Yovan, Nguyen Deflated in Ojai

Talk about being thrown back down to earth.

University High’s Aaron Yovan and Saddleback’s Kim Nguyen couldn’t have been on a bigger high Saturday morning after two of the biggest wins of their junior careers at the Ojai Valley tennis tournament. And they couldn’t have been any lower in the afternoon after being soundly defeated on the Libbey Park courts.

Yovan upset the nation’s top-ranked 16-year-old, Doug Stewart of Malibu, 6-4, 6-4, in the semifinals. But he was cooled off a few hours later in the final by Woodland Hills’ Lester Cook, 6-4, 6-4.

“I could have focused a lot more in the afternoon match,” said Yovan, who won the boys’ 14 title here two years ago.

Yovan led, 4-2, in the first set, but played a loose seventh game and never regained the momentum.

“That seventh game was the most important one of the match,” Yovan said. “I’ve beaten [Cook] five out of six times and I thought it was over.”

Yovan began spraying his forehand all over the court, while Cook charged the net and kept up the pressure.

“I think if I would have been a little more patient the result would have been different,” Yovan said.

Nguyen blew by Woodbridge’s Susanna Lingman in the morning, 6-2, 6-0--a day after Lingman had upset the No. 1-seeded player, Iris Ichim of Beverly Hills. But Nguyen was no match for Ojai’s Erin Burdette, who won, 6-1, 6-1, in the girls’ 18 singles final.

Burdette, who attends Ojai’s Weil Tennis Academy and defeated Villa Park’s Arpi Kojian in the other semifinal, 6-1, 6-2, had seven inches on Nguyen and she used them all.

“A lot of tall girls stay on the baseline and rally, but she covers the court really well,” said Nguyen, a 5-foot-3 junior. “The variety in her game is really something. She can reach the high ball, the low ball and the short ball.”

Lingman also had the height advantage on Nguyen, but in that match size didn’t matter.

“That was some of the best tennis I’ve ever played,” Nguyen said.

Against Burdette, Nguyen also had to play against the Ojai crowd, which consisted mostly of Burdette’s Weil teammates.

“If I was stronger mentally, I wouldn’t have even heard the crowd,” she said. “It would have been just me and the ball. Physically, I’m ready to go. Mentally, I have some work to do.”

Anaheim’s Tracy Lin won her first Ojai title with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Daron Moore of Studio City in the girls’ 14 final. Lin, who lost to Orange’s Lindsey Nelson in last year’s girls’ 14 final, said she was much more relaxed the second time around on the Libbey Park courts.

“It was better on this back court,” she said. “There weren’t as many people watching. And I really wanted to win this tournament. You get your name engraved on the Ojai trophy with all the other names. It’s really special.”

Lin momentarily lost the momentum early in the second set as Moore began to pound forehand winners and took a 4-2 lead. But Lin charged back to take the next four games to close out the match.

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Orange County fared much better in doubles with three titles. Corona del Mar senior Caylan Leslie won her third consecutive Ojai championship in the girls’ 18 doubles. Leslie and partner Ashley Backus of San Diego beat Nicole LaBrucherie and Jamie Pagliano of Palos Verdes Peninsula, 6-2, 6-1.

In the girls’ 16 doubles, Serena Fermin of Troy and Taylynn Snyder of Santa Margarita defeated Marissa Simmons and Margie Sindal of Ojai, 6-2, 6-2.

In the boys’ interscholastic singles, Joseph Kao of Sunny Hills lost to Paul Warkentin of San Marcos, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, in the semifinals. In the boys’ 16 doubles, Corona del Mar’s Peter Kulmaticki and Robert Kennedy defeated the top-seeded team of John Paul Beck and Ashwin Bhargava of Santa Barbara, 7-5, 6-2, in the final.