TENNIS / OJAI TOURNAMENT : McBride Ends Brawley’s Run at Open Singles Title

The dream of winning a championship in the tradition-laden Ojai tennis tournament seems a common one among the area’s youths.

Sean Brawley has held that dream since his days as a schoolboy at Ojai’s Villanova Prep. Twice he has come within one win of his goal, reaching the men’s open doubles final in 1989 and the open singles final in 1990.

Playing in the quarterfinals of the open singles Friday, Brawley, 31, looked like a player who is running out of time. After a 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 loss to Desi McBride of Woodland Hills, Brawley conceded his dream might go unfulfilled.

“I’m not sure I’ll be playing singles anymore,” Brawley said. “It’s too frustrating.”

Brawley beat Michael Gennette of Thousand Oaks, 7-6, 6-7 (7-4), 6-4, in a second-round match Thursday. But that 3 1/2-hour marathon seemed to take its toll on the ex-USC standout against McBride.

“I was definitely tired,” said Brawley, who also withdrew doubles competition. “I was serving bad and I volleyed even worse.”

Brawley led, 5-2, in the first set but dropped four consecutive games and eventually lost in a tiebreaker. He struggled to win the second set and appeared to be in control again before McBride broke his serve in the next game and ran out the match.

“The first time I felt I had a chance was when I broke his serve in the first game of the third set,” McBride said. “I played him three years ago in the Santa Monica Open and he crushed me. That was all I thought about the whole match.”

McBride, a teaching pro at Warner Center Tennis Club and a Duke alumnus, will face Gus Anderson of Salinas in a semifinal today at 9:30 a.m.

In the boys’ 16 singles, Derek Pope of Ojai beat David Robles of Los Angeles, 6-1, 6-3, and Santa Barbara’s Nathan Jackmon, 6-4, 6-3, to move into the semifinals. Pope faces Jakub Pietrowski of Huntington Beach today at 8 a.m.

Jason Weiss of Tarzana will face Taryn Burgk of Del Mar in the other semifinal.

A slew of other local juniors also stayed alive. Twins Bob and Mike Bryan of Camarillo dropped a total of eight games in winning two matches each to reach the boys’ 14 singles semifinals.

In the girls’ 14 singles, Jessica Kessler of Studio City will meet Erin Boisclair of Agoura for a berth in the final. Stacey Jellen of Calabasas beat Amanda Basica of Rolling Hills Estates, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, and Agoura’s Krissy Hamilton stopped top-seeded Ania Bleszynski of Thousand Oaks, 6-2, 6-3, to qualify for the girls’ 18 singles semifinals.

Ventura’s Peter Webb and partner Michael Smith beat Tony Marquez of Escondido and Rufino Navarro of San Diego, 6-2, 6-3, to earn a place in the final of the boys’ 16 doubles. Webb and Smith face John Downer and Jeff Shoemaker of San Clemente at 8 a.m.

Danielle Ouwendijk of Somis and Marisa MacLennan of Carmel will play for a girls’ 16 doubles title at 8 a.m. against Amanda Augustus and Marisa Velasco of Chula Vista.