Top-seeded Ellery Mendell and No. 3 Alyson Shannon took different paths to the Girls’ 18s semifinals at the 58th Annual Easter Bowl Presented by adidas on Friday, but the two future NCAA Division I players could be headed for an epic finals showdown if they continue their strong play.
Mendell, from Watkinsville, Ga., and a future Ohio State Buckeye, turned on the heat in the scorching desert during the second set against unseeded Amy Lee from Beverly Hills to advance, 6-3, 6-0. Shannon, who will play for the University of Tennessee, survived three match points against last year’s 16s champion Amira Kockinis, ultimately prevailing 1-6, 6-3, 11-9.
“It’s definitely been a little toasty out, but I’m managing it and it’s getting easier each round,” said Mendell, whose grandparents were watching from home as she played for the first time on the YouTube streaming Court 2 with commentary from RadioTennis.com’s Ken Thomas.
The 16-year-old Mendell is playing her fifth Easter Bowl and fourth in Indian Wells, and is one of the few remaining players who also competed in the 2021 event held in San Diego due to COVID-19.
Shannon halted Kockinis’ nine-match Easter Bowl winning streak in dramatic fashion, rallying from 9-6 down in the third-set super tiebreak to save three match points. She later learned she had double-faulted earlier in the tiebreak at 8-6.
“I really did that? Down 6-9 I just thought, do everything you can,” Shannon said. “I had a little bit of doubt for a second, but me and my coach always talk about ‘I can and I will.’ During those points, I saw she wasn’t going for big shots and was playing a game that suited me, so I tried to take advantage.”
Shannon next faces unseeded Yilin Chen from San Diego, who defeated her in their only previous meeting. “I’ll play her a lot differently tomorrow,” Shannon said.
Girls’ 16s
Unseeded Caroline Coan of Elmhurst, Ill., continued her impressive run to the semifinals, upsetting her second top-8 seed of the week with a 10-7 win in a third-set tiebreak over No. 8 Molly Widlansky. She will next face Sylvana Jalbert of Mount Airy, Md.
The 15-year-old Jalbert defeated No. 9 Kasia Chen of Colorado in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, but said the conditions made it a challenge.
“This was by far the toughest match I’ve had,” Jalbert said. “She was playing so consistent and making more balls. In the second set, she was a little less consistent.”
This marks Jalbert’s fourth Easter Bowl appearance, and her first time advancing past the Round of 16.
In the other semifinal, No. 4 Shristi Selvan will face wild card Tanvi Pandey of Tustin, Calif., who advanced with a 7-6(3), 6-0 win over fellow Orange County player Mingyue Deng of Irvine.
Boys’ 16s
Wild card Anay Kulkarney of Arizona advanced to the semifinals and will next face No. 6 Ivan Rybak of Florida. In the other semifinal, top-seeded Eli Kaminski of Virginia will take on No. 3 Piotr Gradzki of New York.
Boys’ 18s
Top-seeded Alexander Suhanitski of New Rochelle, N.Y., advanced to the semifinals with his fourth straight-set win and will face unseeded Peter Jorniak of Arcadia, Calif.
In the other semifinal, Irvine’s Rishvanth Krishna will take on No. 9 David Wu of San Diego. Wu advanced with a 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 upset over No. 2 Omar Rhazali of Stamford, Conn.
Easter Bowl matches will once again be live-streamed on EasterBowl.com with Radio Tennis’ Ken Thomas on the call. Fans can follow all the action on YouTube and stay updated with tournament news at EasterBowl.com.
Photo Gallery
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Source: Easter Bowl Presented by adidas. Photos provided courtesy of Easter Bowl Presented by adidas. Photos (from top to bottom): Sylvana Jalbert, Hunter Nelson, Lucas Smith, Alyson Shannon.