Tournament Feature
Vaughan Claims Double Gold at Boys 14 Clay Courts
by James Hill, 17 July 2024
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Mason Vaughan captured his first-ever gold balls by winning the singles and doubles titles at the USTA Boys 14s Clay Court Championships in Dothan, Alabama.
The third-seeded Vaughan (Austin) won a hard-fought 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 battle over No. 13 Sebastian Godoy (Houston) in an all-Texas singles final at Westgate Tennis Center.
Vaughan earlier teamed with Dylan Meineke (Frisco, Texas) in doubles as the third seeds defeated the No. 1 duo of Akshay Mirmira (Bethesda, Maryland) and Gadin Arun (Paradise Valley, Arizona) 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.
“I had to come out swinging and just went for it,” Vaughan said after his singles match. “Sebastian is a very good player, so I had to swing at the ball a lot.
“(In doubles) Dylan and I have played a lot together. We are into serving and volleying and we have been doing that for a bunch of years.”
Meineke picked up his fourth gold ball following the Dothan event. He won both singles and doubles at last year’s 12s Clay Courts, and also took the doubles title at the Easter Bowl tournament.
“In the first set, we were not moving our feet,” said Meineke after his championship doubles matchup. “In the second set, we were being more aggressive on the returns. We both have good energy and communication. We shift together and we cover the middle and the line balls.”
In the singles semifinals, Mason beat the second-seeded Mirmira 6-2, 6-4, while Godoy was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over No. 7 Arun. The third-place match pitted the doubles partners, with Arun coming out on top 6-0, 6-4 over Mirmira.
Vaughan and Meineke beat the No. 2 seeds Antanas Daugis (Staten Island, New York) and Tristan Stratton (Forest Hills, New York) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in the doubles semifinals. Mirmira and Arun advanced to the finals with a 6-3, 7-5 decision over fourth-seeded Godoy and Eli Kaminski (Fairfax Station, Virginia).
Daugis and Stratton won third place with a straight-sets score of 6-4, 7-5 over Godoy and Kaminsky.
Consolation Singles (fifth place) went to No. 6 Victor Pignaton (Boca Raton, Florida) who outlasted No. 14 Alexander Totoian (Roseburg, Oregon) 6-4, 4-6, 10-5.
Godoy was also selected as the K-Swiss Sportsmanship Award winner.
Next Up - Girls 14s
Check back later today for our wrap of the Girls 14s from Plantation Florida - as TRN continues with our exclusive coverage of Clay Court Championship Week.
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About James Hill
James Hill is the Assistant Sports Information Director at Trinity
University in San Antonio and a freelance writer. He has covered all
levels of tennis competition.
