Aaron/Battistone Win Salvation Army Crestmont Doubles Tennis Tournament
Trent Aaron and half of last year’s championship doubles team, Dann Battistone, captured the third annual Salvation Army Crestmont Classic Doubles Tennis Tournament held at the picturesque Peninsula Racquet Club in Rancho Palos Verdes.
Aaron/Battistone beat Eric Basica/Alex Reichel 7-6 (5), 6-4, to win the men’s Open and first-place prize money. Judy DeVera/Dianne Matias defended their doubles title for the women’s open title.
The proceeds will be used to benefit the Salvation Army for Officer Training at Crestmont College “Fund for Excellence” program. The tournament was run by Rob Fronauer and Keith Oshiro.
Other winners: M4.0-4.5: Tim Hindman/Mike Hirt; 3.0-3.5: Ryan Majerus/Alfonso Pinillo; W4.5-4.0: Hatsumi Nakagawa/Chiyoko Hora; 4.0: Christy Hughes/Sheila Parker; 3.5: Kimie Takahashi/Chiemi Wada; 3.0: Natasha Calomese/ Tanya Drawer.
USTA $50,000 Carson Pro Challenger in May
John Lansville will run his second USTA Pro Challenger of the year come May 25-31 when he hosts the men’s and women’s $50,000 USTA Challenger at the Home Depot Center in Carson. At the end of January, Wayne Odesnik posted a 6-4, 6-4 win over Scoville Jenkins to take home the $7,200 prize money and 75 ATP tour points.
The tournament, a partnership effort between the SCTA, AEG and the USTA, begins with qualifying May 22-24 with the main draw running May 25-31. This year’s tournament is once again being sponsored by the L.A. Tennis Open on the men’s side and East West Bank on the women’s side.
Admission is free and the SCTA will host a Kid’s Day on semifinal Saturday.
UCLA Bruins Stick in Top 10
The No. 9 UCLA women’s team got straight-set wins from its bottom three singles players to pull out a tight 4-3 victory over No. 14 Arizona State and move its record to 13-2 on the season.
UCLA actually owned a 4-0 lead in the contest before Arizona State rallied to take the final three singles matches. The bottom-half of the Bruin lineup came up big, accounting for all three of the team’s singles wins. After capturing the doubles point, UCLA’s Carling Seguso (court No. 6), Ashley Joelson (court No. 5) and Nina Pantic (court No. 4) were all victorious in straight sets to give the Bruins an insurmountable 4-0 advantage.
The ninth-ranked UCLA men’s team swept the doubles and then won five of six singles matches to post a 6-1 victory over Hawaii. With the win, the Bruins improved to 9-4 on the season. The match marked the first-ever meeting between the two schools. UCLA jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with wins on all three doubles courts. The doubles point was clinched at the No. 3, when Amit Inbar/Harel Srugo downed Craig Faulk/Sascha Heinemann, 8-4.
In singles, Inbar, Nick Meister and Matt Brooklyn ended up clinching the win. Holden Seguso and Michael Look also posted wins.
Huebner New Manager at Riviera
John Huebner, the new tennis club manager at the Riviera CC, has deep family roots in Southern California tennis. Huebner replaces Kim Perino, who recently accepted a job in Dallas, Texas. Huebner worked formerly at the Silver Creek Valley CC in NORCAL.
Huebner, who played at the University of San Francisco, is originally from Fresno. His sister, Karin, was a four-year letter winner at UCLA (вЂ80-’83) and she helped the Bruins to the AIAW national title in вЂ81. Thirty years earlier, Karin and John’s father, Larry, also served as the Bruins’ team captain and led the team to the вЂ53 national championship.
In just two short months, Huebner has arranged practice sessions for Serena Williams and participated in a clinic with the Bryan Bros. and Justin Gimelstob. Pete Sampras will join Gimelstob in another clinic for adult and junior members in May. “So far, so good,” Huebner said. “It’s been really exciting. It’s a lot of work but there’s never a dull moment around here.”
Huebner will rely heavily on the services of tennis director Pam Austin, who continues in her duties and will help ease Huebner’s transition at Riviera.
Brady Tennis Camps Earn Top 25 Ranking
Brady Tennis Camps have been named in the Top 25 in the world according to rankings released recently from tennisresortsonline.com and are celebrating 20 years of adult and junior camps this year.
Brothers Kevin and Kip Brady got the idea for starting the camps all those years ago from their mother Elaine, who conducted cheerleading camps. Kevin was an NAIA All-American in college and Kip an NCAA All-American at UC Santa Barbara. In 20 years, more than 5,000 adults and 4,000 juniors have experienced the Brady Tennis Camp.
The two-week family camps recently started a weekend family tennis retreat. Sister Kara and the Brady’s father, Virgil, also participate. “Maybe because it’s a family business that we want to always put our best into our camps,” Kip said. “In 20 years, we’ve had many repeat campers that we have gotten to know. It’s fun to see them at camps, see how their games have improved, or just to see friendly, familiar faces.”
The Brady’s currently offer camps year-round in L.A., Indian casino pa natet Wells, Santa Barbara, and La Costa. For info, go to bradycamps.com.
Trojan Warrior: Toley Book Published
College tennis fans will learn all about the life of one of coaching’s legendary figures in The Golden Age of College Tennis: A USC Coach’s Unique Contributions to the Game. The autobiography of Trojan men’s coach George Toley was recently released and was written by longtime sportswriter Joe Jares, a personal friend of Toley’s. The book chronicles the impressive career of the late Toley, who led USC to 10 NCAA team championships during his career.
Following each of the book’s 10 chapters, Toley provides some tennis-playing tips that shed light on his coaching knowledge and style. Toley, a member of the Collegiate Tennis and USC Athletic Halls of Fame, died on March 1, 2008, at age 91. He read the book’s final manuscript prior to his passing.
The 208-page softcover book, which includes photos of Toley throughout his career, was published by The Americas Group. It is available by contacting the publisher directly at hrmg@mac.com.
Long Beach State”s Dallara Red Hot
Long Beach State’s Anais Dallara was named the Big West Player of the Week after posting a 4-0 week in two key conference matches. Dallara, a freshman from Gagnes, France, extended her singles winning streak to nine straight wins with victories at No. 4 singles against No. 27 UC Irvine and No. 75 Cal Poly. Additionally, she picked up doubles wins over Cal Poly and UC-Irvine, helping the 49ers take the doubles point in both matches.
Her success helped the 49ers improve to 5-0 in conference play after two 5-2 wins. Dallara becomes the second 49er honored this season, joining Hannah Grady, who earned the accolade earlier this year.
USC Rebounds
The No. 13 USC men’s tennis freshman Matt Kecki clinched a tight match with visiting No. 30 Texas Tech leading the Trojans to victory. In a classic three-set battle with the team score knotted at 3-3, the Sacramento-area player pulled out the win putting the Trojans’ record at 11-3.
USC was coming off a tight 4-3 loss to UCLA. Against the Red Raiders, the nation’s top player Robert Farah helped his team rebound after losing the doubles point with a resounding win at No. 1 singles. He beat No. 45 Raony Carvalho, 6-1, 6-4, to make it a 1-1 match.
Like the men, the No. 10 Women of Troy rebounded strong after a tough 4-3 loss to crosstown rival UCLA. They did it in a big way with a 5-2 win over No. 14 Arizona State, despite losses by the top two in singles: Maria Sanchez and Sarah Fansler. Ranked No. 15 in the nation, Sanchez fell to No. 3 nationally ranked Kelcy McKenna, 6-2, 6-4. But USC got wins at the 3-6 positions all in straight sets by Amanda Fink, Gabriela Niculescu, Alison Ramos and Leyla Entekhabi.
