Universal Tennis Releases Spring 2022 Junior National Pathway Schedule

5 min read

After the successful launch of the Junior National Pathway in 2021, Universal Tennis is revealing details and dates for the 2022 Spring Junior National Pathway. This year will be bigger than ever with both a Spring and Fall Pathway, each featuring Regionals and Nationals.

 

Offering College Exposure

The goal of the Pathway is to expose junior players to the benefits of playing college tennis while giving them opportunities to actually compete on college campuses. Spring Regionals will take place starting in mid-February (see the full schedule below). Venues include Texas Christian University, UNC Charlotte, Drake University, Whittier College, the University of Michigan, and the University of Louisville.

Players first compete in Regional events (eight boys' and eight girls') all over the nation in 13U, 15U, and 17U divisions. The winners of the 17U and 15U divisions qualify for Nationals (held June 18-20 in Rome, Georgia) where they will compete for championship titles as well as for wild cards into future UTR Pro Tennis Tour events. The National entry list also includes eight at-large registrants per division, based on UTR Rating, making each draw 16 players.

Following the three-day National tournament at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College will be a three-day Prospect Camp from June 20-22 (the Prospect Camp used to be called the College Showcase). The Prospect Camp splits players up into teams of eight and mimics the college dual match with both singles and doubles. Players will gain valuable experience months, or years, before they actually compete on a college team.

"I think it's very important for junior players to experience a college type of competition where their whole lives, they just play individual tournaments just for themselves," said Giancarlo Lemmi, the women’s associate head coach at Liberty University. "When they're put in a team situation their freshman year, they're not used to that. So I like how Universal Tennis is promoting that style of play."

Lemmi was one of the many coaches who attended the ITA Convention in Las Vegas, held in December at the same time as the 2021 Junior National Championships and Prospect Camp. Coaches from all over the nation in every NCAA division watched matches, held seminars, and did Q&As for parents and players.

2021 National Champions Crowned in Las Vegas

Last fall, 16 Regional events took place all over the country followed by the first-ever Junior National Championships in Las Vegas. Texas’ Nico Jamison (11.25) won the 17U boys’ title over fellow Austin Tennis Academy pupil Brendan Boland (UTR Rating 11.09), while Florida’s Oumar Diallo (10.56) won the 15U boys’ title by beating Ian Uraga (9.84).

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The unique Universal Tennis format is round-robin followed by knockout rounds, ensuring that all players compete in at least three matches. All matches (for the 15U and 17U divisions) are live-streamed and recorded so coaches can watch from anywhere, and players can see their matches at any time.

“At IMG Academy for Regionals, I just watched myself mainly more of what I can do to get better, but I also saw some good things,” Diallo said.

The girls’ 15U title went to California’s Nicole Weng (8.64), who won all 10 of her Pathway matches by capturing both her Regionals and the Nationals titles.

“I played the SoCal and Arizona Regional and I won that to get into this event,” Weng said. “It's helped my confidence knowing that I am able to compete with some girls out of state and I'm definitely going keep doing it. It was fun.”

California’s Jeselle Ante (8.88) captured the 17U girls’ trophy by outlasting Lauren Joyce (8.63).

“I think it just feels good to win in general, but I definitely learned a lot going into this,” Ante said. “Also, I'm definitely happy about the wild cards because that's exactly what I was playing for.”

Spring National Pathway Schedule

Registration deadlines are coming up soon, so sign up now.

See all of the results of the 2021 Junior National Championships here. To learn more about the Pathway, click here.

*UTR Ratings as of Jan. 6, 2022.