Ghassemi, Damion do double duty

They spent Tuesday afternoon playing together, defeating their

opponent handily in boys 12s doubles.

They’ll spend this morning competing against one another, with a

berth in the boys 12s singles quarterfinals on the line.

Then they’ll have to come back together again on Thursday to

compete in the semifinals in doubles.

It’ll be a strange couple of days for Chris Damion and Omeed

Ghassemi, but it’s a common occurrence in junior tennis. One morning

you’re playing against each other and the next afternoon you’re

teaming up together.

Damion and Ghassemi advanced to the third round of the boys 12s

singles competition at the Costa Mesa Summer Junior Classic at the

Costa Mesa Tennis Center Tuesday and then combined to win their

quarterfinal doubles match.

Ghassemi, from Corona del Mar, defeated Ron Ryan Tisalan 6-1, 6-0

and has lost just three games in his first two matches.

Damion, of Newport Beach, was a 6-1, 6-0 victor against Ronald

Preissman.

But only one of the two will emerge victorious when they face each

other at 9 a.m. today.

No matter what happens, they’ll still team back up for their

doubles semifinal against top-seeded Kenneth Ip and James Raffini

Thursday. Ghassemi and Damion maintained the theme of easy victory

with a 6-0, 6-0 defeat of Alex Mainthow and Matt Wilkerson in the

quarterfinals Tuesday.

The only other player from the Newport-Mesa area to advance in the

boys 12s singles was Costa Mesa’s Charlie Corum, who defeated

fourth-seeded Darren Mg, 6-3, 6-4.

Corum is also playing with Romel Orpiano in the 14s doubles and

was a 6-1, 6-1 winner Tuesday to advance to Thursday’s semifinals.

Other locals to advance on Tuesday included Spencer Reitz. He

defeated Geoffrey Hsu 6-2, 6-2 to reach the semifinals in boys 18s,

where he will meet No. 1 seed Whitney Reed.

In boys 14s singles, Henri Chomeau was a 6-3, 6-4 advancer against

Ryan Mayer.

Newport Beach’s Diana Khoury was a 6-3, 7-6 winner against Natalie

Kelley in girls 18s and will face third-seeded Vanessa Dunlap, a

senior-to-be at Newport Harbor High, in the quarterfinals. Dunlap won

6-2, 6-4 over Malika Thomas.

Bonnie Adams was a 6-4, 6-0 winner against Alyssa Tonelli. Newport

Beach’s Jamison Steele also advanced when second-seeded Amy Beck

withdrew because of injury.

In girls 14s, Newport Beach’s Christina Schwartz advanced to the

third round with a 6-2, 1-6, 7-5 win against Elizabeth Van’t Hof,

also of Newport Beach. Alexandria Walters of Corona del Mar advanced

with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Newport Beach’s Whitney Griffith. Sasha

Dunlap, the younger sister of Vanessa, also advanced with a 6-2, 6-4

win against Michelle Namuco.

Three locals reached the third round in the girls 12s singles.

Fifth-seed Cierra Gaytan-Leach was a 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 winner against

Della Taylor. Hailey Hogan from Balboa was a straight-set winner

against Natalie Small of Newport Beach. Melissa Matsuoka was a 6-1,

6-2 winner against Jeanette Losaria.