Van Alphen bows out

It could seem like a mismatch, a college tennis player against a 14-year-old.

But Laguna Beach’s Sydney Van Alphen knew before she played Jenna DeFalco of Tustin on Thursday that it would be a tough match.

DeFalco’s shot-making and maturity tend to stand out. She’s the top-ranked player in Southern California in the 14s, and at the Southern California Junior Sectionals she’s playing up in the 18s.

“My parents try to say, ‘You’re playing high up, so you shouldn’t worry about it if you lose,’” DeFalco said. “I just try to win every single match, try to do my best.”

DeFalco indeed was a winner in the girls’ 18s round of 32 match. She beat Van Alphen, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, at Los Caballeros Sports & Racquet Club to move on to the round of 16.

DeFalco will play Newport Beach’s Julia Lilien, the No. 5 seed, in the round of 16 match Friday at 12:30 p.m. Lilien beat another Newport Beach resident, Caroline Vincent, by a 6-3, 6-0 score in the round of 32.

Van Alphen, a freshman at USC, was unavailable for interviews after the match. She didn’t stay around too long after losing against DeFalco. It was a tough loss, especially after the way the first set ended.

Twice DeFalco served for the set, but Van Alphen broke serve each time. Van Alphen then took leads of 4-0 and 6-4 in the tiebreaker, but DeFalco fought off the two set points and won the tiebreaker.

“I got a little tight and I was missing a little bit too much,” DeFalco said. “I was just telling myself to focus and stay with it, regroup.”

Van Alphen fell behind 4-0 in the second set before trying to rally. This time, DeFalco was able to close out the match.

Lynn advances

In other Junior Sectionals action on Thursday, top-seeded Rebecca Lynn of Newport Beach moved on in the girls’ 14s main draw. Lynn beat Bryn Johnson of Fountain Valley, 6-1, 6-0, in a round of 32 match.

Lynn will play No. 9-seeded Kaytlin Taylor of Huntington Beach in another all-local match in the round of 16, on Friday at 2 p.m. at Fountain Valley Tennis Center. Taylor beat Aryn Marshall of Rancho Cucamonga, 6-2, 6-3, in another round of 32 match.

No. 5-seeded Ella Pachl of Laguna Beach was another local to move in the girls’ 14s. Pachl beat Madelyn Ferreros of Nipomo, 7-5, 7-6. Pachl will play No. 9-seeded Taylor Cataldi of Corona in the round of 16, also Friday at 2 p.m. at Fountain Valley Tennis Center.

In the girls’ 16 singles, No. 9-seeded Leyden Games of Newport Beach advanced. Games beat Ashley Kua of Valencia, 6-2, 6-1, and will play No. 5-seeded Lindsay Hung of San Clemente in the round of 16, Friday at 2 p.m. at Los Cab.

In the girls’ 12 singles, No. 5-seeded Mika Ikemori of Huntington Beach moved on with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Sydney La of Montclair. Ikemori plays No. 9-seeded Anne Yang of Arcadia in the round of 16, on Friday at 12:30 p.m. at Costa Mesa Tennis Center.

Emin Torlic of Sage Hill School was a winner in the boys’ 16s draw. Torlic won his second three-set match in as many days, upsetting No. 9-seeded Bryan Kulikov of Los Angeles, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Torlic plays No. 5-seeded Brett Brinkman of Canoga Park in the round of 16 on Friday at 12:30 p.m. at Fountain Valley Tennis Center.

The other local winner in the boys’ 16s was Jett Cole of Laguna Beach, who edged Leo Wang of San Marino, 7-5, 6-4. Cole plays Marco Alvarez of Chula Vista in the round of 16, also Friday at 12:30 p.m. at Fountain Valley Tennis Center.

No. 5-seeded Perry Di Giulio keeps advancing in the boys’ 12s draw. Di Giulio beat Jack Li of San Marcos, 6-2, 6-1, on Thursday to advance to the round of 16. He’ll play No. 9-seeded Thomas Lynch of La Mesa on Friday at 9:30 a.m. at Costa Mesa Tennis Center.

matthew.szabo@latimes.com

Twitter: @mjszabo