5 area players collect singles titles from SC Junior State Open

Unseeded Olga Zavarotnaya beat Anna Letto in an all-Hilton Head Island final to win the top girls’ division at the USTA S.C. Junior State Open, heading a list of five area players to walk away with singles titles last weekend at Shipyard Van der Meer Tennis Center.

Zavarotnaya, a Van der Meer Academy student from Belarus, knocked off No.2 seed Sayda Hernandez (Hilton Head Island) in the semifinals before dispatching Letto, 6-2, 6-2, for the girls’ 18s crown.

Fellow Van der Meer student Ryohei Arai also went from an unseeded start to a title, knocking off top seed Matthew Kandel on the way to the boys’ 16s division. Arai, from Japan, beat Kandel in the semifinals before winning the final in straight sets over Matt Barnett.

Both the boys’ 14s and girls’ 14s champions call Bluffton home, with Merrick Sanford winning an all-Bluffton girls’ final over Natalie Bassett. Davis Phillips captured the boys’ final in straight sets over Zachary Blais.

Said Hernandez (Hilton Head Island) captured the boys’ 10s championship by winning a round-robin series against four other entrants.

This story was originally published November 22, 2016 at 4:55 PM with the headline "5 area players collect singles titles from SC Junior State Open."