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.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.