Ojai One of 3 Finalists for Best Tennis Town In America
Ojai is one of three finalists in a competition sponsored by the U.S. Tennis Association for the title of best tennis town in America and a $100,000 prize. Independence, Kan., and Midland, Mich., are the other finalists. The winner will be announced Sept. 6 at the U.S. Open.
There were 56 entrants and 10 semifinalists were chosen from nationwide Internet voting. The winner will not only have bragging rights of being the 2009 best tennis town title, but $100,000 to be used for tennis facilities or programs. The second and third prize winners will receive $50,000 and $25,000, respectively Ojai, of course, is knows for its annual amateur tournament held since the 1890s. Ojai has 64 tennis courts in a community of 8,200 residents.
28th Avila Bay Juniors
The 14s had all the drama at the 28th annual Avila Bay Club Junior summer event as Grace Jacobs beat Kayla Day 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (5) to win the girls’ 14s and Eli Whittle also needed a final-set tiebreaker to down Morgan Hale, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (5).
Other results: Boys’ 18s: Sam Rodgers def. Connor Karen 1-6, 4-5 Ret (inj); 16s: Daymon Johhnson def. Joshua Barnard 6-0, 6-3; 12s: Anthony Baltazar def. Noah Cleere 3-6, 7-6 best online casino (4), 6-2; Kaleb Johnson won the 10s round robin; Girls’ 18s: Ane McPike def. Mackinzie McKeown 6-1, 6-2; 16s: Victoria Troesch def. Sophia Whittle 6-4, 2-6, 7-5; 12s: Hailey Kayatta def. Madison Hale 7-6 (4), 6-1; Sedona Gallagher won the 10s round robin.
Santa Maria Open Sept. 5-7
The Santa Maria Open will once again attract some top players from up and down the coast and will be played at the Santa Maria Country Club Sept. 5-7. The entry deadline closes Aug. 21.
“We are hoping to attract some big names again this year,” said tournament director Darien Wright, who added that up to $20,000 will be given out in prize money and age-group divisions will be offered. Entrance fees include a T-shirt, a five-star Cheese & Wine event on Saturday evening and Strawberries and Cream on Sunday. Call (805) 937-3222.
Oceanside Tennis Opens
Dimitar Yazadzhiev and Adrian Lopez have teamed up at one of Santa Barbara’s most beautiful resorts to start Oceanside School of Tennis with the hopes of adding to the already tradition-rich tennis area.
The school located at Fess Parker’s Doubletree Spa & Resort is currently enrolling players for its Junior Tennis Academy program and Lopez feels it is just a matter of time before word gets out that the area’s top players are training fulltime at Oceanside. “Santa Barbara has such a rich tennis tradition and we just want to continue that,” Lopez said. “We want to bring the academy feel to Santa Barbara. Players can either choose to train with us as boarding or non-boarding students.”
Lopez was formerly the director of tennis at the Cathedral Oaks Tennis Club and the Ojai Valley Racquet Club. He has over 25 years of teaching experience and is considered one of SoCal’s top coaches. Yazadzhiev spent the past 10 years as the head coach at the Weil Tennis Academy in Ojai. He has been a Bulgarian national coach and worked with the Bulgarian Tennis Federation. He has lived in California since ‘99.
“We want to build a great program,” said Yazadzhiev, who stressed there is a special emphasis on fitness. “There are already great players in Santa Barbara and we feel we can make them even better if they come and train with us.”
Nationally ranked juniors Chase Melton, Sasha Granov and Christian Edstrom are currently training at Oceanside and the school of tennis is endorsed and recommended by Grigor Dimitrov, the former Junior Wimbledon and U.S. Open champ who Yazadzhiev has coached. Log onto: www.sbschooloftennis.com or call (805) 746-3644.
