Gaytan-Leach wins tourney

Corona del Mar resident Cierra Gaytan-Leach stepped up her level of competition and won the Long Beach Juniors girls’ tennis tournament at Seal Beach Tennis Center, which finished up Sunday, defeating the top three seeds in the process.

The 14-year-old Gaytan-Leach entered the tournament for 16-and-under singles players, which featured three players ranked in the top 25 of the United States Tennis Assn.’s Southern California region. Gaytan swept the final, 6-4, 6-2 over the No. 2 seed, Arianna Colffer.

The win avenged a three-set loss to Colffer in quarterfinals of the Fullerton Junior Tournament on Feb. 4.

Prior to the tournament, Gaytan-Leach was ranked No. 38 in 16s for the Southern California USTA and No. 2 in 14s, behind Colffer.

Elsewhere in the tournament, Corona del Mar High sophomore Fabian Matthews reached the semifinals of the boys’ 16-and-under singles draw. Matthews, the No. 3 seed in the bracket, lost to No. 5 seed Tyler Bowman of Rolling Hills Estates, 7-6, 6-3.

Bowman went on to win the 16-and-under title.