Kingsley falls in quarters

The Newport Harbor High girls’ tennis program tends to make an impression when it’s supporting one of its own.

More than a dozen Sailors turned out Wednesday afternoon to cheer for incoming senior Jenn Kingsley, who was in a girls’ 18 singles quarterfinal match at the 26th annual The Tennis Club Junior Tournament, better known as the “War by the Shore.”

“They’ve got like the whole city of Newport here,” Newport Beach resident Mackenzie Worsnop said, watching the action after finishing her own girls’ 18s quarterfinal win.

The applause got to be too much for Kingsley’s opponent, Whitney Weisberg of Redlands, late in the second set. The top-seeded Weisberg snapped a bit after missing a forehand volley while serving for the set at 5-4.

“This is a serious match,” Weisberg yelled toward the Newport Harbor players. “She doesn’t need an entourage, OK?”

To her credit, Weisberg did not self-destruct after that, even after Kingsley broke her serve to level the set at 5-5. Weisberg immediately broke back then finished off a 6-0, 7-5 victory.

Kingsley said after the match that she appreciated her teammates being there, though she also understood how Weisberg felt.

“I mean, I understand, sometimes our spirit can be a little overwhelming,” Kingsley said. “I understand that completely. I probably would have cracked as well, so I tend to just tune it out when people freak out a little bit. She was serving really strong after that, and I was having trouble returning it.”

Kingsley’s teammates had much more to cheer for later in the match. She certainly played better in the second set after Weisberg blanked her in the first. The two players had some good baseline rallies.

“The first set I was really tight,” Kingsley said. “I felt like I was just a little bit off, and she was playing really strong. Obviously, she’s a very strong player, [but] after I loosened up I was really able to use my strong forehand and my angles more.

“Obviously, her title as the No. 1 seed was really intimidating at first, but I got through it. She hit with a lot of pace, which I love, because I hit with a lot of pace. We had really good rallies and points, especially in the second set.”

Kingsley, who played at No. 1 singles last year for Newport Harbor, is excited for her senior year this fall. She has been working to improve her game. On Saturday, she’s also in the girls’ 18 doubles semifinals of the Chapman University junior tournament, with her Newport Harbor teammate Nicole Knickerbocker.

“I’m really confident,” Kingsley said. “I worked really hard in my offseason, so I’m really excited to put everything I worked on to use.”

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•Despite Kingsley’s loss, there remains a very strong local contingent at the War by the Shore. Seven other Newport-Mesa players advanced to the semifinals of their respective divisions on Wednesday. They are Worsnop (girls’ 18s), Jasie Dunk (girls’ 16s), Knickerbocker (girls’ 16s), Lauren Friedman (girls’ 12s), Jacob Holiday (boys’ 16s), Emin Torlic (boys’ 14s) and Paul Dandler (boys’ 10s).

Worsnop, the No. 3 seed in the girls’ 18s, breezed past Ellery Bohrmann of Indio, 6-1, 6-0. She will play No. 2-seeded Layla Rodriguez of Rancho Santa Margarita in the semifinals Thursday at 2 p.m.

Worsnop, 16, attends online school Laurel Springs. She has been working to improve her game at Dent Tennis Academy for years, and lately she’s been focusing on her offensive game, she said.

“That’s pretty much my main focus right now, going nuts working on that,” Worsnop said.

Dunk, who will be a junior at Corona del Mar High, has been impressive in the 16s as the top seed. She defeated No. 7-seeded Kelsey Vodhanel of Irvine, 6-2, 6-4, in the quarterfinals Wednesday and will play No. 6-seeded Bianca Pugliese in the semifinals Thursday at 12:30 p.m.

Knickerbocker, who will be a sophomore at Newport Harbor, is the other local player alive in the girls’ 16s after outlasting Lexie Shomo of Elfin Forest, 6-3, 2-6, and 10-4 in the third-set super-tiebreaker. Knickerbocker will play Tristen Bryant-Otake of Hawaii in the semifinals Thursday at 12:30 p.m.

Friedman also was extended to the super-tiebreaker in a girls’ 12s quarterfinal, but she was able to get past Alexandra Ozerets of Mission Viejo, 6-3, 2-6, 10-7. She’ll play Danielle Tuhten of Canada in the semifinals Thursday at 11 a.m.

“I feel pretty good,” said Friedman, 12, who will be a seventh-grader at Ensign Intermediate. “I mean, I got to the semis and last [year] I got to the second round [in this tournament].”

Friedman said her parents, Danielle and Andy, gave her some good advice prior to Wednesday’s super-tiebreaker.

“They told me to watch the ball hit the strings,” she said. “I was kind of shanking the ball on some of the points.”

Holiday, a Costa Mesa resident and the No. 8 seed in the boys’ 16s, upset No. 4-seeded Patrick Maguire of Rancho Santa Fe, 7-6, 6-2, in the quarterfinals Wednesday. Holiday will play No. 2-seeded Ryan Dehmoubed of Cardiff in the semifinals Thursday at 3:30 p.m.

Torlic, who will be a freshman at Sage Hill, is the No. 2 seed in the boys’ 14s. He routed Gabriel Kwock of Hawaii, 6-0, 6-0, in the quarterfinals and will play Alejandro Serrano, an immigrant from Spain, in the semifinals Thursday at 2 p.m. Serrano will be a freshman at Santa Margarita High.

Dandler, a Newport Coast resident, got past Newport Beach resident John Cross, 6-2, 6-1, in a boys’ 10s quarterfinal match. He’ll play No. 4-seeded Aden Dorros of La Jolla in the semifinals on Thursday at 11 a.m.

Doubles action also starts Thursday in some divisions, and Friday in others. All matches are at The Tennis Club Newport Beach.