Welcome to the autumn edition of “Over the Net!” In this column, I will be detailing the results of five major tournaments played over the last few months: Ace Deuce Jr. Girls’ at Club Green Meadows in Vancouver, Wash., the Boys’ Dual Level 5 at Tacoma Lawn and Tennis Club, RVSTC Dual Level 5 at the Rogue Valley Swim and Tennis Club in Medford, Ore., Eugene Swim and Tennis Club Dual Level 5, and Sunset Athletic Club Fall Boys’ Champs in Portland. We also have an in-depth discussion with Dragos Puscalau, one of our region’s best players.

The Ace Deuce Jr. Girls’ played out on September 4-6 in Vancouver. In Girls’ 18s, Sophia Bott beat Natalie Allen 6-0, 6-3 and together with Anastasia Hueffner, Bott also won the 18s doubles! Elanor Grossman posted a decisive 6-1, 6-2 victory over Abby Farrell in Girls 16s and in Girls 14s, Dasha Ivanova defeated Alexandra Hueffner 6-1, 6-3. The team of Anastasia and Alexandra Hueffner also won the 14s doubles. Finally in Girls 12s, Vivian Glozman took the title from Jelena Vidovic 6-3, 6-4. Nice playing girls. Keep it up!

The Boys’ Dual Level 5 at the Tacoma Lawn and Tennis Club was played September 4-7 with 110 participants! In Boys 18s, Max Manthou barely beat Michael Chamerski 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. That was intense! In Boys 16s, Hudson Barnhart took out Kent Andreasen 6-1, 6-2. In Boys 14s, Mitch Stewart beat Henrik Wiersholm 7-6, 6-2 and together with Luat Le, Stewart won his doubles. In Boys 12s, Daniel Park narrowly defeated Noah Schachter 1-6, 6-3, 7-5. So closely matched! Lastly in Boys 10s, Michael Bott defeated my neighbor Jack Smith 6-1, 6-2. Exciting matches, everyone!

The Rogue Valley Swim and Tennis Club hosted a Dual Level 5 tournament September 18-20. In Boys 18s, Emmett Egger beat Alexander Wallace due to a withdraw from injury but won his doubles with Hudson Barnhart. In Boys 16s, Hudson Barnhart took out Brent Wheeler 6-1, 6-3. In Boys 14s, Rajul Chikkalingaiah defeated Joseph Chen due to default. In Boys 12s, Joseph Chen shook Stefan Ball 6-1, 6-3 and also won his doubles with Dylan King. In Girls 18s, Britney Reed crushed Victoria Tam 6-0, 6-0 and also won her doubles with Sophia Bott. In Girls 16s, Bott surprised Arianna Fardanesh beating her 6-1, 6-1 and won her doubles with Victoria Tam. In Girls 14s, Dominique Beauvais took the win from Madisyn Bryant 6-4, 6-3 and together they won their doubles. In Girls 12s, Elizabeth Waldram defeated Madisyn Bryant due to injury. Great playing! I hope that those injured are recovering quickly!

From October 16-19, the Eugene Swim and Tennis Club hosted a Dual Level 5 tournament with a startling 177 players! In Boys 18s, Michel Hukwo barely beat Alexander Wallace 6-3, 7-6 and in Boys 16s, Jacob Imam also had a tough match but eventually prevailed over Hudson Barnhart 6-4, 6-3. In contrast in Boys 14s, Henrik Wiersholm crushed Mike Schoettler 6-1, 6-1 and together with Avery West, Wiersholm won his doubles. In Boys 12s, Hunter Egger claimed victory over Daniel Park 6-0, 4-6, 10-6. In Girls 18s, Angela Chen pulled the win from Sophia Bott 2-6, 6-3, 10-7 and in Girls 16s, Alexandra Bourguignon took the title from Arianna Fardanesh 6-1, 7-6(7). In Girls 14s, Dasha Ivanova soundly beat Basia Kopecka 6-3, 6-3. In Girls 12s, Sydney Wallace defeated Elizabeth Waldram 6-3, 6-2 and they teamed together to win their doubles. Nice job with a lot of well played matches!

The Sunset Athletic Club in Portland hosted a Fall Boys Champs October 16-18. In Boys 18s, Alexander Wallace took a win over Stuart Tierney 2-6, 2-0(retired.) In Boys 16s, Toshiki Matsuya defeated Stefan Farrar 6-4, 6-2. In Boys 14s, Connor Garnett won his singles against Rajul Chikkalingaiah 2-6, 6-0, 1-0 and his doubles with partner Goutham Sundaram. In Boys 12s, Michael Bott snuck passed Dylan King 1-6, 6-0, 1-0 and together with Alex Chan won his doubles. In Boys 10s, Caden Samkutty took out Lucas Ball 6-1, 6-1. Many close matches in this tournament. Keep it up!

This month’s interview is with Dragos Puscalau (right) from Newcastle, Wash. He is ranked No. 11 in Boys 16s Champs.

Ben Elliott: What country are you from and when did you move to the United States?

Dragos Puscalau: I was born in Romania and then moved to Vancouver, B.C. when I was two years old. I lived there most of my life and then moved to Washington in 2006.

BE: Who is your favorite player?

DP: My favorite player would have to be, of course, Roger Federer. I really like his finesse, and he has a one handed backhand, too!

BE: What is your best/favorite shot?

DP: Ohhh, that's a tough one ... I guess my favorite shot would have to be my backhand passing shot for a winner, more specifically, the low one crosscourt.

BE: What languages do you speak?

DP: I speak Romanian, English and I'm learning Spanish.

BE: How old were you when you started playing tennis?

DP: I started playing tennis when I was about nine and a half years old.

BE: How many hours do you train?

DP: Lately, with high school tennis going on, I've only been training about 10 to 12 hours a week.

Thanks to Puscalau for the interview and thanks to you all for reading my column! Next time my brother Zack will be detailing the November Endorsements – send him your email for an interview! We love photos!