MAZE CUP (NORCAL vs SOCAL) @ Berkeley Tennis Club

Come out and watch some great tennis this weekend as the top juniors from NorCal and SoCal will be clashing at the 41st Annual Maze Cup! The event is being hosted at:

Berkeley Tennis Club
1 Tunnel Road
Berkeley, California 94705

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

FRIDAY, MAY 9
3:30 pm Team practice
6:00 pm Welcome Dinner, Player Introductions and Draw Ceremony
8:00 pm Host Families will pick up players after dinner

SATURDAY, MAY 10
8:00 am Team warm up
9:00 am Girls’ 16 & 18 Singles (5 matches)
10:30 am Boys’ 16 & 18 Singles (5 matches)
2:00 pm Girls’ 16 & 18 Doubles (2 matches)
3:00 pm Boys’ 16 & 18 Doubles (2 matches)

SUNDAY, MAY 11
8:00 am Team warm up
9:00 am Reverse Girls’ 16 & 18 Singles; 16 Mixed Doubles (5 matches)
10:30 am Reverse Boys’ 16 & 18 Singles (4 matches)

B18: Billy Griffith (Fresno), Logan Staggs (Tracy)

B16: Victor Pham (Saratoga), Andrew Gu (El Cerrito), Alexander Keyser (Danville)

G18: Michaela Gordon (Saratoga), Rachel Chong (Danville)

G16: Alaina Miller (Saratoga), Vanessa Nommensen (San Jose), Sarah Hu (Oakland)

Coaches: Ryan Redondo and Pablo Pires de Almeida

B18: Ryan Storrie (Arcadia), Drew Dawson (Irvine)

B16: Jacob Brumm (Rancho Santa Fe), Bjorn Hoffman (Newport Beach), Maxwell Cancilla (Huntington Beach)

G18: Ena Shibahara (Rancho Palos Verdes), Kelly Chen (Cerritos)

G16: Kayla Day (Santa Barbara), Ryan Peus (Palos Verdes Estates), Annette Goulak (Oak Park)

Coaches: Jim Buck, HankPfister, Diane Matias

The Maze Cup is a prestigious annual team competition featuring the top juniors from Northern California and Southern California. It includes both boys' and girls' 18 and 16 divisions. The event is played using a 5-match Davis Cup/Federation Cup format, singles and doubles (four singles and one doubles). On court coaching is allowed. The site of the competition rotates between Northern and Southern California. Northern California is hosting the Maze Cup in 2014.

The Maze Cup is named after George Maze, Sr. He was a tireless volunteer for both the Southern California Tennis Association and Northern California Tennis Association. He originated the idea of bringing the top juniors from both sections for practice and competition against each other before the players headed East for all the summer USTA National Junior Championships.The Maze Cup, while strictly a California event, has had participants that have gone on to enjoy storied professional tennis careers. Pete Sampras, Lindsay Davenport, Michael Chang, Brad Gilbert, Robert Kendrick and Bob Bryan have participated in this rivalry.

For more history on the event, click on more info

Berkeley Tennis Club in Berkeley, California

USTA NorCal will select a total of 10 players for the event, 6 players from the 16s Divisions (3 boys and 3 girls) and 4 players from the 18s Divisions (2 boys and 2 girls).

All players interested in participating in the Maze Cup must submit an email of interest by Monday, April 14, 2014 to Tommy Tu at ttu@norcal.usta.com.

From players expressing interest, the Maze Cup Team will be selected by the junior staff in consultation with the Maze Cup coaches. Selection will be based on all available information including, but not limited to USTA NorCal rankings, national standings, ITF and ATP/WTA rankings, the amount of tournament play within USTA NorCal, recent results, and sportsmanship. Selection will be made on or about Thursday, April 17, 2014 following the USTA National Spring Tournament (Easter Bowl).

Team NorCal will be accompanied by two team coaches and NorCal staff. The coaches are:

• Pablo Pires de Almeida - University of San Francisco Men's Tennis Head Coach
• Ryan Redondo - - University of the Pacific Men's Tennis Head Coach

Team coaches may coach players at specific times during matches. Players’ personal coaches and parents are NOT permitted to coach.

The line-ups will be determined by staff in consultation with the Maze Cup coaches. The line-ups will be announced as soon as possible after selection and line-up order is determined. The 3rd boy and girl in the 16s division slated to play the exhibition matches will be specifically advised of their status. Players from the same division will play each other in singles and doubles.

The match format for singles and doubles will be the best of three tiebreak sets. Singles and doubles matches will use regular scoring.

Each player will receive 350 sectional ranking points for each win in singles and doubles, regardless of the position of the player on the team.

All players on the team from Northern California and Southern California will be given housing to stay with local tennis families in/around Berkeley. Players will be housed with same gender and section teammates.

The event is played using a 5-match Davis Cup/Federation Cup format, singles and doubles four singles and one doubles for each division. The winner of the Maze Cup Team Trophy is the team with the most points. One point is awarded for each match won with a total of 20 points available. If the team score is tied 10-10, the winner will be determined by the team losing the least number of sets. If the tie is still not broken, the winner will be determined by the team with the most games.

Individual trophies will be awarded to the players that win the most matches in their age division. A total of 5 points are available per division (4 singles matches and one doubles match). The team winning the most matches within that age division will claim the individual trophies.