Tennis frenzy at BBC Racquet Club

Bryce Alderton

Grunts coming from the mouths of tennis players Monday at the

Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club signaled the determination each point

brought with it, a chance to get a little closer to winning their

first match of the annual War By The Shore Junior Tennis Classic.

And while some Newport-Mesa players lost while others won, nearly

every player displayed their drive to win at all costs, chasing down

each ball hit into a corner, charging the net on a drop volley and

swinging with a ferocious force on each backhand and forehand.

Newport Beach’s Julie Litrich took advantage of some unforced

errors and used her powerful serve and forehand to outlast Irvine’s

Jessica Janner, 6-3, 7-5, to set up a second round match Tuesday

against Newport Beach’s Chelsea Edmonston, who won by default.

Litrich said she hasn’t played Edmonston before.

Both players stayed along the baseline for a majority of the

second set, volleying back and forth with a combination of forehands

and backhands.

Litrich’s big serve resulted in Janner returning several balls

that hit the net and also resulted in a few aces. Litrich showed

sportsmanship during the match as she yelled, “Good shot,” after

Janner hit a looper shot that bounced in the corner of the court.

After the match Litrich said she didn’t play as well as she would

like, but she was pleased to move on.

“My serve was pretty good today,” Litrich said. “Usually by

backhand is stronger but whatever works.”

Litrich, who reached the finals in doubles competition each of the

last two years, is solely concentrating on singles this year, which

she’s happy about.

“I feel singles is a more active game,” Litrich said. “I’m just

concentrating on singles and trying to play as much as I can.”

In boys 18s singles, Newport Beach’s Robert Khoury was the only

one of four area players who played at 12:30 p.m. Monday to advance

to the second round. Khoury defeated Daniel Meece of Los Angeles,

6-2, 3-6, 6-2, and will face Irvine’s Andrew Cho, who won his match

over Robert Lamour, 6-0, 6-1, today at 12:30 p.m.

Rancho Palos Verdes’ John Curtius defeated recent Corona del Mar

High graduate Erik Frisbie, 6-4, 6-2, while Encinitas’ Kyle McDonald

won his match against Newport Beach’s Patrick Ahearn, 6-1, 6-0, and

Charles Nguyen swept Costa Mesa’s Andrew Hinger, to advance to second

round in boys 18s singles play.

Newport Beach’s Caroline Claure won in three sets against Newport

Coast’s Brie Whitehead, 6-2, 5-7, 6-0, and will face Newport Beach’s

Miranda Young today at 8 a.m. in girls 14s singles competition.

Costa Mesa’s Ellie Edles, the 12-year-old daughter of UC Irvine’s

women’s tennis coach Mike Edles, didn’t lose a game to Newport

Beach’s Nicole Legrand and will face Newport Beach’s Claire Lis, who

defeated Laguna Niguel’s Brittany Myers, 6-4, 6-3, today at 3:30 p.m.

Competitive juices flowed during a hard-fought, 6-2, 6-3, win for

second-seeded Charlie Alvarado of Costa Mesa over Trabuco Canyon’s

John Huang in boys 12s singles.

On occasion Alvarado quipped, “Come on,” after committing an

error, in an attempt to pump himself up and it seemed to work, as he

used a steady combination of accurate serves and backhand volleys

that dropped just beyond the net, making Huang charge the net.

At 40-15 in the sixth game of the second set and after Huang and

Alvarado exchanged sharply hit forehands, Huang hit a forehand that

made Alvarado retreat toward the baseline.

Alvarado caught up to the bouncing ball, whipped his racquet

around and lobbed a backhand winner over Huang’s head that bounced

about six inches inside the baseline for the winner to put Alvarado

up, 4-2, in the second set. Huang held serve to make it 4-3 but

Alvarado closed the door, winning the final two games and the match.