Costa Mesa to host USTA event today

tennis tourney at Cost MesaThree locals are scheduled to play in holiday weekend tournament at Costa Mesa Tennis Center.The United States Tennis Assn. National Girls 16 Open will be held at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center, starting today through Monday. The tournament will feature 64 of the top girls under-16 from across the country.

The first two rounds of singles play will begin today at 8 a.m. Doubles competition starts Friday at noon.

The Newport-Mesa area will be well represented in the tournament. Newport Beach resident Ali Walters is the highest locally ranked player as the No. 14 seed. Walters, who played last season at Corona del Mar High, will play her opening round match at 8 a.m.

“I’m super excited about the tournament,” said Walters. “It’s always fun and exciting to play at this level.”

Corona del Mar High’s team of Haley and Miranda Young will be competing in the doubles draw. Last weekend, the sisters advanced to the round of 16 in the CIF Southern Section girls’ sectionals at the same venue.

Two other singles players from Orange County are seeded in the tournament. Troy High’s Ali Ramos is the top-seeded player in the tournament, and is ranked No. 5 nationally. Dana Hills’ Kendra Ivey is the No. 6 seed.

The next top seeded players -- Samantha Rosekrans (No. 2) of Woodside, Emilee Malvehy (No. 3) of Auburn, Aeriel Ellis (No. 4) of Hayward, Stacey Tan (No. 5) from Lakewood and Thien-Trang Nguyen (No. 7) of Long Beach -- all come from California.

Seedings for the doubles portion of the tournament will be announced today.