Tennis: Local duo in round of 16

By Matt Szabo

June 4, 2015 10:53 PM PT

Newport Harbor High senior Reese Stalder and Corona del Mar junior Bjorn Hoffmann each have high hopes for the CIF Southern Section Individuals Boys’ Tennis Tournament, which continues Friday at Seal Beach Tennis Center.

It could be said that both Stalder and Hoffmann have championship aspirations. This is especially true as Stanford-bound Harvard-Westlake senior Michael Genender, last year’s CIF Individuals champion and this year’s Ojai champion, is not playing in CIF Individuals this season.

The tournament continues with the round of 16 on Friday at 11:30 a.m., with the quarterfinals to follow. Semifinals and the championship match are scheduled for Saturday, also at Seal Beach Tennis Center.

Stalder is expected to be the top seed in singles, though draws are not made available until players arrive on site Friday.

Stalder, bound for TCU, is undefeated this season, 65-0. The Sunset League singles champion advanced to the CIF Individuals quarterfinals last year before losing a tough three-set match to Genender. Stalder was winning the match before he started cramping up late in the second set.

This is the first time that Hoffmann, the Pacific Coast League singles runner-up, has advanced to the round of 16. He also has had a strong season for the Sea Kings, as he made the CIF Singles division championship match in Ojai.

Both Stalder and Hoffmann won twice in the initial rounds of CIF Individuals on May 28 at Whittier Narrows Tennis Center to advance to this point. Neither player dropped a set.

Other top players still alive in the singles draw include Danny Gealer of San Marino, Brandon Holt of Palos Verdes and Connor Hance of Peninsula. All those players, along with Stalder and Hoffmann, were honored as National High School Tennis All-Americans at a banquet Monday night at Newport Beach Yacht Club.

Hoffmann defeated Holt in the semifinals at Ojai and a nonleague match earlier this season, and he also beat Gealer in the Ojai quarterfinals. Stalder topped Smith twice in Sunset League play.