WOMEN’S TENNIS / NAIA FAR WEST REGIONAL : Le’s Advance Planning All For Naught

Southern California College’s Quynh Le planned a busy day of tennis Saturday.

First, she would play in the singles final of the NAIA Far West Regional at Costa Mesa Tennis Club, then she would rush to the Balboa Bay Club for a doubles semifinal at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County charity tournament, before returning to Costa Mesa for the Far West Regional doubles final.

First, wet courts from an early-morning rain delayed for 30 minutes the start of the singles final. Then Westmont’s Shea Abby, her opponent, forced Le to stick around long enough so that Le had to default her CHOC semifinal.

By that time Abby, seeded second, had fought off three set points in the first set and taken control. She went on to beat the top-seeded Le, 7-5, 6-2.

Le led, 5-3, in the first set and had Abby down, love-40. But Abby won the next five points to hold her serve and then lost only three points while winning the next three games to close out the set. Abby took a 5-1 lead in the second set, lost her serve, then broke Le to win the match.

Le, a senior who played at UC Irvine in 1990-91, had a better time in the afternoon. She and SCC partner Wendy Andel made short work of Abby and Kristina Bakardjiev, winning the doubles final, 6-2, 6-3, in less than an hour.

With the victory, Le and Andel advance to the NAIA national tournament, May 22-27 in Tulsa, Okla. Westmont, the regional team champion with 22 points, advances as a team. SCC finished second with 11 points.