Locals working hard

Not all tennis tournaments are all about taking home a trophy.

Sometimes the players use the tournament to work on a new technique a

coach taught. Or a player tries to test how well an injury has

healed.

The 13th annual Costa Mesa Summer Junior Classic tennis tournament

at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center is competitive and the entrants have

a desire to win, but it also has a more relaxed feel than other

tournaments.

Newport Beach resident Nicole Wagner was trying to correct a flaw

in her swing during her 6-0, 6-0 loss to Taylor Raney in the round of

32 Monday in girls 14s singles.

“My coach taped a practice and showed me [my flaw].” Wagner said.

“This was the first time I was using my new swing. I had a bad habit

of swinging down on my forehand, before. I did OK with the new

swing.”

Wagner said she was pleased with her work on her new stroke, but

gave credit to Raney for a well-played match.

“I like to serve and volley,” Wagner said. “She had a little bit

of trouble on my serves, but she had no trouble at all on my volleys.

She played great.”

Hailey Hogan, a Newport Beach resident, suffered an abdominal

injury in a tournament on the Fourth of July. Her 6-1, 6-1 victory

over Melissa Breisacher in the round of 32 in girls 14s singles was

her first action since the injury.

“[The injury] didn’t bother me at all,” said Hogan, the No. 5 seed

in the draw. “I felt fine.”

Hogan used precise ground strokes to overmatch Breisacher.

“My forehand felt pretty strong,” Hogan said. “I felt like I was

getting a lot of racket speed in my forehand.”

Newport Beach resident Melissa Matsuoka, the top seed in girls 14s

singles, defeated fellow Newport Beach resident Natalie Small, 6-1,

6-0, in the round of 32.

“I wish I was more aggressive in going to the net,” Matsuoka said.

“She was a fighter. She played really well.”

For Matsuoka, Monday was more about getting the little things

right then about working on any major tweaks to her game.

“I just wanted to get my serves in,” she said. “I really wanted to

play my best.”

Like Matsuoka, Newport Harbor High senior-to-be Carly Adams used

Monday as a general tune-up.

“I really liked my backhand,” she said. “I wish my serves were

better, but I thought I played OK.”

Adams was eliminated by Jean Annika You, 7-5, 6-4, in the girls

18s singles’ round of 16.

Adams, who plays doubles for the Sailors and advanced to the

semifinals of the girls 18s doubles in the War by the Shore

tournament last week, said she didn’t put a lot of pressure on

herself in terms of where she would finish in this tournament.

“I really don’t think about [how far I would go in the

tournament],” she said. “I just wanted to play my best.”

Hogan mirrored those sentiments and regarded the added pressure to

perform because of receiving a high seed.

“I don’t even look at the draws,” she said. “I want to win, but I

want to have fun.”

In girls 18s singles Brittanny Sturgess defeated Sera Anderson,

6-2, 6-0; Roxanne Kaiden defeated Whitney Shyrock, 6-2, 6-1; and

Jillian Braverman defeated Anabel Sanchez, 6-0, 6-0.

In girls 14s singles, Danielle Kaiden defeated Madeline Jaeger,

6-4, 6-4; Ariana Cernius defeated Meagan Moss, 6-1, 6-0; and Karen

Ishii defeated Ariana Mokhtari, 6-3, 6-4.

Jonathan Kroopf defeated Robby Jennings, 6-0, 6-2, in boys 18s

singles.

In boys 16s singles, Omeed Ghassemi defeated Patrick Cummings,

6-1, 6-0; Ryan Caughren defeated Bradley Fisher, 6-2, 6-0; and Henri

Chomeau defeated Chris Keeler, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.

In boys 10s singles, Dante Saleh defeated Taylor Davidson, 7-6

(6), 6-1.