De Vera Finishes a Perfect Year

Judith De Vera was determined not to let it happen again.

De Vera, a Carson High junior and the top-seeded player in the competition, defeated Granada Hills freshman Jessica Nguyen, 6-4, 0-6, 6-1, Monday at Balboa Sports Complex in Encino to become the first player from her school to win the City Section girls’ tennis singles title.

De Vera’s victory came a year after she lost the City title in three sets to Moe Moe Myinttun of Fairfax. She was 18-0 in singles this year.

Her brothers, Roel and Rene, won the City doubles championship in 1991. “I wanted to be part of the De Vera family tradition,” De Vera said with a smile. “It was a real big goal for me.”

Nguyen, whose only two losses this season came against De Vera, made her work for it.

“When we split the first two sets, I thought I could do it,” Nguyen said. “But she really went on the offensive and she made everything in the third set.”

De Vera broke Nguyen in the seventh game of the first set to go up, 4-3, and broke again for a 5-4 edge before holding to close out the first set.

Nguyen frustrated De Vera and forced several errors by running her around the court with a variety of shots in the second set.

“I knew I had to pick up my level,” De Vera said. “I felt like I beat myself the second set, and if I didn’t get myself together, I would lose the match.”

Instead, De Vera turned up her serve and overpowered Nguyen in the third set.

“She has a real knack for turning it on when she needs to,” Carson Coach Gordon Emi said. “I expected her to be the best player in the City Section, and she’s been that.”

Sisters Jennifer and Marissa Lin of Palisades were on all day in a 6-1, 6-0 rout of Carson’s Kay Lozano and Maria Domingo in the doubles title match.

Jennifer Lin, a senior who was third in doubles last year and a runner-up in 1999 with other partners, was happy to finally break through with her sister, a freshman.

“We planned on this all year,” Jennifer Lin said. “We practice a lot together, and finally, it’s like closure.”

Christine Dao, a Granada Hills sophomore, won the singles third-place match, 6-0, 6-2, over Fairfax’s Yu Yu Myinttun.

Dao competed in tennis this fall and played on Granada Hills’ junior varsity volleyball team.

Carson’s Cielo Domingo and Kim Espiritu defeated Palisades’ Bianca Valenti and Madison Sellers, 6-0, 1-6, 6-4, in the doubles third-place match.