Exon, Lingman Move into Singles Semifinals

Two Woodbridge High players, senior Susanna Lingman and sophomore Elizabeth Exon, advanced to the semifinals of the Southern Section individual singles tournament.

It was no surprise that the top-seeded Lingman got through two rounds of play Thursday at the Claremont Club. But not many expected Exon to join her in the semifinals. Exon pulled off the day’s biggest upset, beating Villa Park’s standout freshman, Lindsey Nelson, in the quarterfinals, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

“She played awesome,” said the second-seeded Nelson, whose only losses this season were to Lingman and Canyon freshman Tracy Lin. “I just didn’t have the feel today.”

Corona del Mar junior Brittany Reitz also reached the semifinals with straight-set victories over Lauren Fitzgerald of Santa Maria Righetti and Robyn Baker of Palm Desert. Carpinteria Cate junior Lori Stern was the only non-Orange County player to reach the semifinals and she had to beat two county players to get there--Dana Hills sophomore Kady Pooler and Sunny Hills junior Joanna Kao.

The fourth-seeded Stern, who took three sets and three hours to knock off Pooler, defeated Kao, 6-3, 7-5. She will meet Lingman today in one semifinal and Exon will play Reitz in the other. Both matches start at 10:30 a.m.

Lingman, who had never advanced past the round of 16, beat Michelle Beyronneau of Yucaipa, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, and Lin, 6-4, 6-2.

Lingman is nearly four years older than Lin.

“It’s hard when you’re the oldest player and you’re playing a freshman with nothing to lose,” said Lingman, who committed last week to Harvard. “I have more experience, but I’m the No. 1 seed and I have more pressure on me. I tried to block all that out and play the person.”

Lin, who out-slugged Palos Verdes Peninsula junior Shilpa Joshi in the round of 16, winning, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, said she would have had to play her best to upset Lingman.

“She’s more consistent than I am right now and she’s got a big serve,” Lin said. “It’s a good experience for me.”

Meanwhile, Exon said her experience against Nelson was memorable.

“It’s probably my best win this season,” she said. “I figured it doesn’t matter if I lose. So I told myself to just hit the ball hard, keep it deep and hit angles.”

Exon pretty much accomplished all three goals. She served for the first set at 5-4, before losing the last three games. But she kept her composure and kept the pressure on Nelson, who struggled with her serve and her volleys.

Tennis notes

With three of the four semifinal participants, the county could have its first singles champion in 10 years. Anne Mall of Dana Hills won the title in 1990. In the doubles competition, the third-seeded team of Brittany Holland and Leslie Damion from Corona del Mar reached the semifinals with two straight-set victories. Holland and Damion knocked off Jodie Nygaard and Casey Knutson of Mater Dei in the quarterfinals, 6-3, 6-4. The fourth-seeded team of Gia Nafarrete and Melissa Selmanson of Los Alamitos also reached the semifinals with straight-set wins. They will play the top-seeded and defending champion team from Claremont, Sandra and Carla Rocha. “Today we just played well enough to win,” Nafarrete said. “Now that we have two matches under our belt, I expect us to play better tomorrow.” Erin Ivey and Donna Gentry of Aliso Niguel lost in the quarterfinals to the second-seeded team of Jamie Pagliano and Christine Setian of Palos Verdes Peninsula, 6-4, 6-2. Troy’s team of Veronica Fermin and Stacy Lee also lost to Pagliano and Setian, 6-4, 6-2.