Locals keep focus

Rick Devereux

Contentious calls may get some tennis players riled up and out of

sync, but Costa Mesa resident Alexandra McIntosh renewed her focus to

defeat Long Beach’s Brittnie Furuvald, 6-4, 6-2, Monday in the round

of 64 of the girls 16s singles of the 16th annual Balboa Bay Club

Racquet Club junior tennis tournament, or War by the Shore.

A disputed call in the first set forced McIntosh -- who will be a

sophomore at Newport Harbor High in the fall -- to raise her level of

play.

“[The disputed call] made me play harder,” she said. “It made me

realize that I had to get the next points. I really wanted to win.”

McIntosh defeated No. 9-seeded Taylor Anne Mannix, 6-3, 6-3, to

move past the round of 32. She faces Kristin Eggleston, the No. 6

seed, today at 2 p.m. in the round of 16.

Also in the round of 16 of girls 16s singles is Newport Beach

resident Kelli Kawabe. Kawabe, who plays tennis for Mater Dei,

defeated Newport Beach resident Whitney Griffith, 6-2, 6-3, to

advance. She faces No. 3-seed Jordan Kimura today at 2 p.m.

McIntosh, who usually plays doubles for the Sailors, is not the

only Newport Harbor girls tennis member showcasing her talents at the

War by the Shore. Brittanny Sturgess, Carly Adams, Brittany Cluck and

Avalon Sigalos, as well as recent grad Jill Casserly, are all playing

girls singles.

“It shows that we are committed to getting better and dedicated to

tennis,” Cluck said. “This tournament will help us improve our

games.”

In girls 18s singles Monday, Cluck lost, 6-0, 6-1, to Marissa Ward

from Bakersfield. Cluck, a doubles player for the Sailors, admitted

she hadn’t played singles in a tournament in some time, but said she

was pleased with her showing.

“When I first started hitting with her, I thought I was doing

well,” Cluck said. “I thought I made too many errors, though. I just

missed a couple of shots.”

Though her singles ride was short, Cluck feels confident she will

make a push in doubles.

“I think [Casserly and I] can do real well,” she said. “I have

high expectations for us.”

Cluck and Casserly open doubles play today against Mary Castleton

and Kori Kurtz at 6:30 p.m.

Cluck’s younger sister, Sara, was competing in the girls 12s

singles tournament despite being 10 years old and heading into the

fifth grade.

“I don’t know why my mom entered me with the 12-year-olds,” Sara

Cluck said. “But it’s good to play people who are older and better

than you because that’s how you get better.”

Newport Beach resident Rebecca Arnold, who is 12 and going into

the seventh grade, defeated Cluck, 6-0, 6-0, and will face Lisa

Osypyan at 2 p.m. in the round of 16.

In boys 14s singles, C.J. Chomeau, a Newport Beach resident and a

freshman-to-be at Mater Dei, defeated Andy Jones, 7-5, 6-1, to

advance to the round of 16.

“I really wanted to work on my top spin,” Chomeau said. “I think I

played well. I just want to do my best and have fun.”

He faces No. 2 seed Gregory Scott today at 12:30.

Also advancing to the round of 16 is Joseph Di Giulio, the

soon-to-be Newport Beach fifth-grader who won the War by the Shore

boys 12s singles title last year. Di Giulio, 10, defeated Mark Saad,

6-2, 6-3, in the round of 64, followed by a 6-0, 6-0 win over Fareed

Ahmed in the round of 32. He faces Michael Tang, the No. 6 seed,

today at 5 p.m.

Chomeau’s older brother Henri is also playing today. Henri

defeated Evan Hashimoto, 6-3, 6-1, Monday in boys 16s singles and

will play Wesley Yu today at 5 p.m.

Megan Chomeau will play Hayley Miller at 2 p.m. in the round of 32

of girls 14s singles.

Costa Mesa High senior-to-be Evelyn Wallace defeated Newport

Harbor doubles player Carly Adams, 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, in girls 18s

singles. Wallace faces No. 3 seed Micaela Hein today at 11 a.m. in

the round of 16.

Elika Fateri from Newport Coast defeated Newport Beach’s Elizabeth

Nguyen, 6-7, 6-3, 6-1, in girls 12s singles. She plays No. 4 seed

Valerie Thong today at 9:30 a.m.

Estancia High sophomore-to-be Bradley Fisher, who took third in

the Golden West League tournament, defeated Noah McIntosh, 6-0, 4-6,

6-4, in boys 16s singles. Fisher plays Chris Tartre, the No. 5 seed,

today at 8 a.m.

Corona del Mar High sophomore-to-be Thomas Dialynas defeated Sage

Hill School’s Grant Gerdau, 6-0, 6-2, in boys 16s singles. Dialynas

faces CdM’s Parker Rhodes, the No. 7 seed, today at 6:30 p.m.

Also in boys 16s singles action, CdM sophomore-to-be John Leonard

defeated Newport Beach’s Andrew Singer, 6-4, 6-2, to advance into the

round of 32. Leonard plays No. 2 seed Michael Ramsey today at 6:30

p.m.

Newport Beach’s Alex Carlis defeated Connor Lipscomb, 3-6, 6-4,

6-0, in boys 12s singles. Carlis faces the No. 3 seed in Nicolas

Cummins today at 11 a.m.