Advice and banana propels Ramos

Troy High star moves to final at Costa Mesa Tennis Center; locals advance to semifinals at Newport Beach Tennis Club in USTA National Open tourneys.No. 1 seed Alison Ramos wasn’t happy with the way she was playing after splitting the first two sets of her semifinal match against No. 10 seed Lauren Ritz in the United States Tennis Assn. National Open Girls’ 16s Tournament Saturday at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center.

So before the third set started, Ramos broke out her cellphone and called her father, Gene -- a former wrestler, football player and baseball player -- for some advice.

“He was an athlete himself, so he knows how it is -- he gave me an inspirational talk,” Ramos said. “He just told me to hit my shots and play my game. When I was on the court after that I didn’t feel so alone.”

Ramos, feeling a little rundown from school, slammed a banana and made her way back to the court. With renewed confidence and energy, Ramos showed why she was the No. 1 seed, completing a 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-2 victory to move to the championship match today at 9 a.m. against No. 4-seed Aeriel Ellis of Hayward, who defeated unseeded Samantha Smith of Los Angeles, 6-1, 6-4, in the other semifinal.

“I had to have confidence in myself and trust my shots,” said Ramos, who has led Troy High to two consecutive CIF Southern Section titles.

Ramos and Ritz both displayed strong, two-handed forehands and backhands. While Ramos was the steadier player, Ritz showed excellence in bursts, but could not sustain it for the entire match. Ramos knew she was up against a strong competitor.

“I was expecting a tough match going in,” she said. “Our games are so identical.”

After winning a first-set tiebreaker, Ritz fell behind, 4-0, in the second set. Ritz broke Ramos twice and held serve to tie the set at 4-4. But Ramos held off Ritz’s late push and won the next two games to escape with the victory.

The third set was all Ramos. She hit accurate baseline stingers and got most of her first serves in to take a 5-1 lead en route to a 6-2 win.

“I feel more relaxed now that I’m in the finals,” Ramos said. “I had a tough draw with Ritz and (Thien-Trang) Nguyen. I was not real confident going in and l was sleep-deprived because of school. But I just fought -- I didn’t think.”

Ramos beat the No. 7-seeded Nguyen of Long Beach, 6-4, 6-3, in the quarterfinals in her morning match.

In girls’ 16 doubles, Nguyen and her partner, Jordan Dockendorf of Santa Barbara (unseeded), defeated No. 3-seed Emilee Malvehy and Christina Yee, 8-1, in the quarterfinals, then beat No. 1-seed Stephanie Hammel and Alyssa Nafarrete, 8-1, in a semifinal match to advance to the final. Nguyen and Dockendorf will face another unseeded team, Danielle Lao and Britney Sanders, in the championship match today at noon.

Lao and Sanders upset No. 2-seed Sierra Ellison and Roxanne Ellison of Coto De Caza, 8-5, in a semifinal to advance.

At the Newport Beach Tennis Club, Corona del Mar High graduate Wade Miller, the No. 1 seed in boys’ 18, won his quarterfinal match and advanced to a semifinal today against Gregory Hirshman at 11 a.m. Chris Madden faces Steven Benvenuto in the other boys’ 18 semifinal.

In boys’ 16 singles, Newport Beach’s Oscar Fabian Matthews, the No. 6-seed, advanced out of the quarterfinals and will take on Bradley Klahn in the semifinals today at 11 a.m. No. 3-seed Ryan Thacher and Daniel Nguyen meet in the other boys’ 16 semifinal.

In girls’ 14 singles, No. 3-seed Cierra Gaytan-Leach of Corona del Mar advanced out of the quarterfinals and will meet No. 2-seed Blair Seideman in a semifinal today. No. 1-seed Sophie Chang and No. 4-seed Zoe DeBruycker will meet in the other semifinal. Chang defeated Newport Beach’s Melissa Matsuoka, 6-0, 6-3, in a quarterfinal Saturday.

In girls’ 14 doubles, Matsuoka and Kristina Smith won by default for the second straight day when their scheduled opponents didn’t show up. Matsuoka and Smith advance to a semifinal today.

Newport Beach’s Hailey Hogan and Gaytan-Leach lost their quarterfinal match to Elena Najera and Lacey Smyth, 8-3.

In boys’ 14 singles, Costa Mesa’s Christopher Freeman lost to No. 3-seed Alex Rovello, 6-4, 6-3, in a quarterfinal. 20051127iqlbeuknMARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Cierra Gaytan-Leach, of Corona del Mar, smashes a forehand return during her Girls 14 singles quarterfinal match at the USTA National Open in Newport Beach. 20051127iqlbj2knMARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT(LA)