Top County Players Find Little Challenge So Far

It was an easy day for the top three seeded singles players at the Southern Section girls’ individual tennis qualifying regional at Huntington Beach High. Mater Dei’s Melissa Esmero, Saddleback’s Kim Nguyen and Woodbridge’s Susanna Lingman didn’t drop a set Saturday and advanced to the round of 16.

Esmero, a junior, lost only four games in two matches, as she advanced to her third consecutive round of 16, which will take place Dec. 3-4 at the Racquet Club of Irvine.

The last two years Esmero has been eliminated by one of the Vaughan sisters of Corona del Mar. As a freshman, she lost to Nina in the quarterfinals. Last year, she was beaten by Nadia in the round of 16.

But this year, Esmero appears to be playing well enough to win it all.

“I’m playing better this year,” said Esmero, who beat Angie Yoon of Orange Lutheran and Iris Yuan of Sunny Hills Saturday. “I’ve learned to adjust to my environment.”

Lingman and Nguyen also seemed suited to their environment. Lingman, a sophomore who will be making her first trip to the round of 16, lost only three games in her victories over Ashley Nelson of Calvary Chapel and Joanna Kao of Sunny Hills. Nguyen, who reached the semifinals of the individuals last year, won her first match, 6-0, 6-0, over Christina Whitman of Corona Centennial and then struggled through a back injury to beat Kristina Boss of Riverside J.W. North, 7-5, 6-3.

Nguyen said she irritated her lower back in the match with Boss.

“I don’t know what it is lately, but it seems I’m always hurt or sick lately in big tournaments,” she said.

Nguyen will have nearly two weeks to rest her back. Nguyen, who was undefeated in dual matches this season, believes she is playing some of her best tennis since switching to Loren Peters as her private coach six months ago.

“I’ve started feeling the ball more and that helps me with my power and limits my unforced errors,” Nguyen said.

Capistrano Valley’s Jennifer Bailey knocked off Cypress freshman Samantha Waller, 6-4, 6-2, to reach the round of 16.

In doubles, two Sea View League teams--Woodbridge’s Adriana Hockicko and Danielle Hustedt and Newport Beach’s Audra Adams and Kristen Case--joined Peninsula’s two doubles teams of Caitlin Blashaw and Christie Tjong and Christine Setian and Nicole Labrucherie in the round of 16.

At Long Beach, Eva Baudenbacher of Corona del Mar and Ashley Maddocks of Long Beach advanced in singles and Kate Romm and Amy Tranckino of Dana Hills advanced as a doubles team.