Weston ‘Constructs’ Winning Run at Seascape
Brad Weston strapped on a hard hat and hammered out a first-place finish in the $1,500 Seascape Granite Construction Wildcard Championship on July 10, drilling doubles partner and current NorCal No. 1 Chris Wettengel in the final 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.
Weston’s victory at Seascape Sports Club, his third against Wettengel — IT’s ‘08 NorCal Open Player of the Year — helped earn him one of four wildcards in the Comerica Challenger Wildcard Qualifier and a 3-1 record against Wettengel this season.
“This year proved to be one of the best finals we have ever had pitting the No. 1 and No. 2 players in NorCal against each other,” said Seascape director of tennis Rick Kepler. “It was truly what the event was designed for. The idea has been to give a deserving local person in NorCal a wildcard into the event and we did.”
Weston — Seascape’s resident pro — topped Lafayette’s Hunter Gallaway in the quarters 6-2, 6-3, then advanced to the finals after Xavier Smith of Tulare withdrew with an injury. The 27-year-old Australian-born Weston, who competed in the Challenger in ‘04, fell to fellow Australian Marinko Matosevic in the first round of the $75,000 Comerica Challenger, 6-4, 6-4. Weston is currently ranked No. 2 in NorCal’s men’s Open division.
New Faces Highlight 109th Cal Open at Seascape
Reaching the finals of the Cal Open wasn’t even the highlight of 15-year-old Janet Liu first-ever trip to the Seascape Sports Club-hosted event.
“That was the first time I’ve ever had a linesperson,” Liu said with a smile.
The Palo Alto H.S. junior, seeded fourth in the 109th Cal Open, dropped just eight games en route to the final, before falling to Nirupama Sanjeev 6-0, 6-2.
“I could’ve challenged her more, but I was really nervous,” Liu said.
Liu got used to the nerves — and linespeople — in the doubles draw, cruising to a straight-set 6-0, 6-2 win with 16-year-old partner Marietta Tuionetoa over No. 1-seeded Tracy Houk/Judy Newman-Rakela.
“It was a nice surprise,” Liu said. “Especially playing in my first Cal Open.”
The Palo Alto native ousted a pair of No. 2 seeds on her way to the back-to-back finals appearances, dropping second-seeded Marisue Jacutin-Mariona 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals of the women’s singles open draw, and No. 2 Amelia Escalante and Alyssa Roberg in a 6-2, 6-2 sweep in a doubles semis affair.
“New faces were the spotlight of this years’ tournament,” said Seascape Sports Club director of tennis Rick Kepler. “Experience prevailed in the finals, which has been the case several times in the Cal Open. It is either fiery youth or experience that takes the title every time.”
Sanjeev, a former six-time Indian national champ, only lost four games the entire tournament – which she has been playing in since the age of 15.
Courtside Clubbers Head to Postseason
Seventeen of the Courtside Club’s 24 adult USTA teams reached the local league playoffs this summer, five of which recently advanced to the NorCal Adult District Championships. Courtside’s women’s 2.5 team (captained by Lisa Zoufonoun), women’s 4.5 team (Erin Green), men’s 3.0 team (Klaus Schumann), men’s 4.5 team (Matt Thornton) and men’s 5.0 team (Rich Smith) all reached the Districts.
The women’s 4.5 team is the lone undefeated team entering Districts for Courtside. Green’s team, co-captained by Faye Pairman, finished the season 12-0 and a dominant 2-0 casino online in the postseason with a pair of 5-0 bagels against Seascape Sports Club and Jewish Community Center. Grace Salapatek, Tanya Gacs, Brook Hartzell and Beverly Christensen all contributed singles wins, while Ellie Victor/Salapatek, Green/Susan Lynch, Gacs/Jane Solomon, Mary Gustafson/Victor, Green/Soloman and Hartzell/Micki Seibel all contributed doubles victories. The Courtside’s men’s 3.0 and men’s 4.5 squads also boast perfect 2-0 postseason records.
Almaden Valley AC Teams Advance to Districts
Three Almaden Valley Athletic Club USTA adult teams will head to the NorCal Adult District Championships this August, including the women’s 3.5 (co-captains Terrie Field, Laurie Selover) and 4.0 teams (Holly Rittiman, Sophie Heerinckx) and men’s 4.5 team (David Reveno, Arthur Labrador). The men’s 4.5 team enters Districts a sparkling 15-1 overall, including a 5-0 rout of Morgan Hill in their postseason opener and a brilliant 3-2 win over Santa Clara Golf and TC.
Reveno pitched in the lone singles win for AVAC against Santa Clara GTC, a 6-1, 6-1 straight-set victory, while Michael Baca and Lance Fors were 6-2, 6-4 winners in doubles, and David Kuo and Pauli Wang 7-5, 6-4 winners to seal the one-match win.
“The captains were really stepping up and making those teams work great,” said AVAC director of tennis Manual Fernandez. “The men’s 4.5 team is really strong, they really have had no challenge the entire season.”
Wheelchair Event a ‘Smash’ at Santa Clara
San Jose’s South Bay Smash wheelchair tennis team — coached by Bill Jacobson — hosted the ninth annual Golden State Challenge wheelchair Tournament at Santa Clara University, Aug. 1-2.
San Jose’s Don Bearden won the men’s Open division, while the Men’s A and B divisions were both conquered by women — Denise Esrey of Grass Valley and Marlene Alatorre of San Jose. San Jose’s Sharon Kelleher was the women’s Open singles winner, and San Jose’s Kate Sorensen won the women’s As. Palo Alto’s Zack Wentz, 16, won the junior division and the men’s Cs. Irvine’s Clay Brackett won the tournament’s sportsmanship award.
