Ojai Finalists Take First Steps Toward Section Title

The Ojai singles finalists, Patrick Buchanan of Servite and Aaron Yovan of University, will begin their quest to win the Southern Section individual title Saturday.

Buchanan, the Ojai interscholastic division champion, will play in the University of Redlands sectional along with top county players Erik Oijala of Woodbridge, Eric Aarnaes of Irvine and Sergiu Modoc of El Dorado. Yovan, who lost to Buchanan in a three-set final last month, will play at Costa Mesa Tennis Center with Jeffrey Das of Troy, John Mano of Los Alamitos, Cameron Ball of Corona del Mar and Rylan Rizza of Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Capistrano Valley’s two doubles teams, Derrick Klunchoo and Robbie Lamour and Chad Wallace and Matthew Sherman, are the only county players at Pasadena High. The other sectional site is Ojai Thacher School.

Play begins at 9 a.m. Four singles players and four doubles teams from each of the four sectional sites advance to the round of 16, May 25 at the Seacliff Tennis Club.

LANCERS REACH FOR SEMIS

With only one senior in his starting lineup, Sunny Hills Coach Steve White isn’t counting on winning his fifth section title in the last 11 years. But he would like to see his young team reach the semifinals for a fourth consecutive year.

Sunny Hills (13-5) is seeded fourth in the Division III playoffs. The Lancers, led this season by sophomore Daniel Chang and freshman Greg Sturman at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, have reached the Division II semifinals the last three years.

“We’d like to get a chance at [top-seeded] Beverly Hills,” White said. “It would be a good experience for our kids.”

White said he hopes his young players handle highly-ranked teams better in the playoffs than they did in the regular season.

“It seemed like we were in awe of them,” he said.

Sunny Hills, which tied Troy for the Freeway League title, begins the playoffs today with a home match against El Modena, the third-place team from the Century League.

University, the top-seeded team in Division II, begins defense of its section title today with a home match against Murrieta Valley. The Trojans have been banged up this season, but they are relatively healthy for the playoffs. Henry Mak, who has missed most of the season with a blood infection, is expected to play doubles.

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