Kao, Braverman Lose in Finals of Sectional Tournament

The Southern California Junior Sectionals were coming-out parties for Sunny Hills High’s Joseph Kao and Newport Harbor’s Natalie Braverman, who unexpectedly reached the 16s singles finals. But the party ended abruptly for Kao and Braverman, who were beaten in straight sets in Sunday’s championship matches at Los Caballeros Racquet Club in Fountain Valley.

The ninth-seeded Kao lasted nearly two hours before falling to fourth-seeded Ryan Heinberg of Agoura, 7-6 (7-1), 6-2. Kao served for the first set at 5-4 and had two break points on Heinberg’s serve at 5-5, but he lost both games.

“I just made too many errors,” said Kao, who lost to UC Irvine recruit Zoran Korac last month in the round of 16 at the Southern Section individual championships. “I rushed my shot a little too much today. I just went for the wrong shot on the key points.”

Kao’s best shot is his whipping forehand, and it served him well against Heinberg. But his backhand failed him in the tiebreaker, which was dominated by Heinberg, who will be a junior at Bridges Academy in Encino this fall.

Heinberg was also the better net player Sunday and that allowed him to close out points much quicker than Kao.

“I tried to come in a couple times, but it didn’t work out too well,” Kao said.

Said Heinberg: “I was more patient and I got in a groove and stayed there all day.”

Kao’s second-place finish should improve his Southern California ranking and give him some confidence entering the national clay courts and national hard courts later in the summer.

“I’m happy with the week, but I’m still a little disappointed,” said Kao, who will be a senior at Sunny Hills this fall. “I felt like I could have beat this kid.”

The seventh-seeded Braverman, a sophomore-to-be at Newport Harbor, didn’t feel that way about her opponent, top-seeded Luana Magnani of San Marino. Magnani won 6-2, 6-0 in just over an hour.

“I know I need to be a little more consistent, but there wasn’t much I could have done,” Braverman said. “She hits it so deep and hard and she doesn’t miss.”

Braverman had Magnani on the defensive throughout the match. But often, she couldn’t put the ball away and eventually she would make an unforced error going for a winner.

“I knew how she played, so I told myself not to be too aggressive,” said Magnani, who lost to Tiffany Brymer of Oxnard Rio Mesa in the finals of last year’s Southern Section individual tournament. “I knew she made a lot of errors, so I just waited for her to make the mistake.”

Braverman, who hits two-handed on both sides like Monica Seles, knows she will have better days.

“I pretty much just have my one type of game now,” she said. “Hit the ball hard and hope it goes in. I know I have to learn how to mix it up to beat players like Luana.”

In the girls’ 14 finals, top-seeded Lindsey Nelson of Orange won her third title of the season with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over second-seeded Erica Sauer of Somis. Nelson also won Ojai and the Roxy Quiksilver in Ventura. In the girls’ 12s, top-seeded Tracy Lin of Anaheim won her third title with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Nazlie Ghazal of Temecula. Lin also won Whittier and Fullerton.