Tennis: Five locals in singles finals

Joseph Boo

NEWPORT BEACH - After a poor second set, Brittany Holland of Corona

del Mar didn’t want to give her opponent Kim Tran any advantages in the

third and deciding set.

Not only did she come out fast in the third set, Holland finished at

the same pace to close out a 7-6 (7-5), 2-6, 6-0 victory over the

fourth-seeded Tran in Thursday’s play at the Junior Tennis Classic 2000

girls 16 singles semifinals at Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club.

Holland overcame some errors to pull out a 7-5 tiebreaker in the first

set, but she could not do the same in a 2-6 loss.

“It was just a matter of playing smarter tennis,” Holland said. “I

wanted to come out strong in the third set and get the upper hand.”

She was successful in that regard, tightening her play to close out

the match. Holland’s finals opponent today is No. 2 seed Patti Kangwankij

of Fullerton.

In an impressive performance, Alexandria Walters, the second seed in

the girls 10 singles, destroyed semifinal opponent Tiffany Le-Mai, 6-0,

6-0. Walters, another Corona del Mar resident, faces third seed Carissa

Aboubakare in today’s finals.

Two locals advanced to the finals with three-set semifinal victories.

Vanessa Dunlap of Newport Beach knocked off her third seeded opponent

in a row in girls 14 singles. After dropping the first set to No. 3 Amy

Beck, 3-6, she won the final two, 6-3, 6-4, to earn a spot in today’s

finals. Dunlap will face her fourth seeded opponent.

Newport Beach’s Ryan Caughren, the top seed in boys 10 singles, fought

through three tough sets to get by No. 4 Martin Athalye, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.

His last opponent in the tournament is No. 2 seed Florante Sarmiento Jr.

of Carson.

After wining the first set, 6-3, Newport Beach’s Kaes Van’t Hof, the

second seed in boys 14 singles, pulled out a 7-6 (7-4) tiebreaker to

close out the match. His finals opponent is No. 3 Ryan Malawy of

Huntington Beach.

Among the locals not to advance, Newport Coast’s Hunter Jack, the top

seed in boys 18 singles and a senior at Corona del Mar High, was

overpowered in the semis by Westminster’s Alex Richter, 6-1, 6-2.

CdM senior Peter Kulmaticki, the third seed in boys 16 singles, was

stopped by second seed John Mano, 6-3, 6-4. Robert Khoury, the fifth seed

and a Newport Beach resident, fell to top seed Walter Lau, 6-0, 6-0.

In girls 12 singles, top seed Veronica Li stopped fifth-seeded Jill

Braverman of Newport Beach, 6-0, 6-2, in the semifinals.