Tu Advances to Quarterfinals in Girls’ Tennis Championships

Fifth-seeded Meilen Tu of Northridge defeated Marissa Catlin of Clearwater, Fla., Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Tennis Assn. national championships in girls’ 18-and-under singles.

Tu, 15, routed Catlin, 6-2, 6-1, at the Almaden Valley Athletic Club in San Jose, and was the lone winner among three area players who reached the round of 16. Ania Bleszynski of Thousand Oaks and Krissy Hamilton of Agoura lost in straight sets.

Janet Lee, who defeated Bleszynski, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4), today will face Tu, a Granada Hills High student and a current member of the Junior national team.

Hamilton, 13, who won the Southern California Tennis Assn. sectional championships in 18 singles in June, lost to unseeded Khristen Pietrucha of Boca Raton, Fla.

In other USTA national junior tournaments, eighth-seeded Mike Bryan of Camarillo and No. 13 Jason Weiss of Calabasas advanced to the round of eight of boys’ 16 singles at Kalamazoo, Mich.

In doubles, fifth-seeded Weiss and Kevin Kim of Fullerton defeated third-seeded Mike Bryan and his twin brother Bob, 6-2, 6-3, in the quarterfinals but were swept by Justin Gimelstob of New Jersey and Rafael Jordan of Puerto Rico in the semifinals.

In girls’ 14 singles, SCTA champion Erin Boisclair of Agoura Hills advanced to the quarterfinals in Fairburn, Ga. She beat Agnes Wiski of Flushing, N.Y., 6-2, 6-2.

In boys’ 18 singles, Philip Tseng of Harvard-Westlake High and Derek Pope of Ojai were third-round losers at Kalamazoo. Tseng was stopped by unseeded Bryan Junio of Cerritos. Pope lost to 10th-seeded John Roddick of Delray Beach, Fla.