Mason Strickland's Cinderella run through the Texas Summer Grand Slam ended Tuesday, victim of a wicked forehand.
Rhiann Newborn of Houston used her power game to beat Strickland 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinal round of the Girls 16 singles competition at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
Strickland, just starting to make her mark in the age group, was sent into the consolation bracket after rolling to four victories in the state's largest junior tournament. Her charge included a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 upset over top seed Makenzie Craft in the third round, perhaps the biggest victory yet for Strickland. The left-hander from Heath returned to earth for a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Idia Amen in the round of 16 on Monday.
Strickland felt she needed to raise her game again Tuesday against the tall, powerful Newborn, an accurate assessment which made Strickland's task even more difficult.
"I felt really tight coming in," Strickland said. "I guess I felt a little more pressure. She's also a high seed, and I thought I'd have to bring a little more to the table to compete with her. Doing that, I threw myself off and started to make a lot more errors than I usually do."
A balky serve put Strickland on the defensive from the start of the match, which the 15-year-olds played in searing heat with a welcome breeze. It took Newborn a few games to adjust to Strickland's looping shots, and the first set was tied at 3-3 before Newborn took command.
Newborn answered a break of serve by breaking back, then won the last two games of the set with an impressive power display. She pounded forehands from all angles and showed a knack for volleys on timely forays to the net.
"I stepped in," Newborn said. "I didn't just stay at the baseline. I moved in and got more aggressive. Once I got used to her soft balls going up into the air, I felt better out there."
Newborn continued to attack in the second set and never trailed in the match. A home-schooler who will be a sophomore in the fall, Newborn earned a spot in the main draw semifinals, where she will face Meredith Hopson of Austin at 11:10 a.m. Wednesday.
"It means a lot to me, making the semis," Newborn said. "It shows me that I can pick up my game more than I could in the past."
Strickland, who will be a sophomore at the Hockaday School in Dallas, felt the same way about her trip to the quarterfinals of the main draw. She will play Casey Sutton in a consolation quarterfinal at 9:40 a.m. Wednesday.
"I didn't really feel any pressure coming in because I'm just getting up into 16s and I know a lot of these girls have more experience than me," Strickland said. "I think beating the high seed gave me some confidence. It showed me that I belong up here with these girls, that I can play with them."
Also on Tuesday, College Station's Marco Cepeda won two consolation matches in Boys 12 singles. Cepeda bounced back from a second-round Monday loss by beating Campbell Erwin 6-4, 6-2 and defeating John Molina 6-3, 6-2. Cepeda will play Andre Mercado of Edinburg at 8 a.m. Wednesday.
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NOTES -- Franklin's Kayla Casey went 2-2 in the Girls 18 singles draw. Casey, who repeated as the Class 2A state champion this spring, split a pair of matches Saturday. She beat Maya Mozdzierz-Monico 6-3, 6-1 in the first round and then fell to Chelsea Horan 6-2, 6-1. Competing in the consolation bracket Sunday, Casey beat Adriana Ocon 6-0, 6-1 before losing to Jessica Blundell 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (11).