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FACES IN THE CROWD
TAYLOR TOWNSEND
STOCKBRIDGE, GA. > TENNIS
Taylor, a sophomore at the USTA's player development headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., won the girls' singles and doubles titles at the 2012 Australian Open to become the first American to sweep both junior titles at a Grand Slam event since Lindsay Davenport at the 1992 U.S. Open. Taylor upset Russia's Yulia Putintseva 6--1, 3--6, 6--3 in the singles final, and she teamed with Gabrielle Andrews (Pomona, Calif.) to win the doubles crown. Taylor, 15, is the USTA's top-ranked female under 18.
MARVIN BRACY
ORLANDO > TRACK AND FIELD AND FOOTBALL
Marvin, a senior at Boone High, broke the national high school indoor 55-meter record, running a 6.08 at the Jimmy Carnes Youth Invitational in Gainesville, Fla. A two-time state titlist in the outdoor 100 and 200, he won gold in the 100 at last year's Pan American Junior Games and at junior nationals. An all-metro wide receiver, Marvin had a one-handed 32-yard touchdown catch at the Under Armour All-America game in January. Next year he will play football and run track at Florida State.
KELLY PANNEK
PLYMOUTH, MINN. > ICE HOCKEY
Kelly, a sophomore center and co-captain at Benilde--St. Margaret's, scored three straight goals within 22 seconds during a 9--2 win over Totino-Grace to set a Minnesota high school record for the fastest hat trick. Her third-period scoring spree more than halved the previous mark (54 seconds). Kelly also netted a goal in the second period and had an assist in the Red Knights' victory. Through Sunday she was eighth in the state with 67 points; last year she had a team-high 52.
ANDREW MCGUINNESS
MERION STATION, PA. > SQUASH
McGuinness, a freshman at the U.S. Naval Academy, teamed with B.G. Lemmon (Villanova, Pa.) to become the first player to win four men's under-19 national titles at the U.S. junior doubles championships in Wilmington, Del. The duo swept the final 15--12, 15--9, 15--8. He also partnered with Olivia Feichter (Philadelphia) to win a third-consecutive U-19 mixed doubles title. Last year he captained Episcopal Academy to its third straight national high school title.
SYDNEY ZAMBROTTA
NORTH BABYLON, N.Y. > BASKETBALL
Sydney, a 5'8" eighth-grade point guard on the high school varsity at Upper Room Christian, scored 63 points in a 78--17 win over Our Savior New American to break the Long Island girls' single-game scoring record of 60, set in 1973. She also had 13 rebounds, 11 steals and two assists. The only eighth-grader on the Royals, Sydney was averaging 41.7 points through Sunday. Last summer she earned MVP honors in the Golden Hoops Classic at Harlem's Rucker Park.
ALAN GELOGAEV
MOSCOW > WRESTLING
Gelogaev, a 235-pound junior at Oklahoma State who wrestles at 285, had a pair of wins over top 10 opponents in dual meets against Arizona State (6--1 over No. 9, Levi Cooper) and Iowa State (13--1 over No. 10, Matt Gibson) to extend his undefeated streak to 18 matches. (Through Sunday he had extended his record to 21--0.) After missing last season with a partially torn pectoral muscle, Gelogaev is No. 3 among Division I heavyweights and is 9--0 against ranked opponents.
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SUDDEN SAM
Oilers forward Sam Gagner, the sixth pick in 2007, has never had more than 49 points in a season. That could change. Last Thursday he produced four goals and four assists in Edmonton's 8--4 win over the Blackhawks. It was the first eight-point NHL game since one by Mario Lemieux in 1988, and it tied a franchise record held by two slightly better-known Oilers, Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey. Gagner termed it "an honor" to be mentioned in such company, "even if it's for only one night." He then made sure it wasn't, scoring twice and adding an assist in the first period of the team's next game, a 5--4 shootout win over the Red Wings on Saturday.
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ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI/GETTY IMAGES (GAGNER)
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TORSTEN BLACKWOOD/AFP/GETTY IMAGES (TOWNSEND)
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DAVID EVERTSEN/PHABULOUSPHOTOS (BRACY)
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SID SAMPSON/UPLOADYOURATHLETE.COM (PANNEK)
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COURTESY OF THE U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY (MCGUINNESS)
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SEAN KIM (ZAMBROTTA)
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OKLAHOMA STATE ATHLETICS (GELOGAEV)
