Facing friends tests psyche

Tennis is a competitive sport, and the stakes are raised higher

during tournaments.

The prospect of being matched up against a friend may be appealing

to some, but Corona del Mar resident Chris Damion wasn’t happy about

facing C.J. Chomeau in the boys 14s round of 32 in the 13th annual

Costa Mesa Summer Junior Classic tournament.

“I don’t like playing against friends,” said Damion, the No. 1

seed in the draw. He and Chomeau used to take lessons together at the

Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club and played together in the Penn League.

“If there is a disputed call, it feels like you’re trying to cheat

your friend or something.”

There weren’t many disputed calls in their match Tuesday at Orange

Coast College, as Damion, who will be a freshman at Corona del Mar

High in the fall, beat Chomeau, 6-2, 6-1.

Damion ended the match with an overhead smash that sent the ball

sailing over the fence and into the parking lot. Damion will play

Michael Schneider today at 9 a.m. at OCC in the round of 16.

Damion said he didn’t enjoy being the top seed in tournaments.

“I really don’t like it,” he said. “It puts a lot of pressure on

you. You really can’t have a bad match.”

Schneider defeated Newport Beach resident Ryan Peyton, 6-0, 6-1,

Tuesday at OCC.

“I was trying to work on my consistency,” Peyton said. “I really

wanted to be more consistent with my shots.”

Erik Heimstaedt, another Newport Beach resident playing in boys

14s singles, outlasted Andrew Shapero, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, Tuesday at OCC.

“It was a fun and fair match,” Heimstaedt said. “I really enjoyed

being out there.”

Heimstaedt, who said his forehand is his strongest attribute, said

the difference between the second set with the first and third sets

was Shapero placing the ball to Heimstaedt’s left.

“He kept hitting it to my backhand [in the second set],” said

Heimstaedt, who will be an eighth-grader at Ensign Middle School in

the fall.

It was the first tournament in more than a year for Heimstaedt,

who did not play tennis last year because of personal reasons.

“I really just want to have fun [in the tournament],” he said. “I

mean, I want to win a tournament because I’ve never won one, but I

just want to enjoy myself while I’m out there.”

Heimstaedt will play Michael Tang, the No. 4 seed, today at 9 a.m.

at OCC.

Newport Beach resident Danielle Kaiden defeated CdM’s Neda

Ghassemi, 6-1, 6-0, in girls 14s singles round of 16 Tuesday at OCC.

“I wanted to concentrate on my winners and really whip my

forehands,” Kaiden said. “I was just playing it point-by-point.”

Kaiden, who will be a freshman at Corona del Mar High in the fall,

said the main aspect of playing winning tennis wasn’t between the

lines but between the ears.

“You’ve really got to keep you’re mind set on what you have to

do,” she said. “I really try to stay focused out on the court. I pump

myself up before every point. It keeps you in a positive mood.”

Kaiden will face Melissa Matsuoka, the No. 1 seed from Newport

Beach, today at 1 p.m. at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center in the

quarterfinals.

Matsuoka defeated Taylor Raney, 6-1, 6-2, Tuesday at OCC.

Newport Beach residents Hailey Hogan and Ariana Cernius also

squared off in girls 14s singles Tuesday at OCC, with Hogan, the No.

5 seed, prevailing, 6-1, 6-0.

Hogan will play Andie Coopersmith from New York today at 1 p.m. in

the quarterfinals at Costa Mesa Tennis Center.

Karen Ishii, a Newport Beach resident, defeated Carla Arce, 6-1,

6-0, in the girls 14s singles round of 16.

Kristi Kawabe, a Newport Beach resident, defeated Haley Moss, 6-3,

6-4, in girls 12s singles round of 16. In girls 16s singles action,

Brittany Sowers defeated Whitney Griffith, 6-3, 6-2, in a battle of

two Newport Beach residents.

Michelle Atkins, the No. 3 seed in girls 16s singles, defeated

Christina Schwartz, 6-3, 7-5, to advance to the round of 16. Both are

Newport Beach residents.

Atkins will face fellow Newport Beach local Elizabeth Van’t Hof,

who advanced due to a tournament administration error in placing her

opponent in two different draws.

CdM’s Rachel Cox also advanced to the girls 16s singles round of

16 despite not playing a match. Her first two opponents did not show

up for the matches giving Cox default victories. Newport Beach’s

Roxanne Kaiden defeated Costa Mesa’s Shauna Durbin, 6-2, 7-5, in

girls 18s singles. Newport Beach resident Jillian Braverman defeated

the No. 4 seed, Amanda Varela, 6-2, 6-2, in girls 18s singles. In the

first doubles match of the tournament, Newport Beach partners Avalon

Sigalos and Brittany Sowers defeated Newport Beach’s Whittney

Griffith and CdM’s Elyse Murphy, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, in girls 16s doubles.

In boys 16s singles, Parker Rhodes, the CdM freshman-to-be and No. 2

seed, defeated Martin Park, 6-1, 6-0. Henri Chomeau, the Newport

Beach resident going into his sophomore year at Mater Dei, defeated

Jeffrey Gonda, 6-3, 6-1, in boys 16s singles. Ryan Caughren, who

played doubles for the Sea Kings last year, defeated Evan Bolles,

6-2, 6-2, in boys 16s singles. Omeed Ghassemi from CdM defeated

Fountain Valley’s Patrick Cummings, 6-0, 6-0, in boys 16s singles.

Hayden Tremper from CdM upset the No. 4 seed in boys 12s singles, Dan Milliken, 7-6, 6-0, to advance to the quarterfinals. Brecht Van’t Hof

of Newport Beach also advanced to the quarterfinals of the bys 12s

singles when his opponent did not show.