Caroline Price, of Duluth Ga., defeated Whitney Kay, of Alpharetta, Ga., 6-3, 6-3 to win the USTA National Clay Court Championships in Memphis, Tenn.
The two players from metro Atlanta have been playing each other for years in USTA tournaments and are know to be great friends. Price is the daughter of former NBA star Mark Price.
In the semis, Price played controlled, disciplined tennis to defeat local star Catherine Harrison, of Germantown Tenn. Harrison came out nervous and lost the first set quickly 6-2. In the second set Price fell behind 5-2 but stayed with her game plan. Harrison had struggled to close out sets all week and Price knew that. Price never gave away free points and let Harrison make the errors. Price won 5 games straight in the second set to win 6-2, 7-5. Harrison of won the third-place match, beating Gabby Andrews of Southern California 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
In the second semifinal No. 1 seed Kay, Ashowed the poise and experience to win easily. Kay defeated 13-year-old rising star Gabrielle Andrews, of Pomona Calif., 6-4 6-2. Kay got the early lead and never relinquished it. Andrews did try to change the game by using slice much more but Kay adjusted and closed the match out running away.
Achievements in other divisions
Girl's 16
Hayley Carter, 1st
Kourtney Keegan & Hannah King, 1st in doubles
Mia King and Carter, 3rd
Girl's 14
Taylor Townsend, 1st in doubles
Girl's 12
Kenya Jones & Kaitlyn McCarthy, 1st in doubles
Boy's 18
Nathan Pasha, 2nd in doubles
Boy's 16
Maxx Lipman, 6th in singles
Thai Kwiatkowski, 3rd in doubles
Boy's 14
Christian Garay, 2nd in doubles
Wood Benton and Adam Elliget, 3rd in doubles
Boy's 12
Anudeep Kodali, 1st
Abhin Sharma, 3rd
Kodali and Sharma, 2nd in doubles