Seventeen Tennis Tournament Begins Today in Mission Viejo

Cammy MacGregor and Tami Whitlinger, despite being only 16 years old, are rated as the top two seeded players in the 18-and-under division of the 10th annual Seventeen Magazine Tennis Tournament of Championships. The tournament begins today at the Marguerite Recreation Center in Mission Viejo.

MacGregor, who lives in Palos Verdes, is the top-seeded player in the tournament. She is ranked fourth in the United States Tennis Assn.’s 18-and-under division, and is participating in her first Seventeen Tournament.

Hailing from Neenah, Wis., Whitlinger is currently the No. 27 player in the USTA’s 16’s division. She is coming off a 16’s championship in the Tropicana Spring Invitational at Bradenton, Fla., earlier this year.

Another top seed in the 18’s is 15-year-old Halle Cioffi of Knoxville, Tenn., who won the 16-and-under divisional title in the 1984 Seventeen Tournament.

The No. 1 seed in the 16’s this year is Jessica Emmons, a 14-year-old from Phoenix, Ariz. Last year, she won the 14-and-under title of the Seventeen Tournament, and is currently ranked No. 6 in the USTA’s 14’s. She won last month’s Easter Bowl Tournament in Miami, Fla., in the 16-and-under class. The No. 2 seed is Jennifer Young, 15, of Worthington, Ohio, who is ranked 14th in this division by the USTA.

The 14-and-under group is headed by top-seeded Amy Frazier, a 12-year-old from Rochester, Mich., who is also the USTA’s No. 1 player in this class. Another 12-year-old, Meredith Geiger of Edmond, Okla., is seeded second in this division.

A total of 192 girls will compete in the division’s three age classes. The single-elimination tournament begins today at 9 a.m., and will continue each day, culminating with the finals, which begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday.