Junior Open tennis tournament starts Monday
Corona del Mar High’s Alec Adamson is a favorite in the 23rd annual The Tennis Club Junior Open Tournament, which begins Monday at The Tennis Club Newport Beach.
Adamson, who will be a senior at CdM this fall, is the top seed in boys’ 18 singles. He opens at the tournament, better known as the “War by the Shore,” in the round of 16 at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday against either Blaine Mengert of Orange or Michael Karamardian of Newport Coast.
Adamson is ranked No. 35 in Southern California in the boys’ 18s by the United States Tennis Assn. Last year, he lost in the semifinals at the “War by the Shore.”
Two other locals have also earned singles seeds. Samantha Stalder, who will be a senior at Newport Harbor High, is the No. 3 seed in girls’ 18 singles. Stalder, a Costa Mesa resident who is ranked No. 67 in Southern California, opens her tournament in the round of 16 at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday against Meng-Yi Mei.
Corona del Mar resident Alastair Hurry, who plays high school tennis for St. Margaret’s, is the No. 3 seed in boys’ 16 singles. Hurry, ranked No. 65 in Southern California in the 16s, starts in the round of 32 at 6:30 p.m. Monday against Jordan Sadowsky of Rancho Santa Fe.
Newport Beach resident Austin Di Giulio is unseeded in the boys’ 16s, but should be considered a favorite even if he’s playing up. Di Giulio, 12, made the boys’ 12 singles championship match recently at the Southern California Junior Sectionals. Di Giulio opens against CdM’s Tyler Gaede at 9:30 a.m. Monday in the round of 64.
Stalder and Hurry are also in doubles action. Stalder and Brooke Briseno are the No. 2 seeds in the six-team girls’ 18 doubles draw and have a bye to the semifinals Thursday. Hurry and his partner, Shane Cruz of Anaheim, are the top seeds in boys’ 16 doubles and begin in the quarterfinals Wednesday.
As usual, there are also several local doubles pairings. Newport Beach residents Cameron Harbilas and Grant Brown are the No. 2 seeds in boys’ 14 doubles, where they begin in the semifinals Thursday. Charlie Horn of CdM and Matt Paulsen of Newport Beach are also in that draw.
Robin Caston and Gigi Gill are an all-Newport tandem in girls’ 16 doubles, as are Siena Sharf and Shelby Anderson. CdM players Kimmia Naaseh and McKenzie Purcifull are also in that draw, and CdM’s Riley Gerdau has teamed with Taylor Fogarty of Coto De Caza.
Maxwell McKennon of Newport Beach and his partner, Brent Stein of Arizona, are the top seeds in boys’ 12 doubles.
Other notables include incoming CdM junior Lauren Thaxter in girls’ 18 singles and incoming Newport Harbor freshman Baylee Bakkila in girls’ 14 singles. Bakkila is the younger sister of recent graduate Blake Bakkila, who helped the Sailors reach the CIF Southern Section Division 2 title match each of the last two years.
The tournament continues throughout the week at The Tennis Club, with championship matches in singles and doubles scheduled for Friday.
Twitter: @mjszabo
