Junior tennis players from across the state partnered up as the USTA National Campus played host to the 2023 Bobby Curtis Doubles Sectional Championships for the 12s and 14s divisions.
It was an exciting weekend of competition, with the best juniors in attendance for this prestigious event. Across the six draws that took place, not a single top seed won the championship. This year’s competition also featured zero back-to-back winners.
This Bobby Curtis event saw Boys’, Girls’ and Mixed Doubles play for 12s and 14s.
In the Boys’ 14s Giorgio Centeno-Barrett and Jerald Carroll put up a great performance, taking down last year’s winner Axton Boonswang and his partner Matvey Winfrey in the championship.
On the Girls’ side of things, Gabriella Alonso was a huge winner over the weekend. Alonso dominated the competition for both the Girls and Mixed Draws. Alongside Khloe Akopian in the Girls’ 14s, they won every set they played en route to the championship. In Mixed, she partnered with Luca Torres-Sigler, who placed third in the Boys’ 14s, to command their way through some tough duos to win the title.
The Bobby Curtis tournament series is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the entire state, with tons of players currently at Division I schools and on the tour who won these events. Check out how each bracket played out from the 12s & 14s and which players etched their name in Bobby Curtis tournament history.
The competition was fierce across all divisions.
Boys 12s
Championship: Oliver Zinaja (Sarasota)/Julien Allee (Tampa) d. Simon Le (Tampa)/Zander Hellemons (Delray Beach) 6-3, 6-4
Third Place: Nicolas Stan (Hallandale Beach)/Berrien Becks (Daytona Beach)
Fourth Place: Ryan Allen (North Palm Beach)/Aleksander Denisov (Sunny Isles Beach)
Consolation Winners: Owen Neal (Saint Johns)/Maxwell Schmidt (Jacksonville)
Girls 12s
Championship: Zara Mineva (Miami)/Hulya Ozdogan (Weston) d. Violeta Pisarczyk (Sunrise)/Ivanka Zhybul (Hollywood) 5-7, 6-3, 10-7
Third Place: Samantha Carfino (Port Saint Lucie)/Quinn Sommer (Sunny Isles Beach)
Fourth Place: Alisa Kuteneva (Sunny Isles Beach)/Khaleesi Castanon (Palmetto Bay)
Consolation Winners: Alla Sadzius (Orlando)/Elizabeth Urbanovich (Winter Garden)
Mixed 12s
Championship: Zander Hellemons (Delray Beach)/Victoria Narti (Palm Beach Gardens) d. Gabriel Marino (Miami)/Hulya Ozdogan (Weston) 4-1, 4-2
Third Place: Nicolas Stan (Hallandale Beach)/Violeta Pisarczyk (Sunrise)
Fourth Place: Aleksander Denisov (Sunny Isles Beach)/Alisa Kuteneva (Sunny Isles Beach)
Boys 14s
Championship: Giorgio Centeno-Barrett (Port Saint Lucie)/Jerald Carroll (Winter Park) d. Matvey Winfrey (Deland)/Axton Boonswang (Palm Beach Gardens) 6-3, 6-3
Third Place: Luca Torres-Sigler (Riverview)/Marko Johannson (Coral Springs)
Fourth Place: Juan Benito (Weston)/Paul Bower (Coral Springs)
Consolation Winners: Charles Neal (Saint Johns)/William Chaves (Ponte Vedra)
Girls 14s
Championship: Khloe Akopian (New Smyrna Beach)/Gabriella Alonso (Plantation) d. Ariana Barber (Orlando)/ Natalie Augustyn (Palm Beach Gardens) 7-5, 6-3
Third Place: Lauren Carpenter (Riverview)/Sonia Govina (Sun City Center)
Fourth Place: Stefany Zamora (Miami)/Eva Ramos (Miami)
Consolation Winners: Gianna Paez (Naples)/Kamila Yusupova (Kissimmee)
Mixed 14s
Championship: Luca Torres-Sigler (Riverview)/Gabriella Alonso (Plantation) d. Juan Benito (Weston)/Gia Cacenco (Hollywood) 4-2, 4-0
Third Place: Max Neumann (Cape Coral)/ Zara Frljak (Winter Garden)
Fourth Place: Jerals Carroll (Winter Park)/ Monserrate Domenica (Jensen Beach)
The Bobby Curtis Doubles for 16s and 18s begins on October 14 and will end on October 18. Make sure to check back at ustaflorida.com/news to see the results from those draws!
