This year, the tennis games took place at the Tennis Center of the scenic Bryant University campus in Smithfield, R.I. The facilities were top notch. There were two sets of courts adjacent to each other and both had stands, with one set of the stands being in the shade! This was one of the best tennis venues in recent memory. Governing body member Rich Sarajian organized and ran the tennis event for the sixth time in a row. Everything ran like clockwork. Joining Rich this year was Michael Varadian, an incoming Governing Body member who will run tennis next year in New Jersey. From all observations, Rich was a patient teacher and Michael was an astute understudy!
Eleven women and 14 men signed up for tennis. One of the women and 4 of the men scratched, leaving the 10 men and 10 women to compete. The women represented Detroit, New Jersey, North Andover, Philadelphia, Providence, and Worcester. Worcester had three women compete: Rita Bahnan, Kenar Charchaflian, and Alana Wyatt. The men were from Detroit, New Jersey, North Andover, Philadelphia, Providence, and Toronto. There were four men from Providence competing: George Donoyan, Garo Tashian, Kyle Byrd, and Hagop Taraksian.
The women played two preliminary matches, four quarterfinals, two semi-finals, and two final matches for the medals and points. It was similar on the men’s side, with the exception of there being just one preliminary match. Recall that in AYF tennis, the prelims and quarters are 10 game pro-set matches with semis and finals being 2-set matches with a 10-point tie breaker.
To say the least, it was a rousing day of tennis under perfect conditions.
In the men’s preliminary round, Armen Hovsepian of North Andover defeated Raffi Markarian of Detroit, 10-3. On the women’s side, Sara Hintlian of Providence prevailed over Rita Bahnan of Worcester, 10-1. In the other women’s prelim, Karine Keshkegian of Philadelphia bested Adrenee Asadoorian of Detroit by a 10-2 score.
In the quarterfinals, Kenar Charchaflian of Worcester took a 10-8 win over Lucille Barberian of North Andover. Lucille’s sister Olivia Barberian bested Sara Hintilian, 10-3. Katia Ayrian, a first-time participant, wowed the crowd with skillful shots and court movement to beat Ani Megerdichian of Philadelphia by a score of 10-1. In the last women’s quarter, another first time participant, Alana Wyatt of North Andover, electrified everyone with a power game not seen in AYF women’s tennis for years, defeating Karine Keshkegian, 10-0. Alana faced Oliva in the semifinals and Alana took both sets, 6-1 and 6-0. Katia Ayrian and Kenar Charchaflian were in the other semi-final. Katia took the first set, 6-0. Kenar, being the competitor that she is, rallied back in the second set to take three games, but yielded nevertheless to Ayrian, 6-3.
This set up a final match between Alana Wyatt and Katia Ayrian for the women’s gold and silver medals. While it was the first time in AYF tennis for both players, they both were stars on their high school and club teams. Katia worked hard in each game but Alana’s power game was just too much. While the score was 6-1, 6-1, each game was close. Katia and Alana both were tough and resilient competitors. In retrospect, a good tennis reporter would have counted the number of aces and double faults by Alana, but truth be told I was simply amazed by the performance of these two excellent players who make the future of AYF women’s tennis look very bright.
Old friends and tennis adversaries, Kenar Charchaflian and Olivia Barberian, met for third and fourth place. Last year, Olivia was in second place and Kenar took fourth. True to their history, they played excellent defensive tennis, returning shot after shot waiting for the other to make an error. They both worked hard, but Olivia won the match, 10-8.
In the men’s quarterfinals, Hagop Taraksian of Providence defeated Gevork Dramgotchian of Philadelphia, 10-2. Gabriel Chahinian of Toronto defeated George Donoyan of Providence by the same score of 10-2. Matthew Tarzian of New Jersey and Garo Tashian of Providence both fought with equal skill and desire to win in an excellent match, with Matthew taking it 10-8. In the last quarterfinal, young Armen Hovsepian of North Andover put up a good fight against Kyle Byrd of Providence, who won 10-7. Looking to see Armen compete again in New Jersey next year.
The semis pitted Hagop Taraksian against Matthew Tarzian. They played a fantastic match. Both wanted the win. As noted in previous years, Matthew Tarzian is a very determined and tenacious competitor. Hagop took the first set, 6-4, and Matthew took the second, 6-1. This set had one of the most amazing tie-breakers in recent men’s tennis history. Back and forth, they went to the point where Matthew, second-place finisher last year, was up 9-7. He had a double match point. Not to be outdone in the scrappy and tenacious department, Hagop took the next 4 points to win 11-9. The other semi also went to a tie-breaker. Kyle Byrd and Gabriel Chahinian battled it out with Gabriel taking the first set, 7-5, and Kyle coming back to take the second, 6-3. Kyle prevailed in their tie-breaker, 10-6.
The men’s final for first and second place was an all-Providence match of Hagop Taraksian vs. Kyle Byrd. After their hard-fought semifinals, it was a question of who had more gas in their tank. The answer was Hagop, who took both sets 6-1 for first place.
In the men’s third and fourth place final, Matthew Tarzian took an injury default. Thus, Gabriel Chahinian took the bronze. Matthew placed fourth. Knowing that Matthew played through severe cramping out of a sheer desire to compete and win just solidifies his reputation as being the scrappiest tennis player in AYF history.
Congratulations to the winners and all of the participants for a great day of AYF tennis.
Women’s Results
Alana Wyatt (Worcester)
Katia Ayrian (New Jersey)
Olivia Barberian (North Andover)
Kenar Charchaflian (Worcester)
Men’s Results
Hagop Taraksian (Providence)
Kyle Byrd (Providence)
Gabriel Chahinian (Toronto)
Matthew Tarzian (New Jersey)
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