Perrone, Sculley bring fitting end to Van Der Meer junior tournament
It was clear from the crowd gathered at Court 8 at 2 p.m. Sunday that this was the match the spectators at Van Der Meer Tennis Center had been waiting for.
Ironically, when Nathan Perrone downed Sean Sculley 7-5, 6-2 in the Boys 18 White final of the USTA Dennis Van Der Meer Junior Championships, it ended an even longer wait for the two competitors.
Perrone, a 16-year-old Van Der Meer Academy student from Mount Laurel, N.J., and Sculley, a 15-year-old Smith Stearns student from Churchville, Md., have known each other and played in tournaments together for almost a decade.
Yet, before Sunday, they had never taken the court against one another.
"We were always supposed to play," Perrone said, "and someone would lose before they were supposed to when we would have met in the next round."
Given how the first set played out, the match may have been worth the wait. It was a slugfest full of long rallies. Both players seemed to get to nearly everything and nearly every shot was returned hard and deep.
"I had him 5-4," the top-seeded Sculley said. "I had some chances, but it didn't go my way. He hit some good shots. He brought his 'A' game today."
For as tight as the first set was, Perrone was fully in charge in the second set.
"I knew during the match that if I made one more ball than I needed to, then he wasn't going to stay in the match with me," the third-seeded Perrone said. "He attacked more than I did and I defended. But I think I hit my defensive shots a lot better than I thought I was going to. On the run, out wide, I put him really far back across the court. I think that's what gave me the first set.
"In the second set, I think I was just in better shape. I had better legs. I was in better condition."
Sculley seconded the notion that he might have run out of gas.
"The first set was obviously very physical, and we both put in a lot of energy," Sculley said. "The second set, my legs were tired. I played a three-set match earlier this morning, so I was a little worn out, which is something I've got to work on."
For Sculley, the next step, he said, is to go back to work at Smith Stearns and "work on my game." For Perrone, bigger tests are immediately ahead.
Perrone, who is ranked fifth nationally, doesn't pay attention to his ranking in the USTA's Southern section, where he has only played for a little more than a year. But he didn't sell this tournament short.
"This is a good tournament. I had trouble in the second round," he said, referring to a 7-6 (3), 6-2 win over Alexander Vanezis. "I thought I was going to lose."
But Perrone said he usually plays more ITF events than USTA junior events. In fact, his next seven events will be on the ITF circuit, including trips to Atlanta, Dallas and Mexico.
He said the level of play on the ITF circuit is high, but he likes the challenge.
"Players make the extra ball," Perrone said. "Sean's a good player, but to beat me today, he needed to make the extra ball. Players there are a little more consistent, they have a better serve and can place their balls better."
USTA Dennis Van der Meer Southern Junior Championships
Van Der Meer Tennis Center, Hilton Head Island
Sunday's results
Boys' 12 Singles RED
Semifinal Round
Naveen Reddy (2) (Raleigh, NC) def. Matthew Mitchell (4) (Vidalia, GA) 6-2; 6-3
Colin Tuttle (3) (Wilmington, NC) def. William Baly (Goose Creek, SC) 6-1; 6-2
Final Round
Colin Tuttle (3) (Wilmington, NC) def. Naveen Reddy (2) (Raleigh, NC) 6-0; 6-3
Boys' 12 Singles WHITE
Semifinal Round
John French (1) (Raleigh, NC) def. Davis Phillips (4) (Bluffton, SC) 6-3; 6-3
Alex Suk (2) (Macon, GA) def. Xander Barber (Asheville, NC) 7-5; 6-2
Final Round
John French (1) (Raleigh, NC) def. Alex Suk (2) (Macon, GA) 6-1; 6-1
Boys' 14 Singles RED
Semifinal Round
Cleeve Harper (Calgary, AB) def. Niklas vonHellens (Thomasville, GA) 6-0; 6-2
Jack Wylly (1) (Savannah, GA) def. Banks Evans (3) (Clayton, NC) 6-2; 6-1
Final Round
Cleeve Harper (Calgary, AB) def. Jack Wylly (1) (Savannah, GA) 3-6; 6-2; 1-0(8)
Boys' 14 Singles WHITE
Semifinal Round
Vivek Ramesh (1) (Cary, NC) def. Jackson Armistead (3) (Hilton Head Island, SC) 6-0; 6-1
Adam Kush (Johnstown, PA) def. Will Danzell (Hilton Head Island, SC) 6-4; 1-6; 1-0(4)
Final Round
Adam Kush (Johnstown, PA) def. Vivek Ramesh (1) (Cary, NC) 7-6(4); 6-1
Boys' 16 Singles RED
Semifinal Round
Thomas Jahn (1) (Mount Pleasant, SC) def. Trey Maust (Savannah, GA) 7-6(6); 7-6(5)
Brant Fenno (4) (Mount Pleasant, SC) def. Ryan Roegner (2) (Asheville, NC) 6-4; 6-1
Final Round
Brant Fenno (4) (Mount Pleasant, SC) def. Thomas Jahn (1) (Mount Pleasant, SC) 6-2; 6-1
Boys' 16 Singles WHITE
Semifinal Round
Ryan Jurist (1) (Mooresville, NC) def. Trevor White (4) (Hilton Head Island, SC) 6-0; 6-1
Jared Pratt (2) (Daniel Island, SC) def. Chad Nash (3) (Daniel Island, SC) 6-0; 6-1
Final Round
Jared Pratt (2) (Daniel Island, SC) def. Ryan Jurist (1) (Mooresville, NC) 6-1; 6-4
Boys' 18 Singles RED
Semifinal Round
Liam Wiggins (North Augusta, SC) def. Brandon Freestone (Roswell, GA) 6-4; 7-6(4)
Austin Allen (2) (Asheboro, NC) def. Joel Dunlap (Mooresville, NC) 6-4; 6-3
Final Round
Austin Allen (2) (Asheboro, NC) def. Liam Wiggins (North Augusta, SC) 7-5; 7-6; 1-0(10)
Boys' 18 Singles WHITE
Semifinal Round
Sean Sculley (1) (Hilton Head Island, SC) def. Beau Pelletier (Hilton Head Island, SC) 7-5; 2-6; 1-0(7)
Nathan Perrone (3) (Bluffton, SC) def. Scotty Cameron (2) (Isle Of Palms, SC) 6-1; 6-2
Final Round
Nathan Perrone (3) (Bluffton, SC) def. Sean Sculley (1) (Hilton Head Island, SC) 7-5; 6-2
Girls' 12 Singles
Semifinal Round
Carri Hayes (2) (Mount Pleasant, SC) def. logan voeks (4) (Sullivans Island, SC) 6-2; 5-7; 1-0(7)
Kendall Kovick (1) (Hilton Head Island, SC) def. Kate Sharabura (3) (Atlanta, GA) 6-4; 6-4
Final Round
Carri Hayes (2) (Mount Pleasant, SC) def. Kendall Kovick (1) (Hilton Head Island, SC) 7-5; 6-0
Girls' 14 Singles
Semifinal Round
Katie Weber (Charlotte, NC) def. Isabella Steffen (Cary, NC) 6-1; 7-5
Sibel Tanik (1) (Raleigh, NC) def. Emma Smith (4) (MT Pleasant, SC) 6-0; 6-2
Final Round
Sibel Tanik (1) (Raleigh, NC) def. Katie Weber (Charlotte, NC) 6-1; 6-2
Girls' 16 Singles RED
Semifinal Round
Cathy Chi (3) (Greer, SC) def. Lauren Joch (1) (Irmo, SC) 6-1; 2-6; 1-0(7)
Elizabeth Truluck (2) (Myrtle Beach, SC) def. Madison Dillon (4) (Hilton Head Island, SC) 6-3; 6-3
Final Round
Elizabeth Truluck (2) (Myrtle Beach, SC) def. Cathy Chi (3) (Greer, SC) 6-3; 6-4
Girls' 16 Singles WHITE
Semifinal Round
Fleming Landau (Charlotte, NC) def. Katharine Sherman (Augusta, GA) 7-6(3); 6-2
Sarah Brackin (1) (Murfreesboro, TN) def. Amanda Nowak (3) (Summerfield, NC) 6-2; 7-6(3)
Final Round
Fleming Landau (Charlotte, NC) def. Sarah Brackin (1) (Murfreesboro, TN) 6-1; 6-4
Girls' 18 Singles RED
Semifinal Round
Shelby King (1) (Cumming, GA) def. Adelaide Lavery (Hilton Head Island, SC) 6-0; 3-6; 1-0(6)
Aspen Jarrett (Louisville, KY) def. Saera Kanda (Hilton Head Island, SC) 6-3; 3-6; 1-0(5)
Final Round
Shelby King (1) (Cumming, GA) def. Aspen Jarrett (Louisville, KY) 6-2; 6-2
Girls' 18 Singles WHITE
Semifinal Round
Valerie Droop (Hilton Head Island, SC) def. Ruth Marsh (Atlanta, GA) 6-1; 6-3
Olga Zavarotnaya (Hilton Head Island, SC) def. Masako Makiba (Hilton Head Island, SC) 6-2; 4-6; 1-0(7)
Final Round
Olga Zavarotnaya (Hilton Head Island, SC) def. Valerie Droop (Hilton Head Island, SC) 6-1; 6-1
This story was originally published October 20, 2014 at 1:14 AM with the headline "Perrone, Sculley bring fitting end to Van Der Meer junior tournament."