Junior tennis: Synder’s doubles team upset

Steve Virgen

FOUNTAIN VALLEY - Aggressiveness. That’s what made the difference

in the doubles match of Corona del Mar High’s Taylynn Snyder and Serena

Fermin (Troy High) against Julianna Gates and Lauren Jones from San Diego

County.

Gates and Jones won, 6-4, 7-5, and showed just a bit more aggressive

play Wednesday at the Los Caballeros Tennis Center to advance to today’s

girls 18s quarterfinals in the 100th annual Southern California Junior

Sectional Tennis Championships.

“We had our chances, but we didn’t close out the key points,” said

Snyder, who will be a senior at CdM in the fall. “We were right in there,

but we weren’t aggressive enough.”

Snyder and Fermin, who won doubles titles in the Easter Bowl 14s, Ojai

16s and Ojai 18s, found themselves scrambling from the start, as Gates

and Jones built a 5-2 lead in the first set.

However, Snyder and Fermin, who have been playing together for three

years, won two straight games.

Gates and Jones, played their first tournament together, closed out

the first set, keyed by Jones’ serving.

Snyder and Fermin came back from a 5-3 deficit in the second set, but,

again, the Jones-Gates tandem closed the door.

“We just kept being aggressive, even though we had been making

mistakes,” said Gates, who kept Snyder and Fermin off balance with sharp

returns and accurate volleys. “We kept attacking. We were confident going

into the match because our game plan was to be aggressive and, in the

end, we knew it would prevail.”

The doubles teams provided plenty of action in the second set. The

final four games included deuce scenarios, of which Gates and Jones won

three.

Gates and Jones said they like their chances in the 18s doubles

tournament, even more so after top-seeded Anne Yelsey (CdM) and Riza

Zalameda (Beverly Hills), pulled out of the event Wednesday because

Zalameda was injured.

Yelsey and Zalameda were scheduled to face each other in the 18s

singles Round of 16 Wednesday, but SCTA officials said Zalameda called

Wednesday morning and defeaulted.

Yelsey could have played with a different partner of her choosing, but

elected to concentrate on singles.

Yelsey will face Leslie Koffi of Los Angeles in an 11 a.m.

quarterfinal today at Los Cab.

Natalie Braverman, a recent Newport Harbor High graduate bound for

Pepperdine, also advanced to the quarterfinals, defeating Sylvia

Kosakowski of Downey, 6-3, 6-2, Wednesday. Braverman will meet the girls

18s No. 2 seed, Lori Stern (Ojai), at 12:30 p.m. at Los Cab.

If Yelsey and Braverman win today, they will meet in a semifinal

Friday at 12:30.

In girls 14s singles, No. 2-seeded Alexa Glatch of Newport Beach

defeated Desiree Stone of North Hollywood, 6-2, 6-0. Glatch will square

off against Gabriela Gresham of Panorama City in the Round of 16 today at

3:30 p.m. at Los Cab.

In girls 12s singles, Costa Mesa’s Nelly Radeva, the No. 4 seed,

defeated Tiffany Mai of Fountain Valley, 6-4, 6-1. Radeva will face

Bianca Modoc of Yorba Linda in the Round of 16 today at 2 p.m. at the

Costa Mesa Tennis Center.

In boys 16s singles, CdM sophomore-to-be Carsten Ball, the No. 7 seed,

defeated Adam Ung, 7-5, 6-1, and will face Shan Sondhu (Laguna Niguel) in

a Round of 16 match at 11 a.m. at the Neal Machander Tennis Center in

Santa Ana.

Newport Beach’s Kaes Van’t Hof, the No. 8 seed, defeated Rian Rifkin

(Ojai), 6-4, 6-3, and will take on Joshua Lederman at 11 a.m., also at Neal Machander.

In boys 14s singles, No. 8-seeded Jake Fleming of Newport Beach

defeated Christopher Kearney of Irvine, 7-6, 6-3. Fleming plays Jordan

Abergel of Pacific Palisades in the Round of 16 today at 2 at Neal

Machander.

In boys 18s singles, CdM senior-to-be Garrett Snyder lost to Adam

Loucks of Irvine, 6-4, 6-3. Snyder had defeated Loucks twice previously

this year. Snyder will play Christian Hand of Placentia in a consolation

match today at 12:30 at Los Cab.

In a girls 18s consolation match, CdM’s Brittany Holland lost to Cindy

Chu (Rancho Santa Fe), 6-3, 6-2.