Sweet 16

After the first two days of the 12th annual Costa Mesa Summer Junior

Classic, the girls 16s singles division has the most Newport-Mesa

players still alive as the tournament, held at the Costa Mesa Tennis

Center and Orange Coast College, enters its final three days.

Three area players reached the quarterfinals of the division with

victories Tuesday, including top-seeded Sarah Geocaris, who tallied a

6-0, 6-4 victory over Newport Beach’s Jill Casserly. Third-seeded

Miranda Young, who will be a sophomore at Corona del Mar High this

fall, downed Newport Beach’s Michelle Atkins, 6-3, 6-0, while

Brittanny Sturgess, who will be a junior at Newport Harbor, defeated

Taylor Ann Mannix, 6-4, 6-0.

Geocaris, who will be a sophomore at Sage Hill this fall, faces

Ontario’s Britany Sanders while Young battles Olivia Muesse and

Sturgess plays second-seeded Pooja Desai. All matches begin at 11:30

a.m. at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center.

The girls 18s singles draw features Vanessa Dunlap and Diana

Khoury, teammates at Newport Harbor last season, who both reached

today’s quarterfinals with victories Tuesday. Dunlap, the No. 2 seed,

defeated Becky Duesler, 6-2, 7-6, while Khoury won by default. Dunlap

faces Laguna Beach’s Maria Malec at 9 a.m. at OCC while Khoury will

play Rina Nakano at the same time and place.

Corona del Mar resident Cierra Gaytan-Leach and Newport Beach’s

Joseph Di Giulio, top seeds in girls 12s and boys 12s singles

divisions, respectively, each reached the quarterfinals following

wins Tuesday. Gaytan-Leach won by default while Di Giulio breezed

past Kona Luu, 6-0, 6-1. Gaytan-Leach faces Lok Sze Leung at 1:30

p.m. at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center while Di Giulio battles Kwan Ho

Kong at 1 p.m. at the same site.

Also in girls 12s, Newport Beach’s Jungyeun Lee reached the

quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-4, victory over Christina Hansen. Lee

faces Rio Kitagawa at 2 p.m. at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center.

In girls 14s, Costa Mesa’s Eleanor Edles defeated Anne Russell of

Corona del Mar, 6-2, 6-0, to reach today’s round of 16, where she

will play eighth-seeded Geraldine Leong at 11 a.m. at the Costa Mesa

Tennis Center.

Area players begin doubles action today in four divisions (girls

16s, boys 12s, girls 14s and girls 12s). The earliest match begins at

noon (girls 16s) at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center.