4; Lidia Valdes and Natsuko Matsui (4, International School of Brussels) def. Conner and Fair 6-0, 6-1; Steltenpohl and Acre def. Neubauer and Schwartz 6-1, 6-0; Fucillo and D'Alterio def. Veronica Escalona and Amanda Oliver (Livorno) 6-0, 6-0; Katie Foxworth and Nancy Jensen (2, Wiesbaden) def. Harris and F. Lamothe 6-2, 6-1; Tamara Oppliger and Michelle Whitbeck (3, Patch) def. Griffith and Perez 6-4, 6-2.
Boys singles
First round-Donovan Houston (Ankara) def. Andrew Mouton (Baumholder) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3; Chris Sweet (London Central) def. Earon Brown 6-2, 6-3; Zach Heath (Bitburg) def. Seth Meitzner (AFNORTH) 6-3, 6-4; Bojan Trajkov (Brussels) def. Chad Perkins (Vilseck) 7-5, 6-0; Logan Snow (Lakenheath) def. Andrew Knapp (Incirlik) 6-3, 6-0; Andrew Duque (Bamberg) def. Dylan Blomgren (Sigonella) 6-0, 6-0; Cristian Feliz (Alconbury) def. Alec Gonzalez (Aviano) 6-2, 6-3; Felipe Diaz (Vicenza) def. Sean Danganan (Würzburg) 6-2, 6-1; Mike Sexton (Patch) def. Teddy Carrow (Milan) 6-2, 6-4; Patrick Barrenechea (Wiesbaden) def. Chris Modica (Mannheim) 6-1, 6-1.
Second round—Heath def. Sweet 6-0, 6-3; Edouard Van Der Mersch (5, International School of Brussels) def. Trajkov 6-2, 6-2; Sean Stokstad (4, Ramstein) def. Snow 6-0, 6-0; Sexton def. Diaz 6-1, 6-2; Nick Garcia (1, Heidelberg) def. Houston 6-0, 6-0; Ryan Umstaedter (6, Naples) def. Felice 6-4, 6-1; Claudio Giraldi (2, SHAPE) def. Barrenechea 6-3, 6-1.
Boys doubles
First round—Michael Quezada and Tyler Sullivan (Wiesbaden) def. Matt Webber and Mihai Strimbeanu (SHAPE) 6-1, 6-1; Paul Moseman and Andrew Gagnon (Brussels) def. Bryan Roche and Troy Faircloth (Incirlik) 6-0, 6-1; Adam Pauley and Jeremy Junker (Mannheim) def. Philip Mohseni and Peter Firouzbakht (Milan) 6-4, 7-6 (tiebreaker unavailable); Will Ketchum and Dan Denzine (London Central) def. Christopher Roscoe and Andrew Smith (Naples) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4; Steven Billington and Zachary Splittstoesser (Baumholder) def. Michael Sheets and Luc Gassie (Livorno) 6-4, 6-4; Will Barton and Randy Lintz (Vicenza) def. Jimmy McLaughlin and Kevin Taylor (Vilseck) 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4); Ryan Matheson and Shawn Redden (Hohenfels) def. Jacob Kopf and Niccolo Infante (American Overseas School of Rome) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4; Danny Burroughs and Julian Belisario (Lakenheath) def. Jamie Weum and John Peffer (Aviano) 6-0, 6-2; Justin Goss and Byron Washington (Alconbury) def. Ivan Khitsenko and Erez Roman (Ankara) 6-1, 6-1.
Second round—Matt Puchta and Shawn Kelley (1, Ramstein) def. Quezada and Sullivan 4-6, 6-4, 6-4; Moseman and Gagnon def. Pauley and Junker 7-6 (7-5), 6-1; Yun-Chul Cho and Shota Morisaka (5, International School of Brussels) def. Matheson and Redden 6-1, 6-3; Deven Smith and Chris Lucynski (3, Kaiserslautern) def. Goss and Washington 6-2, 6-0; Sam Pohl and Blair Martin (4, Heidelberg) def. Burroughs and Belisario 6-1, 6-1. Chad Roberson and Eric Hernandez (6, Bitburg) def. Ketchum and Denzine 4-6, 6-2, 6-0; Billington and Splittstoesser def. Asher Barzaga and Joshua Jennett (Sigonella) 6-2, 6-0; Sean Crowley and Maurice Rolle (2, Patch) def. Barton and Lintz 6-1, 6-1.
