Junior Tennis: Di Giulios a legacy at sectionals
The last Newport-Mesa tennis player to earn a singles title at the Southern California Junior Sectionals tournament was Joseph Di Giulio, who captured the boys’ 14 singles crown in 2009.
It’s been a while. Di Giulio had just turned 14 then. He just finished up his junior year at UCLA.
But the next local junior sectionals champion might just be Joseph’s younger brother.
Austin Di Giulio is among the seeded players in the boys’ 16s draw as the 114th annual tournament continues this week in Orange County, with main-draw play starting Wednesday after qualifying last weekend.
The tournament is the largest annual junior tennis tournament in the United States.
Austin is the No. 5 seed in the boys’ 16s draw and plays Michael Vergara of Huntington Beach in the round of 64 on Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Fountain Valley Tennis Center.
Newport Beach resident Andre Saleh, the No. 9 seed in the 16s, plays Daniel Dulay of Chula Vista at 11 a.m. Wednesday in another round-of-64 match.
The boys’ 16s draw has three additional locals still alive too. Kyle Pham, who just finished off his freshman year at Corona del Mar High, plays David Bogatin of Los Angeles at 3 p.m. And CdM resident Steven Ferry, who plays high school tennis for Sage Hill, will play Roman Shenkiryk of Del Mar at the same time and venue.
Max McKennon, who will be a freshman at Newport Harbor in the fall, plays Nikita Marchenko of San Diego in the round of 64 at 3 p.m. at Seal Beach Tennis Center.
In the boys’ 18 singles main draw, CdM resident Alex Reyna plays Benjamin Gollin of Solana Beach at 10 a.m. at Irvine’s Heritage Park, while Sage Hill’s Adam Langevin plays No. 5-seeded Ivan Thamma of San Diego at 11:30 a.m. at the same venue. Costa Mesa’s Jacob Holiday plays No. 9-seeded Bryce Pereira of San Gabriel, also at 11:30 a.m. at Heritage Park.
In the boys’ 14 singles main draw, Newport Beach’s Will Pellegrini plays No. 4-seeded Griffin Daehnke of San Clemente in the round of 64 at 12:30 p.m. at Lakewood Tennis Center.
Perry Di Giulio, the youngest of the three Di Giulio brothers, will also be in action in the boys’ 12s round of 64 that includes Newport Beach’s Logan Friedman, Paul Dandler and Maxym Krykunenko.
On the girls’ side, five locals remain in the 18s. No. 9-seeded Newport Beach resident Parris Todd will play Lola Gorbacheva in the round of 64 at 3 p.m. at Los Caballeros Racquet and Sports Club. CdM senior Siena Sharf will play No. 9-seeded Devon Jack of San Marino at the same time and venue, while Newport Beach resident Nicole Knickerbocker faces No. 3-seeded Nicole Mossmer of La Jolla.
CdM’s Danielle Willson and Jasie Dunk both play at 3:30 p.m. at Costa Mesa Tennis Center, against Frances Cornwall of Poway and Riley McQuaid of Tustin, respectively, in the round of 64.
CdM freshman Roxanne MacKenzie will play No. 2-seeded Mae Canete of Los Angeles in a girls’ 16 round-of-64 match at 1 p.m. at Los Cabelleros.
In the girls’ 14 singles draw, No. 5-seeded Maxi Duncan of Costa Mesa plays Sofia Lazzaroni of Encino at 11 a.m. at Seal Beach Tennis Center. No. 9-seeded Leyden Games of Newport Beach plays Allison Isaacs of Dana Point at 2:30 p.m., at The Tennis Club Newport Beach.
The event continues through Monday, and there is also a consolation draw.
