July 24, 2002

COLUMBIA, S.C. –
The competition continued to be fierce Tuesday at the Wachovia South Carolina Closed Junior Hard court Championships. The competition began to get a little stiffer but that did not stop top seed and defending champion Joseph Carvalho of Rock Hill from reaching the finals in the boys’ 18 singles division.

Play will continue through Wednesday at four sites-the Columbia Tennis Center, Maxcy Gregg Tennis Center (USC women’s courts), Sam Daniels Tennis Center (USC men’s courts) and USC Indoor Facility. Wednesday’s action begins at 8:30 a.m. and will last into the afternoon.

Carvalho defeated Andrew Ellison of Columbia, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 to advance to the title match. He will face Lance Kefalos of Columbia who defeated Ryan Cook of Easley, 6-2, 6-3 in their semifinal match. The boys 16 year old division championship will be decide by two young men from Lexington as both Wyatt Boylston and Chris Peek advanced to the championship match. On the girls side it was Brittney Lanford of Florence defeating Sarah Giles-Madden of Columbia to take home the crown as the girls 18 singles division champion. In the girls 16-year-old division Ashley Perkins of Mt. Pleasant defeated Emily Wardlaw of Greenville to win the championship.

More than 350 of the state’s top junior tennis players are taking part in the annual event, as boys and girls compete in five different age divisions – 10s’ 12s, 14s, 16s and 18s – in both singles and doubles action.