‘Roxy’ loses, but gains experience

Roxanne Mackenzie appears to have the tennis tools for a bright future with the Corona del Mar High girls’ tennis team.

That career will start in a matter of weeks, as she’s an incoming freshman. First, Mackenzie is playing in all of the tournaments she can during the summer months.

Mackenzie, a 14-year-old from Newport Coast, certainly likes to push herself. She uses swimming for the Newport Coast swim team, the Piranhas, as good cross-training.

And this weekend she will play in a Level 2 tournament, the Mary Brymer Memorial Junior Tournament, which is tougher than the Level 4 and 5 tournaments she’s usually in.

“My mom [Maria] wants me to try a Level 2, just for the experience, to play against girls who hit even harder,” said Roxanne Mackenzie, a talkative teenager who goes by “Roxy.”

Roxy had a tough opening singles match Tuesday at the Costa Mesa Summer Junior Classic. She lost to Sarah Park of Buena Park, 6-1, 6-1, in a girls’ 14 singles round of 16 match at Costa Mesa Tennis Center.

Yet, she did not come off the court too downtrodden. Instead, she came off resolute, even inspired.

“I want to be where she is,” Mackenzie said of Park, who will play top-seeded Sophia Genender of Los Angeles in the quarterfinals Wednesday. “She hit really good, and she stayed in the point really long, too ... you didn’t get free points with her. You had to really fight for it.

“She hit consistently and hard, which made her a really good player. I think the point where I am is that I’m hitting it pretty consistent, but I need to keep it hard, so that she doesn’t have the chance to get the offense in the match.”

Despite the score, Mackenzie had some good rallies with Park. She broke Park’s serve late in the first set, hitting a nice backhand winner to set up a break point that she would convert.

“Save that for doubles!” yelled Mackenzie’s doubles partner, Natasha Hill of Newport Beach, jokingly. Mackenzie and Hill were supposed to play a doubles match later Tuesday evening, but they earned a default win when their opponents didn’t show up.

Mackenzie could not sustain the momentum against Park, but she kept trying. On occasion, she came in to the net and hit some nice volleys. She has been working with both CdM Coach Jamie Gresh and Robert Van’t Hof of Palisades Tennis Club on her game, said her dad, Mike.

“Roxy” said she’s excited for high school tennis, but also to keep playing tournaments and improving her ranking. She’s part of a talented incoming freshman class at CdM, which also includes players like Isabella McKinney and Shaya Northrup. McKinney was Mackenzie’s partner in last week’s “War by the Shore” tournament.

“All of these girls are my friends,” Mackenzie said. “It’s like a little circle. We’re constantly playing each other in tournaments and practice, and we go back and forth. I think now what I have to worry about is my attitude and my effort. We all have similar levels. I think now what it comes down to is how much effort we put into it, how much we want it.

“It’s really hard when we play against each other in tournaments, but we keep our game faces on. We just go out and play it like a regular match.”

Mackenzie and Hill, who will be an eighth-grader at Mariners Christian School, will play Kayla Meraz of Brea and Milana Molnar of Ladera Ranch in the girls’ 14 doubles semifinals Thursday at 1 p.m.

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•Other local players stayed in contention Tuesday at the Costa Mesa Summer Junior Classic.

Corona del Mar High incoming junior Jasie Dunk, the top seed in the girls’ 16s, defeated Jami Pinter of Aliso Viejo, 6-4, 6-2. Dunk will play Paulina Lopez Ontiveros of Mexico in the round of 16 on Wednesday at 2 p.m.

Also in the girls’ 16s, Newport Harbor incoming sophomore Nicole Knickerbocker defeated Kayla Agustin of Irvine, 6-2, 6-2. Knickerbocker plays No. 6-seeded Ashley Teng of Tustin in the round of 16 on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.

In girls’ 14 singles, Shaya Northrup of Newport Beach beat Helena Zimmerman of New York, 6-0, 6-0. Northrup will play No. 3-seeded Kayla Meraz of Brea in a quarterfinal match Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.

In girls’ 12 singles, Corona del Mar resident Hannah Jervis beat Ana Hernandez of San Diego, 6-2, 6-2. Jervis will play top-seeded Seychelle Balog of Laguna Niguel in a quarterfinal Wednesday at 9 a.m. Newport Beach resident Lauren Friedman, the No. 2 seed in the 12s, had an opening round bye and plays Jacquelyn Todd of Coto de Caza in a quarterfinal Wednesday at 9:30 a.m.

Newport Beach resident Andre Saleh remained alive in boys’ 16 singles with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Kirun Cheung of Santa Monica. Saleh plays No. 2-seeded Ori Mizrahi of Calabasas in the round of 16 on Wednesday at 1 p.m.

In boys’ 14 singles, No. 4-seeded Emin Torlic, who will be a freshman at Sage Hill, topped Isaiah Seo of Yorba Linda, 6-3, 6-2. Torlic will play Colin Kang of Fullerton in a round of 16 match Wednesday at 1 p.m. Also in boys’ 14s, Will Pellegrini of Newport Beach outlasted Matthew Knight of Sherman Oaks, 6-4, 2-6, 11-9. Pellegrini plays No. 3-seeded Boris Lumin of Irvine in the round of 16 on Wednesday at 11 a.m.

Pellegrini also has a boys’ 14 doubles quarterfinal match with partner Rohan Gupta of Huntington Beach on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

Isabella McKinney and Northrup play Ana Martinez and Fredel Sanchez Paszko of Mexico in a girls’ 14 doubles semifinal Thursday at 1 p.m.

The other local doubles team is Michelle Pokusa of Costa Mesa and Lily Walkow of Newport Beach, in the girls’ 16s. They play Elizabeth Bondy of Laguna Hills and Cami Brown of Irvine in a semifinal match Thursday at 1 p.m.