(by Steve Hopkins)
The 2023 Junior US National Team Trials are underway in Charlotte, North Carolina. There are 10 events – U19, U17, U15, U13, and U11 age categories for boys and girls.
The selection process awards the 2023 US National Champion the first position on the US National team (for the respective age band). This event in Charlotte awards points towards US National Team positions for players finishing in the Top 8. In July, points will also be awarded based upon where athletes finish at the US Nationals in Fort Worth. The Juniors Team selection is a process – and the event here in Charlotte is Part 1.
In early first day action, the top four seeds have maneuvered through the qualifiers unscathed in the U19 Boys Singles event. Sid Naresh, Daniel Tran, Nandan Naresh, and Darryl Tsao will enter the draw as the favorites. In U19 Girls Singles, Sally Moyland, Sarah Jalli, and Emily Tan each advanced undefeated – but fourth seed Emily Quan was upset in a tight match by Muskan Gupta. The top seeds in the U13 Boys event advanced easily – with Kef Noorani, Kyler Chen, Max Mouchinski, and Lirin Zhang moving forward as the favorites. The top 10 seeds in U13 Girls advanced (Tashiya Piyadasa, Dariah Feng, Irene Yeoh, and Terrie Yu are the top four).
Action is continuing this evening, and more action is scheduled through the weekend.
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