Under Wraps, Jacobs Still Wins

Jieun Jacobs gained a reputation for her mental toughness last year and she’s showing it again in the Southern California Junior Championships.

Jacobs, of Valencia, who put together a string of upsets on her way to grabbing the No. 1 ranking and winning the 14-and-under singles title in 1996, is playing injured and winning.

Despite severe shin splints, Jacobs, 15, upset third-seeded Caylan Leslie of Newport Beach, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, at the Los Caballeros Sports Village in Fountain Valley on Thursday.

In was the second consecutive three-set victory for unseeded Jacobs, who today at 4 faces Shervin Saedinia of Woodland Hills in a quarterfinal match in the 16-and-under division.

Jacobs ices her legs, taking anti-inflammatory medicine and undergoing therapy for painful shin splints. She wraps her left shin when she plays.

Her tenacity showed in the third set against Leslie. Trailing, 0-3, Jacobs suddenly became aggressive and won the final six games.

“I thought I was going to lose, and I said to myself, ‘Just play your best,’ ” Jacobs said. “I started going for it, and I was having fun.”

While Jacobs and Saedinia will battle, fourth-seeded Bernadette Bayani of Simi Valley will face seventh-seeded Maureen Diaz of Glendale for the chance to play in Saturday’s 16s semifinals.

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As Hart High’s girls’ basketball coach, Dave Munroe has won seven Foothill League championships in eight years. But he has never been prouder than this week, watching his daughter, Jenny, play tennis.

Jenny Munroe, ranked No. 60 in the 14-under-division, on Wednesday posted a 6-1, 6-0 first-round victory over No. 12 Natalie Braverman of Newport Beach, formerly of Encino. That set up Thursday’s match against No. 3 Alexandra McGoodwin of Newport Beach.

McGoodwin outlasted Munroe, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Nonetheless, she delighted her coach and father.

“This is definitely more personal,” Dave Munroe said. “I’ve always told everybody I’d rather coach my daughter than anybody else.

“We put a lot of hours in, and this is very satisfying.”

Jenny won three qualifying matches to reach the main draw.

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Erin Carroll of Ventura and Dillon Ruby of Westlake Village lost in the second round, Carroll falling to third-seeded Ryan Moore of Fullerton and Ruby to fourth-seeded Chase Exon of Irvine.

Carroll and Ventura High teammate Joe Chrisman, who won the Ojai Valley Championships earlier this year, lost in the doubles semifinals.