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Seventy years of competition produces a long list of champions, with Kalamazoo's honor roll including such grand slam winners as Rod Laver, Stan Smith, Jimmy Connors and Michael Chang. Two Mitches hope to join them this year, with 18s top seed Krueger and 16s top seed Stewart heading their divisions when the 70th edition of the USTA National Boys 18 and 16 Championships begins today at Kalamazoo College and Western Michigan University.

Krueger, an 18-year-old from Texas, reached the semifinals of both the French Junior Championships and the Wimbledon Junior Championships this summer, results that contributed to his recent decision to sign a professional contract rather than attend Texas A&M. Krueger arrives in Kalamazoo at No. 5 in the International Tennis Federation's world rankings and No. 3 in the USTA's rankings, hopeful of securing the US Open main draw wild card that goes to the 18s champion.

Incoming Duke freshman Michael Redlicki, the No. 2 seed, will be looking to join the short list of players who have won Kalamazoo twice. The 2010 16s champion has played only Futures tournaments this year, reaching the semifinals at that level once and the quarterfinals twice, all on clay courts.