Girls’ Tennis: Fountain Valley players fight through to third round

ROLLING HILLS ESTATES — Uncertainty was abound when girls’ tennis players from across Southern California showed up at the Jack Kraemer Club on Monday morning.

It rained all of Sunday night, and heavy grey clouds threatened to wash out early-round match play in the CIF Southern Section Individual Girls’ Tennis Regionals.

Delayed start, periodic sprinkling, and a labored left shoulder – none of these was enough to distract Sunset League champion Hanh Pham from being on her game.

The junior ace surrendered just two games in advancing to the third round of the tournament.

She did not drop a game in her first match, then dismissing South Torrance’s Biana Pugliese, 6-0, 6-2.

Pham dealt with multiple injuries as she worked her way into the tournament. Her left shoulder and left knee were taped up during the matches.

“The doctor says I inflamed the rotator cuff,” Pham said. “I can’t make it worse, but it’s not going to get any better if I keep hitting with it.”

Players to suffer the injury before Pham have been advised to serve underhand if they want to remain in competition. It provides for a more natural, less strenuous motion for the shoulder.

Pham said that she is not in favor of the underhand option, choosing instead to trust the doctor’s statement that she cannot do further harm to the shoulder.

“That’s what my dad wanted me to do, but I was like, ‘No, I don’t want to do that,’” she said.

The left knee ailment is patellar tendonitis, and it was probably the more problematic of the two injuries when she was ousted in the third round.

The Barons’ four-star lefty recruit faced off with Harvard-Westlake’s Jenna Moustafa, the top seed in their section of the draw.

Moustafa, a five-star commit to Harvard University, penetrated the court with forceful groundstrokes, testing Pham’s fitness throughout.

The first day of the CIF Individuals tournament is a grueling endeavor, as players are asked to play three best-out-of-three-sets matches to continue on to the next day. Pham fell, 6-1, 6-1, to Moustafa in the third round.

“I think we fought hard,” Barons assistant coach Jay Patel said. “That’s what’s needed in tournaments like this. They’re all good players at this level.”

“We were fighting some injuries, too, which was an issue that held us back a little. Not to use that as an excuse, but it’s just a harsh reality of things.”

The Barons’ senior doubles team of Katie Ho and Clarissa Htay received a first-round bye before soundly defeating Laguna Beach’s Megan Mindle and Jessa Chaney in the second round.

In the third round, the Fountain Valley duo pulled out a tight first set. They were in a winning position late, but Dana Hills’ Drae Fresenius and Caroline Halloran rallied behind aggressive net play.

The Dolphins’ South Coast League doubles champions rattled off six straight points from a 7-4 deficit in the match tiebreaker to win, 5-7, 6-2, 1-0 (7).

“If we played at that level all the time and got used to who we were playing, I don’t think that there is anything that could stop the girls after that,” Barons assistant Easton Morris said.

“Comfort is the only thing that was going to help us there, and even though they weren’t comfortable, they played really well.”

Mindle and Chaney were successful in a tiebreaker to win their first match of the day. They took a closely contested straight-sets victory, 6-4, 7-6 (3).

The two Breakers have played together for seven years since they started the sport in the second grade.

Laguna Beach reigns supreme in the Orange Coast League, but Chaney enjoyed the tournament because of the authenticity of playing in an organized event.

“It’s cool to do it this year because it feels like a real thing rather than just high school matches,” the sophomore said of competing in CIF Individuals.

Newport Harbor’s Taryn Anderson and Eva Newsom also have a claim to a long-held friendship as doubles partners.

They have grown up as neighbors, playing for both the Sailors and in USTA tournaments.

After completing their final high school competition in a 6-4, 6-2 loss to Dana Hills’ Emilia Gorczyca and Dana Mackensen, the senior tandem reflected on the conclusion of their Sailors’ career.

“It’s crazy,” Newsom said. “It’s everything. I’m relieved, I’m tired, but also very sad. We’ve been through a lot together.”

Laguna Beach earned three of the Orange Coast League’s four tournament berths through its successes at the league finals, but neither freshman singles player Vanessa Gee or the doubles team of Taylor Corrigan and Lina Gleizer was able to advance.

Locals at the Jack Kraemer Club CIF-SS Individuals Singles

Pham (Fountain Valley) def. Reyes (Long Beach Poly) 6-0, 6-0, def. Pugliese (South Torrance) 6-0, 6-2, lost to Moustafa (Harvard-Westlake) 6-1, 6-1.

Gee (Laguna Beach) lost to Huynh (Garden Grove) 6-0, 6-0.

Doubles Corrigan/Gleizer (Laguna Beach) lost to Phy/Soderberg (Long Beach Poly) 6-0, 6-0.

Mindle/Chaney (Laguna Beach) def. Ho/Le (Westminster) 6-4, 7-6 (3), lost to Ho/Htay (Fountain Valley) 6-1, 6-0.

Anderson/Newsom (Newport Harbor) lost to Mackensen/Gorczyca (Dana Hills) 6-4, 6-2.

Ho/Htay (Fountain Valley) def. Mindle/Chaney (Laguna Beach) 6-1, 6-0, lost to Fresenius/Halloran (Dana Hills) 6-1, 6-0.