War by the Shore kicks off for locals

Corona del Mar High’s Chris Damion is the No. 1 seed in boys’ 18 singles at the 18th annual Balboa Bay Club Junior Tournament, which begins today at the Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club in Newport Beach.

Damion, an incoming junior at CdM, advanced to the boys’ 16s semifinals last year at the tournament that is better known as the War by the Shore. To win in boys’ 18s, he’ll need to get past a talented field that also includes fellow CdM player Parker Rhodes, who is the No. 3 seed. CdM resident Omeed Ghassemi, who attends Mater Dei, is the 11th seed and the draw also includes Estancia’s Bradley Fisher.

Damion and Rhodes won the tournament’s 16 doubles crown last year, but they aren’t entered in doubles this year.

Damion begins in the Round of 32 on Tuesday at 5 p.m. and could play Ghassemi in the Round of 16 on Wednesday. Rhodes, meanwhile, opens Tuesday at 8 a.m. in the Round of 32.

Another CdM player, incoming sophomore Ryan Peyton, is the highest seed in the boys’ 16 singles draw at No. 11. He begins his tournament Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Round of 32. Also in that draw is Troy Astorino of Sage Hill School.

CdM resident Hayden Tremper is the No. 5 seed in boys’ 14 singles, the only seeded player in a large draw that features 17 other locals. Tremper opens his tournament Tuesday at 5 p.m. against Heano Kim of Irvine.

Dante Saleh of Newport Beach is the No. 3 seed in boys’ 12 singles, and Andrew Nguyen of Newport Beach is seeded sixth. Saleh opens against another Newport resident, Troy Arnold, today at 3:30 p.m., while Nguyen plays Jon Alami of Laguna Niguel also at 3:30.

On the girls’ side, Karen Ishii and Melissa Matsuoka of CdM are seeded No. 2 in girls’ 18 doubles. Ishii and Matsuoka, who both played key roles for the Sea Kings’ undefeated CIF Division I championship team last fall, open Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals.

That girls’ 18 doubles draw also features two other local teams — Elizabeth Cramer and Emily Gelbaum, and Allie Shea and Avalon Sigalos. All four players attend Newport Harbor High, and both teams have quarterfinal matches Tuesday.

CdM’s Neda Ghassemi is seeded fourth in the girls’ 16 draw. She opens in the Round of 32 on Tuesday at 2 p.m.

Elizabeth Nguyen of Newport Beach, who won the War by the Shore 14 doubles title last year with Matsuoka, is seeded No. 9 in girls’ 16 singles. She opens Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. in the Round of 32.

The tournament runs through Friday. All matches are at the Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or at matthew.szabo@latimes.com.