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Two hundred and forty of the top young players in the Section recently took part in the New Mexico Junior Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., a Level 4 USTA Southwest junior circuit event.

Held at Tanoan Country Club and a couple of other sites in the city, including the Jerry Cline Tennis Complex and Albuquerque Academy, the tournament was a busy three days of non-stop tennis in late March and early April.

In Boys 18s, second-seeded Nicolas Montoya (Scottsdale, Ariz.) downed top-seeded Jason Jaruvang (Phoenix) 6-3, 7-5 in the final. Montoya, a recent commit to University of Notre Dame, did not drop a set all week, disposing five foes, including the first, third and fifth seeds en route to the title.

Montoya paired with Christopher Krimbill (Scottsdale) to take the 18s doubles final, dispatching Josh Hedderig (Cave Creek, Ariz.) and Chris Humphreys (Albuquerque) in the doubles final, 8-5.

In Boys 16s, It was an all El Paso final in this division, as Nathan Brown captured the event thanks to a 1-0 retirement injury over Wilson Lambeth . Lambeth did manage to claim the doubles final , partnering with Gavin Lynch (Albuquerque) to defeat Max Schell (Goodyear, Ariz.) and Derrick Cunningham (Anthony, N.M.) 8-5 in the doubles final.

In Boys 14s, second-seeded Stefan Koester (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) cruised to the tile, dropping nine games in five matches, including a 6-3, 6-3 decision over Shawn Parks (Oro Valley, Ariz.) in the final. Parks also made the doubles final with partner Brandon Stringfellow (Phoenix), but the pair fell to the two seeds Nathan Niemiec (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) and Harrison Reid (Tucson) 8-6.

In Boys 12s Green Ball, top-seeded Sebastian Herrera (El Paso, Texas) breezed to the victory, losing just eight games in four matches, including a 6-2, 6-1 win over Maximo Lawlor (Goodyear, Ariz.). The two singles finalists then teamed up to claim the doubles crown, winning 8-3 over Niroop Vallabhaneni (Scottsdale) and Bryce White (El Paso).

In Boys 10s Orange Ball 60', Tucson brothers Brendan and Jared Perry made the singles final, with Brendan winning a close 4-1, 2-4, 5-4 affair.

In Girls 18s, Arizona State commit and top seed Stephanie Vlad (Scottsdale, Ariz.) didn't drop a set in any of her four matches. Vlad downed second-seeded Gabrielle Otero (Albuquerque, N.M.) 6-4, 6-2 in the final. Otero gained a measure of revenge, partnering with Aleeza Kanner (Phoenix) to take out Vlad and Rachana Bhat (Tucson) in the doubles final, 8-3.

In Girls 16s, top seeds Allie Sanford (Phoenix) and Maggie Cohen (Phoenix) made the finals opposite one another and put on a good show, with Sanford prevailing 6-3, 0-6, 6-4 in a tightly-contested match. Claire Baxter (Tucson, Ariz.) and Madeline Cunningham (Litchfield Park, Ariz.) downed Madison Clarke (Phoenix) and Sanford in the doubles final, 8-3.

In Girls 14s, second-seeded Sarianna Kuuttila (Albuquerque) outlasted fourth-seeded Shailla Alda (Phoenix) 6-0, 2-6, 6-4. Alda had upset top-seeded Reagan Posorske (Cave Creek, Ariz.) in the semifinals. Kuuttila also captured the doubles title, pairing with Alda (both pictured above with tournament director David Pitts) to win over Posorske and Alexandra Ochotrena 8-6 in the final.

In Girls 12s (Green Ball), Tucson's Jamie Schroer captured both the singles and doubles crowns. Schroer def Julia Lilien (Scottsdale) 6-4, 7-5 in the final of singles. The two singles finalists also combined to win the doubles title, over Catherine Broerman (Anthem, Ariz.) and Carmen Corley (Sandia Park, N.M.)

In Girls 10s (Orange Ball, 60' Court), second-seeded Abigail Gorden of El Paso took out top seed Cienna Chavez (Albuquerque) 4-2, 4-1 . The two singles fianlists also captured the doubles crown.   

Congrats to all of our winners in Albuquerque and thanks to the tournament headquarters Tanoan Country Club, as well as the other sites. A special thanks goes to tournament director David Pitts for putting on a quality tournament. The New Mexico Junior Championships barely concluded prior to a late-season snow storm that fell on the last day of the tournament.  

There are no Level 4 Southwest tournaments in April or May, so the next large gathering of Southwest juniors is the L5 Arizona Junior Championships is at the end of May and then the Southwest Junior Closed Level 3 in Tucson in mid-June.