Saddleback’s Nguyen Among Good Company

Saddleback High sophomore Kim Nguyen knew the Ojai tennis tournament had some prestige. But she didn’t know how prestigious it was until the presenter of her girls’ 16 division trophy announced that Billie Jean King and Tracy Austin were past champions.

“That shocked me,” Nguyen said. “I mean it really shocked me. It made me proud to win.”

And relieved. Nguyen had spent six to eight hours a day training for this tournament with her tennis coach and her taekwondo instructor. Sunday, the hard work paid off in a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Amberly Tantee of Dana Point at Libbey Park South.

Nguyen and Tantee didn’t have the opportunity to play at the main Libbey Park courts because rain on Friday delayed the girls’ 16 singles final from Saturday to Sunday. On Sunday, court space was limited at the main courts.

“It didn’t matter where we played it as long as my friends and family were here with me,” she said.

The top-seeded Nguyen is only 15, but the Ojai title will be her last in the girls’ 16 division. She is leaving immediately for tougher competition in the girls’ 18 division. This summer, she will even play a few professional satellites.

“I’m just trying to gain more experience,” she said.

Judging by her play Sunday, Nguyen is ready to take the next step. Other than a slow start to the second set--which she trailed, 3-1--Nguyen controlled the match against the second-seeded Tantee, who is coming off National Clay Court title in Port Washington, N.Y.

“I got kind of tense early in the second set,” Nguyen said. “I was letting the ball drop, instead of taking it on the rise. Once I got back to that, I was fine.”

Tantee, 16, attended Dana Hills as a freshman, but this year she’s taking independent study classes at Futures High in Mission Viejo.

“I missed high school early, but now I can’t even think of going back,” said Tantee, who works out at Felipe Recreation Center in Mission Viejo with Butch Young, Keith Snavely and Jason Harnett. “It’s working out really well. I’m getting a lot of time to train.”

If Tantee needs more work on anything, it would probably be finishing off points. Several times, she had Nguyen on the defensive. But she missed some easy put-aways and failed to close on some of Nguyen’s short balls.

“I made too many mistakes and I could have moved better,” Tantee said.

In the men’s community college singles final, top-seeded Scott Thompson of Palomar College defeated Marymount’s Boris Turkic, a Corona del Mar graduate, 7-5, 6-2.

Notes

In the men’s community college doubles final, Berry Brock and Erik Lundblad of Saddleback lost to Tim Aceves and Matt Piasecki of College of the Desert, 7-5, 7-6 (8-6). In the semifinals, Lundblad and Berry defeated COD’s Jake Harman and Mike Lowkis, 6-3, 6-1. . . . Ryan Wolters, a Stanford senior, erased memories of losing two Pacific 10 Conference men’s singles finals in a row by defeating Gustavo Marcaccio of Arizona State, 6-4, 6-4. . . . Stanford freshman Marissa Irvin beat Ditta Huber of USC, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4), in the singles final.