May 28, 2014
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — Incoming freshman Josh Silverstein competed in the National Open in Philadelphia this past weekend, recording a pair of second-place finishes. The No. 3 seed in singles action, Silverstein cruised to the finals behind four straight-sets victories, while knocking off two of the top four seeds in doubles action to reach the championship.
A native of Great Neck, New York, Silverstein entered the singles draw ranked 37th on the USTA National Singles ranking list. Silverstein made it to the semifinals behind three consecutive victories over unseeded opponents. In the semifinals, Silverstein squared-off against David Wilczynski, the No. 5 seed in the tournament. Wilczynski, part of the top-rated recruiting class in the nation for Stanford, had upset the top seed in the tournament prior to facing Silverstein. After coming out of set one with a 7-5 victory, Silverstein punched his ticket to the finals by taking the second set, 6-0. The championship saw Silverstein take the first set from the No. 7 seed Yancy Dennis, 6-2. Dennis would fight back to take the next two sets, and the championship, 6-1, 6-0.
Silverstein would go on to team up with Dennis in doubles action, as the duo entered the draw unseeded. After winning by injury in the first round, the duo notched a pair of upset victories, knocking off No. 4 Haig/Sharton, 8-5, and No. 2 Seelig/Wilczynski, 8-4. The run fell short, as Tsao/Zhu took home the championship with an 8-5 victory in the final.
Silverstein gained 488 ranking points over the weekend, helping to improve his national and eastern section ranking. The high finish will help Silverstein qualify for the USTA National Hard Court Championships, held in August in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and the USTA National Clay Court Championships in July in Del Ray Beach, Florida.