Mann Feels Good, Plays Even Better

Dylan Mann is not a superstitious tennis player.

He goes out of his way to disregard any inkling or trend that could represent an omen--good or bad.

But he couldn’t ignore the way he felt Thursday morning, or how that good feeling carried him through a long day that brought two important victories in the Southern California Junior Sectional championships.

Mann of Canoga Park, playing in the 18-and-under division, overwhelmed Brett Masi of Riverside, 6-2, 6-1, at the Los Caballeros Sports Village to advance to today’s quarterfinals in singles.

Then he joined Joseph Gilbert of Fullerton to upset Scott Kintz and Trent Miller of San Diego, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, to advance to Sunday’s doubles final.

“When I woke up this morning, I was ready to play,” Mann said. “But there have been days when I felt great but didn’t play very well.”

Mann, seeded seventh in singles, overwhelmed Masi with his serve and volley to get back to the round in which he was eliminated last year.

But the recent Taft High graduate, who has a tennis scholarship to the University of Florida, would like nothing better than to win a championship in what will probably be his last junior tournament in Southern California.

He’ll need to buckle up today against third-seeded Miller, who wants to avenge his upset to Mann in doubles.

“I served well, kept balls in and moved pretty well,” Mann said. “I did the things I needed to do. But [today] I play Trent, and I’ll have to play better.”

Mann will get the chance to defend the doubles title--which he captured last year with Ryan Thompson--against Brian Golledge of Goleta and Sam Adam Webster of Santa Barbara at 2 p.m. Sunday. Mann has an experienced partner in Gilbert, who was on the opposite side of the net in a three-set final in 1995.

“We’re starting to get the feel of each other,” Mann said.

Nick Varvais of Simi Valley also advanced in the 18s, beating Scott Borenstein of Santa Monica, 7-5, 6-0. Today Varvais faces Ryan Moore of Fullerton, who upset top-seeded Ryan Scorteanu in the first round.

Other local players who advanced were Erin Carroll (Ventura), seeded seventh in boys’ 16, Nicholas Weiss (Calabasas), top-seeded in 14s, Philip Sheng (Thousand Oaks), in 14s and Jieun Jacobs (Valencia), top-seeded in girls’ 14s.