Day 4....Good day for AH - HA, but no longer undefeated...

Most of the California players....

Good Day...Bad Day... A little of both..

On the 4th day the event was well into semi finals and finals...Ava played the the semi final of the 12 and unders...Heater was in the finals of both 14 and unders and 16 and unders. Heather and Julia had a doubles match witch would determine
the winner of the 16 and under doubles. Ava had the final match of 12 and under mixed doubles,
which would determine the champ.

Ava had a battle in the semi final of the 12 and unders. She played fellow NorCal player, Andrea Picon Perez...The two challenged each other back and forth splitting the first two games, taking it to a tie breaker. They continued to go back and forth. Tie breakers are to 11 and the score got to 10-10. Each had their chances for the final point, and eventually Andrea got it and the win. Ava will play Sunday for third place.

Heather played in probably the two most exciting matches of the day. First was the 14 and under final with Ava Kaiser from Minnesota. Heather won game 1 pretty easily, then Ava made a comeback in game two forcing it to a tie breaker. They did a battle, but Heather came out with the win and the 14 and under Gold for the second year.

Later in the day Heather was in the 16 and under final against Annie Roberts, who won the 16 and unders last year. This was on the display court and Livestreamed through USAR. Both players were going all out, and I believe this may be the best game Heather has ever played. Smart precice serves and smart shots. Heather took game 1 with a full house watching...Game 2 went Annie's way taking them to a tie breaker....It was a battle with the crowd getting into it, and a coach checking his heart rate! Both players gave it everything and in the end Annie was on top 11-9. A Silver for Heather. To put it in perspective, this was Annie's last year in the 16s, while Heather has to more years...Very proud of the way she played and the sportsmanship she showed!

At the Saturday banquet Heather was honored with World Cup female player of the year. This was a surprise to many,including Heather. I was a little in on it. Jody Nance, gave a very nice intro: