By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff
On Sunday, August 18, 2019, at about 11:20 PM, a Deputy Sheriff escorted a nurse to the cell of an inmate at the Martinez Detention Facility (MDF). They discovered the male inmate unresponsive on his bed.
Medical aid was immediately rendered. Additional medical staff at the jail responded and continued life saving measures until the fire department arrived.
The inmate was later pronounced deceased at the scene. He is identified as 35-year-old Benito Carrasco of Clayton.
He was arrested by the Clayton Police Department and booked into MDF on August 15, 2019. Carrasco was being held on charges that include burglary, grand theft, possession of stolen goods, possession of burglary tools, shoplifting, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was being held in lieu of $40,000 bail.
The in-custody death protocol was invoked. The investigation is ongoing by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office and the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff.
Read MoreBy Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jerry Jimenez, Navy Office of Community Outreach
GREAT LAKES, Ill. – Sailors are some of the most highly-trained people on the planet, according to Navy officials, and at Recruit Training Command, otherwise known as “boot camp,” these skills are taught by hard-charging, Navy professionals who transforms civilians into disciplined, qualified U.S Navy sailors.
Seaman Ian Kendrick, a native of Oakley, California, recently graduated from RTC, and will be learning the necessary skills needed to be a logistics specialist.
A logistics specialist is responsible for providing fresh supplies, food and other necessities to sailors in the fleet.
After “boot camp,” students attend advanced technical schools where they are taught the basic technical knowledge and skills required to be successful in their new careers.
Kendrick, a 2015 graduate of Freedom High School, credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Oakley.
“I learned from my parents, family members, friends, schoolteachers and coaches about responsibility, integrity and the importance of teamwork and dedication,” Kendrick said. “These traits have served me well in my new Navy life.”
In 1994, RTC Great Lakes became the Navy’s only recruit training facility. The mission of RTC is to transform civilians into smartly disciplined, physically fit, basically trained Sailors who are ready for follow-on training and service to the fleet while instilling in them the highest standards of Honor, Courage, and Commitment.
Recruit training involves a change in the mental and physical capacity of the new recruit, according to Navy officials. From the first day at RTC through graduation day when new sailors board the bus to depart, recruits find themselves in a whirl of activity. Every recruit entering the Navy today will remember RTC as their introduction to Navy life.
Boot camp is approximately eight weeks and all enlistees into the U.S. Navy begin their careers at the command. Their basic training curriculum is comprised of five core competencies: firefighting & damage control, seamanship, watch standing, and physical fitness. Through a hands-on learning approach, recruits ‘train how they fight’ and receive critical warfighting skills during the sailor development process. The command consists of more than 1,100 staff members, with an average of 6,000 recruits in training at any time.
A key element of the Navy the nation needs is tied to the fact that America is a maritime nation, and that the nation’s prosperity is tied to the ability to operate freely on the world’s oceans. More than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water; 80 percent of the world’s population lives close to a coast; and 90 percent of all global trade by volume travels by sea.
Kendrick plays a crucial role in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of National Defense Strategy.
“Our priorities center on people, capabilities and processes, and will be achieved by our focus on speed, value, results and partnerships,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “Readiness, lethality and modernization are the requirements driving these priorities.”
Serving in the Navy is a continuing tradition of military service for Kendrick, who has military ties with family members who have previously served. Kendrick is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“My great-grandfather on my mother’s side, fought in WWII while serving in the Navy after immigrating from Cuba,” Kendrick said. “My grandfather was a Marine and served in the Vietnam War and my uncle, Scott, was also in the Navy. I have a sense of pride carrying the family torch serving our country.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Kendrick and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.
“Serving in the Navy is the highest honor and one of the best jobs I can think about doing,” Kendrick said. “It means not only serving my country but also serving the world.”
Read MoreCongressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) announced that he will host an Immigration Town Hall on August 22nd at 6:30 p.m. at Meadow Homes Elementary School in Concord.
This is the second in a series of town halls Congressman DeSaulnier is hosting on immigration. During the town hall, Mark will provide a firsthand account of what he witnessed at detention facilities on his two visits to the southern border and discuss the work he is doing in Congress to protect immigrant rights and ensure detainees are treated with the dignity they deserve. He will also discuss the Administration’s attacks on immigrant communities including its changes to asylum law, fight to put a citizenship question in the Census, and recently launched raids.
A variety of organizations will be on hand to provide legal resources, services, and information about protecting your rights—regardless of immigration status. Translation services will be available during the event.
This will be Congressman DeSaulnier’s 89th town hall and mobile district office hour since coming to Congress four years ago.
Immigration Town Hall
Thursday, August 22nd
6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Meadow Homes Elementary School
1371 Detroit Avenue, Concord
Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
This event is open to the public, press, and photographers.
To confirm your attendance, please RSVP online at https://desaulnier.house.gov/town-hall-rsvp or call 925-933-2660. To request ADA accommodations or for more information contact one of Congressman DeSaulnier’s offices in either Walnut Creek or Richmond.
Read More![](http://contracostaherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Dr.-Katrina-VanderWoude-in-her-new-Contra-Costa-College-office-0818-by-Denis-Perez-The-Advocate.jpg)
Dr. Katrina-VanderWoude in her new Contra Costa College office in August, 2018. Photo by Denis Perez The Advocate
By the African American Staff Association (AASA) of Contra Costa College
District Chancellor Fred E. Wood has spearheaded a brazen “racist public lynching” of Dr. Katrina VanderWoude. On May 28, 2019, Chancellor Wood placed Dr. VanderWoude, president of Contra Costa College (CCC), and two interim vice presidents, Susan Kincade and Carsbia Anderson, on administrative leave pending investigations concerning a suspicious complaint.
Chancellor Wood and his Contra Costa Community College District (4CD) office advisors violated district and state policies in pursuit of their campaign to remove the last two Black upper level managers at CCC. The chancellor has sought to make a public example of President VanderWoude for not going along with the continued racial gentrification of the college, which began a new phase in 2017. He assumed that VanderWoude, who is African American, would simply be window dressing to placate the AASA, which had raised concerns about the complete omission of new Black hires, among other issues.
![](http://contracostaherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Interim-CCC-VPs-Susan-Kincade-and-Carsbia-Anderson.jpg)
Contra Costa College interim Vice President of Academic Affairs Susan Kincade and interim Vice President of Student Services Carsbia Anderson.
Here is a timeline of events:
During the 2017-2018 academic year, the AASA began documenting and reporting on the systematic actions to reduce Black faculty and shrink the class offerings in their departments, particularly the social sciences and ethnic studies departments. AASA also raised issues about the new alarming direction of racial gentrification, with the CCC administration hiring 28 people, none of whom were Black.
On Jan. 30, 2018, the AASA and Black community leaders met with then President Mojdeh Medizadeh to address “Six Areas of Concerns” facing Black people at CCC. Instead of addressing these issues, Chancellor Wood removed Mehdizadeh in the middle of the semester and appointed an interim president. Wood’s reckless decision spun the campus into turmoil, while the nationwide search for a new president was underway.
On April 11, 2018, the AASA presented the six concerns directly to Chancellor Wood and identified managers who openly talked about introducing a “culture change” at CCC and were responsible for new gentrification policies, specifically detrimental to Black employees and students. Wood made promises but did very little to address these concerns.
On May 31, 2018, Chancellor Wood said in a press release that new President “Dr. VanderWoude’s … dedication to diversity, inclusion and equity prepare her very well for this important leadership role.”
In Fall 2018, President VanderWoude began her tenure with bringing back shared governance, instituting a more reasonable student-focused enrollment management plan, addressing the low campus morale issue and promoting racial equity in hiring. CCC was moving in the right direction.
In October-November 2018, the racist public flogging of Dr. VanderWoude began when it was learned that four of the five finalists for the vice president of student services (VPSS) position were African American. The credibility of two of the candidates was attacked by campus employees who used Google searches to find unvetted internet materials, dating back to 1997, to condemn these Black men without a trial.
These employees criticized VanderWoude for the hiring controversy, although she was barely two months on the job and was following district hiring procedures. Meanwhile, Wood remained silent and never explained that the district Human Resources Department (HR), headed by Diogenes Shipp, approved this entire hiring process. The misplacement of blame gave this small employee group an angle to criticize VanderWoude’s leadership of the college.
In March 2019, a trumped-up employee complaint was filed, charging VanderWoude with reverse racism, age discrimination and retaliation. There was no effort by Wood to address these allegations and resolve the concerns, as required by California Code of Regulations, Title 5.
On May 2, 2019, Chancellor Wood emailed an evaluation survey to various constituency groups as per the Management Manual (Section 6.2), and this two-week survey was to close on May 16th. However, there was a tiny group of VanderWoude’s opponents who complained about not being included in the survey, and therefore Wood obliged them.
On May 14, 2019, Chancellor Wood publicly joined the campaign to attack VanderWoude by emailing a second evaluation survey campus-wide to manufacture the written evidence to justify firing her. This was an open violation of 4CD HR Procedure 2030.13 and was a rogue action to allow the protest group to attack VanderWoude with the final written assault.
Wood’s deviation from the evaluation procedures is inherently biased and unjustified. The two overlapping active surveys is a completely unique process and has not been done for any other 4CD college president.
On May 28, 2019, Chancellor Wood executed the public political lynching of President VanderWoude by putting her and the two interim vice presidents on administrative leave without any prior effort to resolve the alleged issues in the March complaint. The interim vice president for student services removed by Wood is an African American man, and in Wood’s administration “diversity, inclusion and equity” evidently do not include top management positions for African Americans at CCC.
Wood’s goal is to fire VanderWoude, but there is now an unexpected public standoff with her supporters.
On July 17, 2019, amid the racial turmoil at CCC, Chancellor Wood made the sudden announcement that he will retire in March 2020. In reality, Wood is being pushed out because of, as he stated, “my belief that the district is ready for new leadership.”
A failed administrator
It is well documented that Chancellor Fred Wood is a failed administrator, who was a central member of the administrative team responsible for the infamous pepper spraying of students incident at UC Davis on Nov. 18, 2011, when he was the vice chancellor of student affairs. He then wrote an article, “Weary of Blame,” in the college newspaper California Aggie (Nov. 29, 2011) to deflect from his justly earned criticism for the shocking violation of these students. In May 2019, he has again earned well-deserved blame for the reckless removal of CCC administrators, with disastrous affects that are unmatched in the college’s history.
Finally, the public silence of Chancellor Wood in the midst of multiple incidences of racist hate graffiti at our sister campus, Diablo Valley College (DVC), in Spring 2019 gives some insight into how he and his district office cohorts view Black lives.
On March 6, 2019, in the men’s bathroom of the Engineering Technology Building, someone scrawled on the wall a racist threat of a noose with a hanging stick figure, along with the words, “No niggers working in trades.” When AASA President Manu Ampim called on Wood to be consistent and issue a district office statement to show a commitment to support Black students, as was done with other students, his response was simply, “If I say something I get criticized, and if I don’t say anything I get criticized.” This type of weak leadership is unacceptable and demonstrates Wood’s inability to lead a racially diverse college district.
Resolutions presented to the Contra Costa Community College District in July:
- Reverse the premature administrative leave action on May 28, 2019, which has crippled the college, and restore President VanderWoude and the two interim vice presidents to their positions.
- Immediately reassign to another campus the senior dean who has been in the center of conflict since she was hired in 2017 and began implementing a toxic “culture change” based on gentrification.
When reached for comment, Michele Jackson of the AASA said, “There’s no diversity at Contra Costa College in a very diverse community” and that “Wood and all of the district leadership need to go. They have no ties to the community.”
When reminded that Wood has announced he will retire next year, she responded, “We were instrumental in that.”
The African American Staff Association (AASA) of Contra Costa College, 2600 Mission Bell Drive, San Pablo, CA 94806, can be reached at AAStaffAssociation@gmail.com or 510-688-8806.
Allen Payton contributed to this report.
Read MoreBy Tim Leong, Director, Communications and Community Relations
The Governing Board of the Contra Costa Community College District (District) and Dr. Katrina VanderWoude have agreed that she will resign as Contra Costa College (CCC) President effective on August 14, 2019. A resignation agreement was approved by the Board at a special meeting on August 14, 2019.
A committee of constituent leaders from CCC will be appointed to participate in a process to select an Interim President, and Mariles Magalong will continue as the college’s Acting President in the near term.
“We want to thank Dr. VanderWoude for her leadership and contributions to the District,” said Chancellor Fred Wood. “We wish her well in her future endeavors.”
No additional information was provided by the district regarding her resignation. However, a news release by the African American Staff Association of Contra Costa College stated, VanderWoude and the college’s interim Vice President of Academic Affairs Susan Kincade and interim Vice President of Student Services Carsbia Anderson, were all placed on administrative leave on May 28, 2019 “pending investigations concerning a suspicious complaint.” Another news report claims the investigations “arose out of separate complaints filed by college employees.” A June article published on the website of The Advocate, the college’s student newspaper, stated the investigation of VanderWoude was “a personnel matter”, and that the two vice presidents were under “a separate investigation.” According to another article by The Advocate, VanderWoude was the college’s twelfth president and has been in her position just over a year. The two interim vice presidents were hired in January, this year.
The Contra Costa Community College District (CCCCD) is one of the largest multi-college community college districts in California. The CCCCD serves a population of 1,019,640 people, and its boundaries encompass all but 48 of the 734-square-mile land area of Contra Costa County. The District is home to Contra Costa College in San Pablo, Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, as well as educational centers in Brentwood and San Ramon. The District headquarters is located in downtown Martinez.
Allen Payton contributed to this report.
Read MoreFree adoptions of all animals at CCAS’ Martinez and Pinole adoption centers
Contra Costa Animal Services (CCAS) is teaming up with NBC Bay Area, Telemundo and shelters across the United States to find loving homes for shelter pets as part of the 2019 Clear the Shelter Day event on Saturday, August 17.
People interested in taking advantage of this free adoption event can visit CCAS’ Martinez and Pinole adoption centers to meet and adopt their new family member. The free adoption special includes most fees associated with adopting an animal, including: adoption fees, spay/neuter, micro-chipping and vaccination. However, new adopters will be required to license their animal, per County law.
If you’re thinking about taking home a new furry friend, consider heading to Contra Costa Animal Services to adopt during Clear the Shelters this Saturday, when we will waive all adoption fees as part of the one-day adoption drive.
CCAS Adoption Centers
Martinez Adoption Center – 4800 Imhoff Pl., Martinez, CA 94553
Pinole Adoption Center – 910 San Pablo Ave., Pinole, CA 94564
To view animals available for adoption, please visit www.ccasd.org.
For more information, contact Contra Costa County Animal Services’ Media and Community Relations Manager Steve Burdo at 925-393-6836, or by email at steve.burdo@asd.cccounty.us.
Read MoreOn Saturday, August 10, 2019 at -approximately 9:28 PM, San Francisco Police officers responded to a ShotSpotter notification in the area of the 1000 block of Oakdale Avenue. Officers arrived on scene and located 34year-old Dietrich Whitley, who was suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Responding officers attempted lifesaving measures until relieved by paramedics. Mr. Whitley was taken to a hospital but unfortunately succumbed to his injuries.
The SFPD Homicide Detail began an investigation that led to the identification of a suspect. On Tuesday, August 13, 2019, investigators arrested 38-year-old Sauntek Harris of Concord in the city of Concord. He was booked at San Francisco County Jail on charges of homicide and a felon in possession of a firearm.
No booking photo is being released at this time due to pending identification matters.
Although an arrest has been made, investigators are asking anyone with information about this case to contact the San Francisco Police anonymously at 415-575-4444 or text-a-tip to TIP411 with SFPD at the start of the message.
Read MoreIn response to the vote to strike by the Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers (see related article), John Nelson, Vice President, Communications, Kaiser Permanente issued the following statement:
Kaiser Permanente and SEIU-UHW have been working together toward a mutually beneficial agreement as part of the national bargaining with the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions that began in April. Unfortunately, UHW leadership has decided to use the threat of a strike as a bargaining tactic, designed to divide employees and mischaracterize Kaiser Permanente’s position, even though most of the contracts don’t expire until October.
We believe the result of the strike vote reflects obviously misleading ballot questions used by the union:
- “I vote YES to authorize our bargaining team to call for a strike to protest Kaiser’s illegal behavior and unfair labor practices and to show my support for a contract with good raises, no take-aways and a ban on subcontracting.”
- “I vote NO and am willing to accept a contract that increases our medical costs, cuts our pensions and retiree medical benefits, offers lower pay scales and raises that are less for Oregon and Washington than California.”
To be clear, Kaiser Permanente has presented a contract proposal that would provide annual pay increases that would keep our employees compensated higher than market averages and maintain excellent benefits. Contrary to the union’s claims, there are no pay cuts and no changes to our employees’ defined pension benefit, under our proposal.
It is important to understand that a strike vote does not mean that a strike is imminent, although it does place Kaiser Permanente in the position of having to spend millions of dollars preparing for the threat of a strike event. Our first priority is always continuity of care for our patients and members.
SEIU-UHW leadership is more interested in a power play to position themselves vis a vis other Kaiser Permanente unions – rather than focusing on what is best for their membership. At a time when we are working hard to keep our care affordable, the Coalition’s demands are not fair to our members and the communities we serve. Coalition-represented employees are already compensated 23% above market rates—we pay well and we have markets where our wage rates are challenging our ability to be affordable. The Coalition’s proposal would actually increase our wages on average 32% above the market over the next five years, adding a billion dollars to our labor costs.
Despite the union leadership’s disruptive tactics, we are hopeful that our employees will value our proposal and SEIU-UHW and the other Coalition unions will move forward with us to reach a new agreement. Our goal is to continue to make Kaiser Permanente a great place to give and receive care.
Proposed Contract Offer
Kaiser Permanente’s bargaining proposal would provide employees with the following best-in-class conditions:
- Solid wage increases. The average salary of Coalition-represented employees is already higher than market averages. Mindful of our goal to improve the affordability of health care and engage our employees in the effort, the current proposal provides guaranteed wage increases across the board each year through 2022 of 3% each year in Northern and Southern California.
- Opportunities for new hires. Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition are proposing a $40 million Workforce Development Fund and creation of new-hire training positions, all part of the solution to address the national shortage of health care workers and help develop the next generation of unionized workers in health care.
- Retirement security. The proposal preserves the existing defined pension plan along with other strong retirement benefits.
- Career mobility. The proposal includes a more robust tuition reimbursement program for employees that allows more funds to be used for travel.
- Affordable health care. The proposal includes a pharmacy utilization approach that incents employees to take greater responsibility for their health by rewarding them for increasing their use of mail-order prescriptions.
Just last year SEIU-UHW touted what it described as “strong wages and benefits” in the agreement it reached with Dignity Health, which included lower wage increases (13% over 5 years plus a one-time 1% bonus) than being offered by Kaiser Permanente, and only $2.5 million for workforce development, as compared to $40 million in Kaiser Permanente’s current proposal. (Source: SEIU-UHW press release, March 2018, http://www.seiu-uhw.org/archives/26114)
Read MoreStrike would affect more than 24,000 Kaiser Permanente workers in the Bay Area. Voting results in five other states, D.C. expected by September; would be nation’s largest walkout since 1997
OAKLAND, CA – Kaiser Permanente workers in California poured out in large numbers to overwhelmingly authorize a strike in early October that would be the biggest in the United States in more than two decades.
Becoming the first of more than 80,000 Kaiser workers to vote, members of the Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) across the state voted between July 29 and Aug. 11 whether to approve the unfair labor practices strike at Kaiser Permanente hospitals and clinics. More than 37,000 cast ballots in support of a strike (98 percent) while only 867 voted to oppose (2 percent). The turnout was uncommonly high for a strike vote in any industry, with two-thirds of workers casting ballots.
Strike authorization votes among other groups of Kaiser workers in California, and Kaiser Permanente employees in Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia run through mid-September. The strike would start in early October and be the nation’s largest since the Teamsters’ walkout at United Parcel Service in 1997.
“Kaiser workers all over California are putting a stake in the ground that it’s time for this corporation to get back on track and live up to its mission to help patients, workers and communities thrive, said Heather Wright, a women’s health clerk at Kaiser Permanente in Santa Clara, Calif. “This strike vote is about stopping Kaiser’s unfair labor practices. This company should be all about providing the best possible patient care, but unfortunately its focus in recent years has been on making billions of dollars in profits and millions of dollars for Kaiser executives.”
Workers want Kaiser Permanente to bargain in good faith and stop committing unfair labor practices, and are fighting for a new contract that would:
- Restore a true worker-management partnership, and have Kaiser bargain in good faith;
- Ensure safe staffing and compassionate use of technology;
- Build the workforce of the future to deal with major projected shortages of licensed and accredited staff in the coming years; and
- Protect middle-class jobs with wages and benefits that can support families.
As a non-profit entity, Kaiser Permanente is supposed to serve the public interest in exchange for billions of dollars in tax breaks. But in recent years, the corporation has departed from its mission:
- Profits: Kaiser made more than $5.2 billion in profits during the first half of 2019, bringing its profits to more than $11 billion since Jan. 1, 2017. The company also sits on $35 billion in reserves.
- Executive pay: Kaiser gave its CEO a $6 million raise to $16 million a year and pays at least 36 executives a million dollars or more a year.
- Care for low-income patients: Kaiser provides very little care to Medicaid patients, far less than other non-profit health systems, even though it gets massive tax breaks in exchange for supposedly working in the public interest.
- Financial transparency: Kaiser lacks transparency and operates in the shadows. It is exempt from many of the financial reporting requirements of other hospitals and health systems. Operating secretly allows Kaiser to avoid the kind of scrutiny consumers, employers, unions and regulators need to protect themselves and the public.
- Turning its back on workers: Kaiser has worked to destroy what had been the most successful and largest worker-management partnership in the country that was a source of innovation and problem-solving for many years; it has committed numerous unfair labor practices, including refusing to bargain in good faith.
- Destroying good jobs. Kaiser is actively destroying good jobs by outsourcing them to companies that pay low wages with few benefits, and wants to limit the wages and cut the benefits of its frontline healthcare employees.
The workers’ national contract expired Sept. 30, 2018, and in December 2018 the National Labor Relations Board charged Kaiser Permanente with failing to bargain in good faith. Since then, Kaiser has continued to commit unfair labor practices.
The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions comprises labor unions in California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Hawaii, Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, representing more than 80,000 Kaiser caregivers. To learn more, visit www.KaiserKeepThriveAlive.com.
Read More![](http://contracostaherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Katie-Volynets-USTA-1024x512.png)
Katie Volynets, of Walnut Creek, Calif., and Zachary Svajda of San Diego with their trophies. Photos by USTA.
Top American juniors Katie Volynets, of Walnut Creek, Calif., and Zachary Svajda, of San Diego, won the USTA Girls’ and Boys’ 18s National Championships this past weekend, each earning wild cards into the main draw of the US Open and headlining the annual USTA National Championships that took place last week.
The nation’s top junior tennis players competed in eight USTA National Championships across America. In addition to the US Open main draw wild cards awarded to the 18s singles and doubles champions, the singles runners-up in the Boys’ and Girls’ 18s divisions received wild card entries into the US Open Qualifying Tournament set to being on Monday, Aug. 19 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. Meanwhile, the Boys’ and Girls’ 16s champions earn wild card entries into the US Open Junior Championships.
Seventeen-year-old Volynets, won the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championship, defeating Emma Navarro (18, Charleston, S.C.), 6-2, 6-4 in the finals at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego. Volynets, who will be making her US Open main draw debut, reached the semifinals at the ITF World Tennis Tour W25 events in Florence, S.C., and Norman, Okla., as a qualifier earlier this year. As the runner up, Navarro will compete in the US Open Qualifying Tournament.
Svajda defeated Govind Nanda (18, Loma Linda, Calif.), 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-3, 6-1, to win the USTA Boys’ 18s National Championship in Kalamazoo, Mich. The sixteen-year-old will be the youngest player to compete in the men’s singles main draw since American Donald Young did it in 2007. Nanda, who reached the boys’ 18s singles and doubles finals, received a wild card into the US Open Qualifying Tournament.
Reese Brantmeier (14, Whitewater, Wis.) and Alexander Bernard (15, Bonita Springs, Fla.) won the USTA Girls’ and Boys’ 16s National Championships singles titles, and will receive wild cards into the main draw of the US Open Junior Championships.
Complete results of the USTA National Championships can be found below. The complete draws are available at the USTA National Championships page on TennisLink.
USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championships
Barnes Tennis Center, San Diego, August 3-11
Singles: (2) Katie Volynets (Walnut Creek, Calif.) d. (3) Emma Navarro (Charleston, S.C.), 6-2, 6-4
Doubles: (13) Abigail Forbes (Raleigh, N.C.) / Alexa Noel (Summit, N.J.) d. Gabriella Price (Boca Raton, Fla.) / Katrina Scott (Woodland Hills, Calif.), 7-5, 6-1
USTA Boys’ 18s National Championships
Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, Mich., August 2-11
Singles: (6) Zachary Svajda (San Diego) d. (5) Govind Nanda (Cerritos, Calif.), 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-3, 6-1
Doubles: (1) Martin Damm (Bradenton, Fla.) / Toby Kodat (Bradenton, Fla.) d. (3) Brandon Nakashima (San Diego, Calif.) / Nanda, 6-3, 6-4
USTA Boys’ 16s National Championships
Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, Mich., August 2-11
Singles: (1) Alexander Bernard (Bonita Springs, Fla.) d. (4) Aidan Mayo (Torrance, Calif.), 5-7, 6-2, 7-5
Doubles: (7) Hugo Hashimoto (San Jose, Calif.) / Benjamin Kittay (Potomac, Md.) d. (11) Lucas Brown (Plano, Texas) / Aidan Kim (Milford, Mich.), 6-4, 6-3
USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 16s National Championships
Barnes Tennis Center, San Diego, August 3-11
Singles: (14) Reese Brantmeier (Whitewater, Wis.) d. (1) Valencia Xu (Livingston, N.J.), 6-2, 6-0
Doubles: (17) Elise Wagle (Niskayuna, N.Y.) / Katja Wiersholm (Kirkland, Wash.) d. Tara Malik (Seacaucus, N.J.) / Nikita Vishwase (Phoenix, Ariz.), 6-3, 6-0
USTA Boys’ 14s National Championships
Mobile Area Tennis Association, Mobile, Ala., August 3-10
Singles: (4) Cooper Williams (Greenwich, Conn.) d. (3) Nicholas Godsick (Chagrin Falls, Ohio), 6-1, 7-5
Doubles: (6) Alexander Razeghi (Humble, Texas) / Dylan Tsoi (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) d. (5) James Lian (Parsippany, N.J.) / Nicholas Mangiapane (Davidson, N.C.), 6-1, 6-1
USTA Girls’ 14s National Championships
Metro Tennis Associates, Rome, Ga., August 3-10
Singles: (3) Theadora Rabman (Port Washington, N.Y.) d. Brooklyn Olson (Mission Hills, Kan.), 6-7(1), 6-1, 6-1
Doubles: (17) Ananya Annapantula (Mason, Ohio) / Maddy Zampardo (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.) d. (17) Macy Hitchcock (Eaton, Ohio) / Piper Charney (Prospect, Ky.), 6-4, 6-0
USTA Boys’ 12s National Championships
Mobile Area Tennis Association, Mobile, Ala., August 3-10
Singles: (3) Maxwell Exsted (Savage, Minn.) d. (2) Abhinav Chunduru (Plano, Texas), 7-6(5), 6-0
Doubles: (2) Chunduru / Prathinav Chunduru (Plano, Texas) d. (1) Exsted / Cooper Woestendick (Olathe, Kan.), 6-4, 6-3
USTA Girls’ 12s National Championships
Windward Lake Club, Alpharetta, Ga., August 4-10
Singles: (4) Claire An (New York) d. (1) Bella Payne (Taylors, S.C.), 6-2, 6-2
Doubles: (1) Haylee Conway (Bellevue, Wash.) / Aspen Schuman (Menlo Park, Calif.) d. (5) Kate Fakih (Arcadia, Calif.) / Victoria Osuigwe (Bradenton, Fla.), 7-5, 4-6, 6-2
The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level — from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization with more than 655,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, one of the highest-attended annual sporting events in the world, and launched the US Open Series, linking seven summer WTA and ATP World Tour tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S. and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s philanthropic entity, the USTA Foundation, provides grants and scholarships in addition to supporting tennis and education programs nationwide to benefit under-resourced youth through the National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) network. For more information about the USTA, go to USTA.com or follow the official accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.
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