County’s Top Players Are Competing in Ojai

More than 200 players from Orange County will begin play today in the 100th Ojai tennis tournament in junior, college, community college and open divisions.

Caylan Leslie, a Corona del Mar senior will be attempting to win her third consecutive Ojai title. Leslie and San Diego’s Ashley Backus are the top-seeded team in the girls’ 18 doubles division.

Leslie, who has signed with Notre Dame, won the girls’ 16 singles title in 1998 and the girls’ 18 singles title last year. Leslie’s toughest competition could come from Saddleback’s Kim Nguyen, the girls’ 16 champion last year; Dana Point’s Amberly Tantee, who lost to Nguyen in the 16s final; and Woodbridge’s Susanna Lingman.

Kim Singer, a Corona del Mar sophomore, is the top-seeded player in the girls’ 16 division. Singer could meet Orange eighth grader Lindsey Nelson, last year’s girls’ 14s champion, in the quarterfinals. Tracy Lin, an Anaheim eighth-grader, is the top-seeded player in the girls’ 14 division. Lin lost to Nelson in last year’s girls’ 14 final.

In the boys’ 16 division, Irvine’s Matt Loucks, a quarterfinalist last week at the Easter Bowl in Palm Springs, is seeded second to Malibu’s Doug Stewart. In the boys’ 14s, Fullerton’s Jonathan Sanchez and Newport Beach’s Carsten Ball are seeded first and second.

In the Pac-10 men’s singles draw, Stanford senior Geoff Abrams (Newport Harbor High) is seeded second. USC sophomore Ryan Moore (Servite) and Arizona freshman Tom Lloyd (Esperanza) also are entered. Arizona State’s Faye DeVera (Villa Park) is entered in the Pac-10 women’s singles draw. Among those representing USC in the Pac-10 men’s invitational field will be Parker Collins and Christian Jensen, freshmen from Corona del Mar High, and Scott Merryman, a sophomore from Capistrano Valley.

In the Big West Conference women’s tournament, UC Irvine (16-6, 5-0) is seeded first. The Anteaters have never won a conference women’s tennis title, but are ranked 42nd nationally, their highest ranking in 17 years. They are led by Maureen Diaz and Jonni Seymour at No. 1 and No. 2 singles.

The juniors’ finals will be held Saturday at Libbey Park. The Big West women’s team final will be held Saturday at Ojai Valley Racquet Club.

On Sunday at Libbey Park, the Pac-10, open and community college finals will be played. The Big West men’s tournament begins Friday at Ojai Valley Racquet Club and concludes Sunday. UC Irvine’s men team is seeded fourth and opens with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.