(by Steve Hopkins)
Part 1 of the 2023 Junior US National Team Trials took place last week in Charlotte, North Carolina. There were 10 events – U19 Boys & Girls, U17 Boys & Girls, U15 Boys & Girls, U13 Boys & Girls, and U11 Boys & Girls.
In Part 1, for most of these events (all except the U17s), the winners secured a spot on their respective National Team. The other spots are to be awarded through a points system. Points are awarded here in Charlotte in Part 1, and in July, points will also be awarded based upon where athletes finish at the US Nationals in Fort Worth.
For the two U17 events, the top 7 in Charlotte automatically make the team. The winner at the US Nationals in July will be awarded the number one spot on the team. *As 8 players will be named to the team, it is possible that the 8th finisher from the State 1 Trial will be named to the team later.
Nandan Naresh won both the U19 and U17 Boys Singles events. Nandan had the same record as his brother Sid in the U19 event, but Nandan topped Sid in their head-to-head match. Charles Shen was undefeated in the U15 event, Kef Noorani managed a narrow win in U13 despite three players being tied with the same record. And Joe Zhang won the U11 Boys event.
On the girls side, it was Sally Moyland dominating U19 girls with a 7-0 record. Emily Tan won the U17, and Amy Zhang won the U15. Abigail Yu dominated both of the remaining events, finishing 7-0 to win U13 and finishing 7-0 to win U11.
