Ojai tournament: No bumps along Christian’s road to final four

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Orange Lutheran sophomore Kaitlyn Christian reached the semifinals of the Southern Section Individuals tournament in December. Now, at Ojai, she’s not settling for second place.

The 15-year-old is seeded No. 1 in the Girls’ 18s Singles and to this point she’s looked the part. Christian has dispatched her first three foes by a ridiculous 36-7 margin in games and none of her sets has been closer than 6-3.

Perhaps Christian will get a sterner challenge from Creekside Christian’s Alexandria Walters, who has committed to UCLA. Walters, too, has enjoyed an impressive run and whoever wins Saturday morning’s match stands a great chance in the final.

Two-time City Section singles champion Katy Nikolova of Palisades lost in the round of 32 to sixth-seeded Rio Kitagawa of nearby Weil Academy. Eighth-seeded Marie Zalameda, Beverly Hills’ top player, was upset in the round of 16 by Irvine University’s top player Jordan Heitzner.

-- Steve Galluzzo

-- Image from www.vegastennis.com