Southern Section Tennis : La Quinta’s Graham Loses in Singles Final

Overpowered and outmaneuvered by their top-seeded opponents, all three Orange County singles and doubles players lost Friday in the Southern Section Individual finals at the Racquet Club of Irvine.

In singles, second-seeded Debbie Graham of La Quinta High School lost to No. 1 Stella Sampras of Palos Verdes, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. In doubles, the No. 2 team of Debra Goldberger and Tanya Johnson of Edison lost to No. 1 Cristin Bailey and Tricia Simpson of Miraleste, 7-6, 2-6, 6-3.

Graham started the day by winning her semifinal match against Bridgette Curameng of Cerritos, 6-1, 6-1. And she started strong against Sampras.

But Sampras came back quickly in the second set, winning the first game.

“I knew then, after winning the first (game of the second set), my momentum was back,” Sampras said. “And when she started to make errors, I knew to put on the pressure.”

Sampras kept Graham running with frequent cross-court shots and down-the-line winners. Then, with Sampras leading at 5-2 after two service breaks, the two players started to battle for points from the base line.

Graham, who used her powerful backhand on almost every shot, won three straight points by slicing the ball across to Sampras’ opposite corner, cutting Sampras’ lead to 5-3.

But Sampras came back in the next game, winning three straight points to take the second set.

The third set went much like the second, with both players adhering to their baseline strategies.

With the score tied, 4-4, Graham tried to increase the power of both her serves and her ground strokes. But she couldn’t keep Sampras from placing two straight cross-court shots out of her reach. Then, on game point, Graham double-faulted to give Sampras a 5-4 lead.

Sampras added additional power to the next three baseline rallies to bring her to match point. She forced Graham three feet behind the baseline. Graham, trying to aim the ball toward Sampras’ far corner, lost the match as her shot slammed into the net.

“With Graham, it’s a short day if you set her up on the baseline,” Miraleste Coach John Fullerton said. “But Stella can avoid her power with different shots. She finds a way to cool the other players off.”

In doubles, Bailey and Simpson let first-set errors force them into a 6-6 tiebreaker with Goldberger and Johnson, but the Marauder duo managed to win it at 8-6 for a 7-6 first-set victory.

Johnson, using a strong backhand volley, helped Edison even the match with a 6-2 second-set victory. But Bailey and Simpson came back, outwitting their opponents with effective placing and quick, rapid volleys to win, 6-3.