James TenBroeck just turned 13 and came out playing strong in his first NorCal 14 Division tournament recently in Stockton, Calif.
TenBroeck is now nearly six feet tall and has established himself as a big hitter, giving opponents around the NorCal 14 circuit reason to take notice.
He won his first match of the tournament 6-3, 7-5 against Andrew Pises, an opponent he hadn't previously beaten and a former No. 2 in the West and top 16 in the nation.
TenBroeck ran into some trouble in the first set of the second round, losing 6-0 as it looked as though his new level of precision had escaped him.
He brilliantly orchestrated a change in strategy, however, and won the hard-fought second set 7-5.
After the first game of the third set, his opponent requested a 10-minute injury timeout due to the effects of the heat and the advancing symptoms of exhaustion.
The opponent continued but fell behind 4-2 and forfeited the match.
In the next round, TenBroeck brought on some of the best tennis of his career but ended up losing to an older No. 5 seed, 6-0, 7-6 (7-1).
-- Bill Welch is The Record-Courier's tennis columnist. He can be reached at 782-5775.
