June 24, 2014
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — Incoming University of Iowa men’s tennis freshman Josh Silverstein continued his stellar play this summer, this time finishing runner-up in singles play of the Boy’s 18’s USTA Eastern Sectional Qualifier.
His performance last week qualified Silverstein for the Boy’s 18’s USTA National Hard Courts (July 30-Aug. 10) and USTA National Clay Courts (July 10-19) tournaments. The USTA National Hard Courts is the most prestigious tournament in American Junior tennis, featuring the top 128 players. The USTA National Clay Courts is the second toughest tournament in the country, also with 128 players competing.
At the Eastern Sectional Qualifier, Silverstein was seeded fifth and opened singles play with a straight-sets victory (6-2, 6-0) over Fredrick Zaretsky in the Round of 32. The five-star recruit from Great Neck, N.Y., then bounced Brian Shi (6-3, 6-4) in the Round of 16.
In the quarterfinals, Silverstein won a hard-fought, 7-5, 7-6 (5), match over 11th-seeded Phillip Antohi. Silverstein, currently ranked No. 18 in the USTA National Boy’s rankings, then won a three-set match over No. 9 seed Gabe Tishman (6-4, 5-7, 6-2) before falling in the championship to second-seeded Daniel Kerzeman (6-2, 6-1).
Silverstein was also paired with Kyle Mautner of Greenwich, Connecticut, in doubles action. After a first-round bye, the duo topped Dylan Appel/Jeffery Rodgers (8-6) in the quarterfinals before falling to Gabe Tishman/Myles Schalet (8-6) in the semifinals.
Earlier this summer, Silverstein advanced to the semifinals in both singles and doubles of the ITF International Grass Courts Championships, competing against some of the top junior players in the world.
