Junior Girls’ Tennis : In Her Own Words, Phebus Makes a Point With a Victory in Semifinal

Keri Phebus offered a two-word description of her semifinal victory Friday in the Seventeen Magazine Tennis Tournament of Champions. However, you needed an interpreter to know what she meant.

“I treed,” Phebus said, in describing her 6-2, 6-3, victory over Jill Brenner of Lakeland Fla., in the 16-and-under division at the Marguerite Recreation Center in Mission Viejo.

Sounds simple enough. But what exactly did she mean?

Her translation: She played well. As in, “out of my mind,” she later clarified, adding that her description is a phrase “everybody uses.”

No wonder parents just don’t understand.

Friday morning in a quarterfinal match, Phebus of Newport Beach, the top-seeded player in 16s, defeated Jennifer Nasser of Arlington Heights, Ill., 6-2, 7-5.

Anne Mall, another of Orange County’s top juniors entered in the field of 96, didn’t fare as well. Mall of Laguna Niguel, was ousted by Christine Neuman of Downers Grove, Ill., in the quarterfinals, losing 6-3, 7-6.

Mall, who is 14, but playing in the 18s, lost the second-set tie-breaker 6-1, but was not unhappy with her finish.

“I know I could have won, so it’s not as disappointing as if I had lost by a lot,” she said.

“It’s not like, ‘Oh no. Stop my life for five minutes, I just lost a match. I showed (my) potential and that’s what I’m really working for, is the future.”

The near future for Phebus includes the final against unseeded Kim Shasby of North Liberty, Iowa, who has lost twice to Phebus.

Shasby’s showing might be somewhat of a surprise to tournament officials, who didn’t include her among the seeded players in the 16s. And Shasby responded by knocking off three of the top six seeds for three of her four tournament victories.

“I was a little surprised I came in here unseeded,” Shasby said. “I’m used to being seeded, so it’s kind of nice to be the one fighting up (the ladder), than the one fighting to stay on.”

She defeated sixth-seeded Wendy Lyons in the second round, third-seeded Laura Kimel in the quarterfinals and second-seeded Stacy Moss in the semifinals.

In the 18-and-under final at 1 p.m. today, top-seeded Audra Keller of Memphis, Tenn., will play sixth-seeded Angelica Gavaldon of Coronado.

Keller advanced with victories over unseeded Julie McKeon of Northbrook, Ill., in the quarterfinal and fourth-seeded Susan Sommerville of Dearborn, Mich., in the semifinals. Gavaldon defeated Merideth Geiger of Oklahoma City in the quarterfinals and defeated Neuman in the semifinals.