Tennis : Freshman Gavaldon Wins Title

SAN DIEGO — Friday morning, Angelica Gavaldon was constantly reminded that she would be playing for the San Diego Section tennis title in the afternoon.

First, Sister Delores Anchondo, the principal at the Academy of Our Lady of Peace High School, mentioned the match in the morality class Gavaldon is taking. Then the news was broadcast in the school’s morning announcements.

“There were signs all over the school,” Gavaldon said. “It seemed like every hallway had a sign wishing me luck.”

Our Lady of Peace is not accustomed to playing for a championship in any sport. Suddenly, the pressure was on Gavaldon, a freshman.

But concentrating solely on the match, Gavaldon, seeded fifth, defeated Bonita Vista’s Cammie Foley, 6-4, 6-2, to win the title Friday at the San Diego Tennis and Racquet Club. Gavaldon is the first freshman to win a San Diego Section girls’ tennis title.

In the doubles championship, Poway’s Carla Quaresma and Charlotte Skive defeated La Jolla’s Kim Khoury and Paige Patridge, 6-4, 7-5.

Gavaldon showed little emotion in the 90-minute match.

“I concentrated really hard and tried not to look at all of the people,” she said. “Today was the first time I realized that this was a big tournament.”

Gavaldon was undefeated this season in singles and in doubles, with partner Sandy Greitzer, a junior. Gavaldon is ranked sixth nationally in 14-and-under singles and is top-ranked in 14s doubles with partner Akiko Gooden of Los Angeles.

After playing to deuce in the 10th game of the first set, Gavaldon gained the advantage with a powerful backhand inside the left base line. Foley, seeded third, double-faulted on the next service and lost the set, 6-4.

In the second set, Gavaldon appeared more at ease and played more aggressively.

“Cammie didn’t try to change her game at all,” said Lee Marry, a private coach who instructs both players. “When the balls don’t go in, you have to slow your game down a bit.”

This was the first match between the two, although they practice together almost daily under Marry’s instruction.

Gavaldon moved to Coronado from her native Tijuana two years ago because the San Diego section of the United States Tennis Assn. said she could no longer play in its tournaments if she wasn’t a U.S. citizen or resident, she said.

“It seemed like my family was across the border every day, anyway,” said Gavaldon, whose father is part owner of Dorian’s department store in Tijuana. “It seemed like we only slept in Tijuana.”

When Gavaldon was looking for a school in San Diego, such tennis powers as Bishop’s and Francis Parker showed interest, but she said she chose Our Lady of Peace because she was interested in a Catholic school with a strong academic program.