DODDS-EUROPE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

WIESBADEN-NORDENTSADT, Germany — Last year’s girls singles champ proved she wasn’t a one-year wonder, while SHAPE pulled off a sweep of the boys titles in the DODDS-Europe tennis championships Saturday.

Sophomore Ginevra Bolla of Marymount International School in Rome defeated Ramstein senior Lindsey Jones, who knocked off the tournament’s No. 2 seed Friday, winning 6-4, 6-4.

The boys singles championship was a wide-open shootout between the forehand power of SHAPE’s Nikolay Gospodinov and the potent spin attack of Heidelberg’s James Chase. In the longest match of the day, Gospodinov came out on top 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-2.

Both doubles championships were upsets. SHAPE’s tandem of Juan De La Torre and Andrei Mavris beat top-seeded Shota Shindo and Brady Covington of the International School of Brussels, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4. And in the girls event, the No. 5 team of Meghan Augsburger and Olivia Rockwell from Ramstein beat second-seeded Taylor BonenClark and Stephanie Seitz of AFNORTH, 5-7, 6-0, 6-4.

In the boys singles, Gospodinov jumped out to a 3-0 first-set lead, only to see Chase break serve and battle back to tie. They split the next six games until Gospodinov put Chase away in a tiebreaker.

In the second set, Chase battled back using an equally effective backhand and forehand spin and forced the decisive third set. In that set, each player held serve for the first five games until Gospodinov managed to break for a 4-2 lead. The visibly shaken Chase slammed his racket into the net after he overhit the ball to fall behind.

As Gospodinov held serve to take a 5-2 lead, Chase slammed his racket again, this time onto the court. Action was stopped as the crowd wondered whether Chase would be disqualified. Organizers ultimately penalized him one point.

"I didn’t want to win that way, so I was hoping he could keep playing," Gospodinov said after finishing the match.

"My forehand sucked," Chase said. "I was frustrated with my inconsistency."

The girls match didn’t have the drama of three sets, but there were plenty of long volleys featuring finesse shots on both sides of the net.

After taking the first set 6-4, Bolla appeared to have things wrapped up when she jumped to a 4-0 lead in the second set. But Jones battled back, tying it up 4-4.

"I thought, ‘Maybe I’m going do this,’ " Jones said.

But Bolla broke serve in the next game and then held serve to complete the match.

"She just hits everything back, so there’s no stroke that I could do," Jones said. "She’s really consistent."

Bolla said her forehand was the key to her victory.

"I was afraid she would come back and win the second set," Bolla said. "I knew I could win, though, if I had patience and played like I did during the first set.

"It’s very nice to repeat. She was a really good player."

SHAPE coach Sam Ochinang said De La Torre and Mavris reversed the previous week’s three-set road loss to the ISB team by staying in touch on Saturday.

"They were communicating more with each other this week," he said. "They had a plan."

Ochinang wasn’t surprised the two duos staged a rematch in Saturday’s finale. "Before they played last week," he said, "I told the ISB coach that this was going to be the European championship match, and it was."

After losing the first set in girls doubles, the freshman duo of Augsburger and Rockwell, who had earlier eliminated the girls doubles top seed, knew they had their work cut out.

"We got over our mental game, because we were really nervous," the emotional Augsburger said after they stormed through the second set, then won the third.

Rockwell credited their victory to communication.

"We work really well together," he said.

Team titles, based on combined boys and girls results, went to Ramstein in Division I, American Overseas School of Rome in D-II and Brussels in D-III.

European championshipsWIESBADEN-NORDENSTADT, Germany—Results Saturday in the 2009 DODDS-Europe tennis championships on the indoor courts of the Tenniszentrum Vitis. Championship-bracket matches are best-of-three sets; consolation matches are single 8-game pro sets. (Seed, schools and tiebreaker scores in parentheses):

Team scoringDivision I—Ramstein 34, SHAPE 31, Heidelberg 28, International School of Brussels 23, Patch 19, Lakenheath 15, Wiesbaden 14, Vilseck 8, Kaiserslautern 4.Division II—American Overseas School of Rome 18, Bitburg 15, Marymount International School of Rome 13, AFNORTH 12, Bahrain 11, Milan 11, Mannheim 9, Bamberg 8, Aviano 6, Naples 4, Vicenza 3, Baumholder 2, Black Forest Academy 1.Division III—Brussels 7, Alconbury 6, Ankara 3, Ansbach 2, Sigonella 2.

Boys’ singlesChampionship—Nikolay Gospodinov (3), SHAPE, def. James Chase (4), Heidelberg, 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-2.Third-place—Emir Isik (1), Bahrain, def. Jon Lightner (Patch) 9-7.Fifth place—Clay Marquardt (6), Ramstein, def. Tyler Jakobs (5), Bitburg, by default.Friday’s late consolation matches—Jakobs def Andy Kim, Bamberg, 8-6; Marquardt def Daniel Burroughs, Lakenheath, 8-4; Lightner def Jak-obs, Bitburg, 8-6; Isik def Marquardt, Ramstein, 8-3.

Boys doublesChampionship—Juan De La Torre and Andrei Mavris (2), SHAPE, def Brady Covington and Shota Shindo (1), ISB, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.Third place—Cameron Meeker and Darrien Ward (4), Heidelberg, def Arman Alarilla and Jeff Holt (5), Wiesbaden, 8-1.Fifth place—Daniel Langholz and Seth Marquardt (3), Ramstein, def Niccolo Lais and Daniel Roman-Cohen, AOSR, 8-2.Friday’s late semifinals—Covington and Shindo def Meeker and Ward, Heidelberg, 6-3, 6-3; De La Torre and Mavris def Langholz and Marquardt, Ramstein, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.Friday’s late consolation matches—A. Alarilla and Holt def Ian Connors and Jack Kolodziejski, Heidelberg, 8-6; Lais and Roman-Cohen, AOSR, def Tim Liebig and John McCrea (7), Bitburg, 8-5; A. Alarilla and Holt def. Langholz and Marquardt 9-8 (8-6); Meeker and Ward def Lais and Roman-Cohen 8-0.

Girls singlesChampionship—Ginevra Bolla (1), Marymount International School of Rome, def. Lindsey Jones (3), Ramstein, 6-4, 6-4.Third place—Carmen Fuccillo (2), AOSR, def Andrea Wheatcroft (4), Heidelberg, 9-8 (7-5).Fifth place—Tamara Casteels (6), ISB, def Kaitlin Miller (5), Bitburg, 8-1.Friday’s late consolation matches—Miller def Holly Martin, Patch, 8-0; Casteels def Svenja Jansen (7), SHAPE, 8-5; Fuccillo def Miller 8-4; Wheatcroft def Casteels 8-5.

Girls doublesChampionship—Meghan Augsburger and Olivia Rockwell (5), Ramstein, def Taylor BonenClark and Stephanie Seitz (2), AFN, 5-7, 6-0, 6-4.Third place—Rachel Nevinger and Amber Veranen, Mannheim, def Katie Snell and Rachel Smith (6), Ramstein, 8-5.Fifth place—Gaby Gargis and Ciara Ryan (4), Lakenheath, def Sara Reynolds and Donna Smales (1), Patch, 8-2.Friday’s late semifinal matches—Augsburger and Rockwell def Reynolds and Smales 6-1, 6-3; BonenClark and Seitz def Snell and Smith 6-4, 6-3.Friday’s late consolation matches—Gargis and Ryan def Rebecca Borner and Sarah Kempner-Strehlow, Wiesbaden, 8-4; Nevinger and Veranen def Alessandra Lochen and Ana Torrijos (3), ISB, 8-3; Snell and Smith def Gargis and Ryan 8-5; Nevinger and Veranen def. Reynolds and Smales 8-3.

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