HB’s Ikemori makes due in Junior Sectionals

A handshake is the custom at the end of a tennis match, but Huntington Beach’s Mika Ikemori and Katherine Hui of San Diego skipped the formalities Saturday morning.

Ikemori and Hui are good friends, so they shared a long hug at the net after the girls’ 12s quarterfinal match at the 115th annual Southern California Junior Sectionals.

Ikemori, the No. 5 seed, didn’t get her desired result. No. 3-seeded Hui earned a 6-3, 6-2 victory. But it was clear that the level of respect was high.

“She said that I played really well, and I said she played really well too,” Ikemori said. “We just said really good things about each other. Even though I was sad, I was still happy for her. It’s always fine in the end, win or lose, because you know we’re still friends.”

Ikemori, who turned 12 in April, will be a seventh grader at Mesa View Middle School, in the Ocean View School District, in the fall. She has had the same coach, former pro Debbie Graham Shaffer, for several years. Twice a week, she hits at the Advantage Tennis Academy at the Tennis Club Newport Beach.

Ikemori has been playing good tennis lately. She won the prestigious Woody Hunt tournament, a Level 2 tournament, earlier this month in the 12s. She equaled her best result at the Junior Sectionals, a Level 1 tournament, by making it to the quarterfinals.

“These last few months have just been really good for me,” Ikemori said. “Something clicked. My forehand used to have a giant backswing, and I’m fixing that now. It’s way better, and I can hit harder with it now, so that’s helped me a lot.”

Ikemori was competitive with Hui in the quarterfinal match at Junior Sectionals. She was on-serve at 3-4 in the first set before Hui earned a key break.

Ikemori was a bit unlucky in that game, after falling behind 0-40 and saving two break points. On the third break point, her forehand clipped the net cord and went wide, and Hui was suddenly a game away from the set. She was able to serve it out.

In the second set, Ikemori broke Hui’s serve to pull within 2-2, but Hui won the last four games of the match.

“I thought I did have a chance against her, but it doesn’t really matter, the seeds,” Ikemori said maturely. “You’re just playing people. It’s just a number.”

It’s clear that to Ikemori, the friends she has made through tennis are more than just numbers. She said she is traveling to a Level 2 tournament in Texas next week with two of her tennis buddies, Eliana Hanna of La Canada Flintridge and Isabella Chhiv of Irvine.

At that tournament, like every tournament, expect Ikemori to exhibit good sportsmanship.

“Sometimes I get mad, but usually I’m just calm,” she said. “I just don’t let players get into my head. I just play my game. I don’t even [cause a scene] when someone’s cheating. Sometimes people cheat, but I don’t do that. I just like to keep my head and don’t let them get to me.”

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