Ryan Moore Wins Singles Title, Palm Desert Pair Take Doubles

Winning has its advantages, but winning easily turned out to be even more significant for Servite’s Ryan Moore.

A well-rested Moore defeated Sam Adam Webster of Santa Barbara, 7-6 (9-7), 6-1, to win the Southern Section Individual singles championships at SeaCliff Country Club in Huntington Beach without dropping a set.

Moore knocked off his best friend and doubles partner, Joost Hol, with surprising ease in the morning, then relaxed in an air-conditioned clubhouse while Webster wailed away into a third set of his semifinal match.

Webster put up a strong fight against Moore early, but the scorching sun and Moore’s steady baseline attack drained his energy.

“I started cramping badly in the quadriceps at the end of the first set and in the second set,” Webster said. “I have to get in better condition.”

Webster might have been able to find more strength had he taken the first set, but he blew three set points while serving with a 5-4 lead and lost one in the tiebreaker.

Moore said he gained confidence against Webster by playing a near perfect match against Foothill’s Hol in the semifinals.

“They play similar games--they both like to bang away from the back,” Moore said. “I figured if I could beat one of them, I could beat the other.”

In the doubles final, Palm Desert’s top-seeded team of Peter Gladkin and Brock Berry defeated Santa Margarita’s colorful team of Cody Shedd and Andrew Tsu, 6-4, 6-3. Shedd and Tsu, painted green and white, took on the look of a tennis ball.

The hairdos and section-final jitters caused Berry and Gladkin to get off to a slow start. But midway through the second set, they turned the match around by breaking down Shedd and Tsu’s serves.

Berry and Gladkin’s 6-foot 4-inch and 6-6 frames were also factor. High service returns from Tsu or Shedd, were often spiked back in their faces or off the court.