Stalder a runner-up in doubles

FOUNTAIN VALLEY — Reese Stalder, a recent Newport Harbor High graduate, was named the Southern California Tennis Assn. boys’ Player of the Year at a dinner event Sunday night in Costa Mesa.

Stalder certainly earned the award. Less than 24 hours later, though, he himself had a bit of a different assessment in terms of who is the hottest player of the moment.

Brandon Holt, who recently finished his junior year at Palos Verdes High, has been on fire recently. Holt beat Stalder in three sets earlier this month in the CIF Individuals singles title match.

On Monday, Holt won two more big titles at the 113th annual Southern California Junior Sectionals tournament. In the morning, Holt defeated top-seeded Kalman Boyd of Rancho Santa Fe, 6-3, 6-4, to win the boys’ 18 singles title. In the afternoon, Holt and partner Riley Smith of Los Alamitos High bested Stalder and partner Billy Rowe of Coronado, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, in the boys’ 18 doubles final at Los Caballeros Racquet & Sports Club.

Holt, the son of former world No. 1 Tracy Austin, is the first player to win the CIF Individuals title and Junior Sectionals singles and doubles in the same year in a decade. Former Woodbridge standout Michael McClune was the last player to accomplish that “trifecta,” in 2005.

“Brandon’s the best player in SoCal right now probably,” Stalder said. “Brandon does everything well, which sucks for everyone else, but it’s good for him. He’s a super-nice dude.”

Top-seeded Holt and Smith, who are both USC commits, ended No. 2-seeded Stalder and Rowe’s dreams of repeating as sectional doubles champions. Holt understands the importance of the run that he’s on.

“It’s pretty amazing, pretty exciting to be able to do this,” Holt said. “I mean, two of them were against Reese, and Reese is just an amazing player. I’m happy that I could pull them out.”

The TCU-bound Stalder and Rowe, who is committed to Vanderbilt, made the doubles final after surviving a tight semifinal match. They survived three match points in a third-set super tiebreaker to top Austin and Connor Rapp of Rancho Mirage, 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 15-13.

In the final, Stalder and Rowe had a promising start. With Smith serving at 4-5 in the first set, he took a 40-15 lead. But Stalder and Rowe won five straight points, the last on a Rowe service return winner, to take the set.

It was the first set that Holt and Smith had lost in the tournament.

“I thought we both had a little bit lower energy in the first, and then we lost it,” said Smith, the son of USC men’s tennis coach Peter Smith. “We didn’t want to go out losing in straight sets. We wanted to put up a fight in the second. It just kind of motivated us, really.”

Stalder’s serve was broken to open the second set, and it didn’t get easier from there. After Rowe held serve to pull within 1-2, a controversial call went against Stalder and Rowe.

On the first point of Smith’s service game, Stalder’s volley on the sideline was called just wide, and confirmed by the umpire. Stalder was incredulous, but the call stood.

Holt and Smith then captured four straight games to take the set, and the first two games of the decisive third set as well.

“We kind of lost our focus for a few games, and they took advantage of that,” Rowe said. “I wasn’t making my big first serve very much. They both have good returns, though. We definitely couldn’t hold easily.”

Serving to stay in the match at 2-5 in the third set, Stalder saved three match points but couldn’t save the fourth.

“We were still in all of the games, we felt like,” Stalder said. “We just didn’t win the big points like they did.”

Stalder still had a successful Junior Sectionals tournament overall, also making the singles semifinals before losing to Boyd.

And there was a genuine level of respect in the doubles final. The players have all played as doubles teammates before, though this was the first matchup of these particular duos.

“I [beat Holt] two tournaments ago [in the final of the Woody Hunt South Bay Junior Tournament ], but at this tournament he played the best,” Rowe said. “He’s probably one of the nicest guys out here, so I’m not mad when we lose to him.”