OLYMPIC FESTIVAL ROUNDUP : Bleszynski Shows She’s Good, Not <i> That </i> Good

Ania Bleszynski never even considered the possibility.

She is good. But not that good, or that lucky.

Though she was unbeaten in her first five Olympic Sports Festival tennis events, Bleszynski figured she was due for a loss at some point. She said as much before her doubles match on Monday afternoon at the McFarlin Tennis Center.

Then she went out and proved her point.

Bleszynski of Thousand Oaks and partner Julie Scott fell to Farley Taylor and Jane Reid, 6-4, 6-7 (7-5), 7-5 in a sun-baked second-round contest.

Once Bleszynski lost her forehand, it figured that her perfect record also would vanish.

“My return just killed us,” she said. “I was either shanking it wide or hitting it straight to the net person.”

Bleszynski’s struggles turned into a day-long affair. In mixed doubles, she and partner Michael Jessup dropped a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 decision to Alex Witt and Pam Trump.

Maybe it’s a good thing Bleszynski, 16, didn’t have a singles match.

The Harvard-Westlake senior started the day after posting weekend victories in the opening round of women’s doubles play and in the first two rounds of both singles and mixed doubles.

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With a near-perfect ride on Juvel, Leslie Morse of Glendale led the South team to a gold medal in team dressage at the Freeman Coliseum. Morse’s festival-high 68.147 points, combined with those of three teammates, gave the South a three-point triumph over the North.

Morse’s score counts 40% toward the individual dressage competition, which will be held today.

Like a figure skater minus the jumps, Juvel followed a required pattern of high steps, crossovers, and pirouettes in alternating walking and trotting sequences.

On Dynamisch, Dennis Callin of Westlake Village posted the fourth-highest score, but he was knocked out of team medal contention because the West was minus two entrants.

Kim Keenan of Sylmar was not able to ride because her horse, Deja Vu, turned up lame.

Keenan drove Deja Vu from the Valley to San Antonio one week ago. On Thursday, his leg was bothering him so she did not practice. He recovered quickly and she practiced Saturday and Sunday. Then on Monday, he could not walk.

“It is a bummer because this is a great competition,” Keenan said.

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On the final say of swimming competition, Sarah Nichols and Chris Pelant of Camarillo won silver medals in the 400-meter freestyle.

Nichols, 16, of Conejo-Simi Aquatics, knocked five seconds off her best time with a clocking of 4 minutes 19.20 seconds, second only to Emily Peters of Bloomington, Minn., who touched in 4:18.27.

“I thought I had a shot at her, but I knew she is better at shorter distances so I thought she would bring it back (the last 100) harder,” Nichols said.

On Saturday Nichols, representing the East, captured a gold medal in the 800 freestyle.

“This has been one of the greatest team experiences I’ve ever had,” she said. “You are already close with people you met five days ago. You’re friends for life.”

Pelant, 17, of Buenaventura Swim Team, stroked to a career best 4:02.31, trailing gold medalist Jay Telford, 18, of Corbett, Ore., by three seconds. It was a surprisingly high finish, considering the distance.

Using a negative splitting strategy (swimming the second 200 faster than the first), Pelant passed two swimmers near the end of the race.