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Shane Vinsant hit a lot of good shots at the Texas Summer Grand Slam on Tuesday. Vinsant also produced one spectacular shot that was the highlight of his 6-4, 6-3 victory over Chris Camillone.
The second set was even at 2-2 when Camillone followed a solid serve to the net and reached for a volley that sent Vinsant hustling across the court. Vinsant chased down the ball and stretched for a running backhand lob that floated over Camillone and landed just inside the baseline for a break that gave Vinsant a lead he never relinquished.
"I wasn't expecting to make that shot," Vinsant said. "Sometimes you've got to come up with some amazing stuff that you didn't even know you could make. It really fired me up."
The victory at Texas A&M's Mitchell Tennis Center lifted Vinsant into the quarterfinal round of the Boys 18 singles bracket. Vinsant, from Keller, will have a chance to knock off a second consecutive University of Texas signee when he plays Daniel Whitehead of Sugar Land at 11:20 a.m. Wednesday.
Vinsant won't turn 16 until October and could have competed in the Boys 16 division, where he lost in the semifinals of last year's Grand Slam. He is playing up one level after a strong season in which he won the Boys 16 championship of the prestigious Easter Bowl tournament and reached the final of an 18-and-under ITF event at the Mitchell Center in April.
"It would be good to win the biggest sectional tournament in 18s when I'm 15, but it will be tough," Vinsant said. "There are some real good people here."
Camillone, a 17-year old from Austin, is good enough to receive a scholarship to play for the Longhorns. Taller than the powerfully built Vinsant, Camillone had a difficult time holding serve throughout the match, which was played in mid-afternoon heat near 100 degrees.
"I was struggling a lot on my service games," Camillone said. "I felt like that made his service games easier. I could have returned better, but I got mentally drained on my own service games."
Nothing took as much out of Camillone as Vinsant's fantastic break point that made it 3-2. Vinsant won four of the last five games to end the match in 1 hour, 34 minutes.
"He hit an incredible running slice lob," Camillone said. "You have to expect him to hit one of those, but you hope it doesn't come at break point. That's why he's Shane. Great players pull out those points. That was definitely a big swing. He opened it up with that."
Camillone spent most of the match playing catch-up. Vinsant broke serve in the first game of the match, which lasted 7 minutes and seemed much longer to Camillone.
"I felt like I played well, especially on my service game, not ever getting broken," Vinsant said. "When I got the break I could get more aggressive. I never want a guy to feel like he can hold."
Vinsant is a No. 5 seed in Boys 18. Camillone, a No. 9 seed, is part of a highly regarded group of UT recruits in the draw. The Longhorns also signed top-seeded Benjamin Chen of Spring and No. 9 seed David Holiner of Dallas, who both reached Wednesday's quarterfinal round.
The matchup between Vinsant and Camillone drew a comparatively large gallery by tournament standards, with about 20 spectators that included a couple of college coaches. Baylor coach Matt Knoll watched part of the match while sitting with Vinsant's parents.
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NOTES -- Whitehead rallied to beat Alex Van Velzer of Montgomery 6-7 (1), 7-6 (3), 6-4 in his round of 16 match Tuesday. The championship match of the Boys 18 division is scheduled for noon Friday. ... The semifinal matchups in Girls 18 are set, with Megan Horter of Southlake playing Elizabeth Begley of Houston, and Millie Nichols of Joshua facing Lilly Kimbrell of New Braunfels. The second-seeded Kimbrell beat A&M Consolidated's Anik Cepeda in this year's UIL Class 5A state final. ... Cepeda is the last area player in the Grand Slam. She won two consolation matches in Girls 18 singles Tuesday, beating doubles partner Kourtney Howell 7-6 (4), 6-3, and topping Charlotte Calhoun 6-0, 6-4. Cepeda will play Samantha Adams in the consolation quarterfinals at 10 a.m. Wednesday. ... Cepeda and Howell were eliminated in the Girls 18 doubles semifinals with a 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 loss to second-seeded Nichols and Whitney Wofford on Tuesday night. ... Franklin's Carrie Casey lost her first consolation match in Girls 14 singles Tuesday, falling to Caroline Turner of Frisco 7-5, 6-1.
On the Web
Updates on play, which continues through Sunday, can be found at http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/tournamenthome/tournament.aspx?T=71510
