Friendswood’s Joann Karam won the girls’ 14-and-under singles championship at the Deer Park Junior Open tennis tournament.
Karam won four rounds in all, eventually upsetting Corpus Christi’s No. 4-seeded Emily Vela in the final, 6-0, 6-1.
Karam gave up only three games total, starting off the tournament with a 6-0, 6-1 first-round win over The Woodlands’ Grace Flink.
Then after receiving a default win over Spring’s No. 1-seeded Donnielle Jones in the quarterfinals, Karam proceeded to beat League City’s Audrey Le in the semifinals, 6-1, 6-0.
Le reached the semis with a pair of wins, beating Pasadena’s Thanh Nguyen in the first round, 6-4, 6-4, before upsetting Houston’s No. 3-seeded Heidi Wallour in the quarterfinals, 7-5, 3-6, (10-3).
Oh, Deer!
Falling a win short of also claiming a singles title at the Deer Park Junior Open tennis tournament was League City’s Elizabeth Le.
Le, competing in the girls’ 12s, collected three wins along the way before losing to Houston’s Janice Shin in the championship round, 6-4, 6-2.
Le first received a bye in the opening round, then upset Missouri City’s No. 2-seeded Taylor Ysaguirre in the quarterfinals, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), (10-3).
Later, in the semifinals, Le defeated League City’s Sydney Albro, 6-2, 6-1.
Albro advanced to the semis with a pair of three-set super-tiebreaker decisions.
Albro rallied past Corpus Christi’s Vanessa Vasquez in the first round, 3-6, 6-2, (10-8), then followed with a 4-6, 6-1, (13-11) nail-biter over Friendswood’s Sydney Chase in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, also advancing to the semifinals was League City’s Mariette Manuel by way of a first-round bye and a quarterfinal default win over Houston’s No. 1-seeded Mary Labanowski.
Manuel eventually lost to Shin, 6-3, 6-1.
Fantaziu-ic Finish
Also turning in a good showing in the girls’ 12s singles at the Deer Park Junior Open tennis tournament was Friendswood’s Cristina Fantaziu.
After losing a 6-4, 3-6, (10-5) marathon to Shin, the eventual champion, in the first round of the main draw, Fantaziu responded with four wins in the consolation draw, including a 6-2, 6-3 finals upset of Ysaguirre.
Fantaziu received a bye in the first round and followed with a 6-1, 6-3 quarterfinal win over Pearland’s Federica Cristofanilli.
Then in the semifinals, Fantaziu defeated Manuel, 6-3, 6-1.
Taking It Tiu The Limit
In the girls’ 18s doubles final, Friendswood’s Cindy and Mindy Tiu lost a three-set heartbreaker and had to settle for runners-up honors.
The Tius were beaten by Houston’s Jessi Crane and Pasadena’s Leah Smith in a 6-4, 2-6, (10-7) sudden-death thriller.
Just A Reminder
If high school student-athletes are planning to play for their respective tennis teams this fall or next spring, they need to get their school-issued physicals taken, if they have not done so already.
Seems Like Only Yesterday
The 25-year reunion planned for yours truly later this month is bringing back some impressive old names.
Committed to attending are former O’Connell and Ball High tennis standouts Kim Gaido and Suzanne Schwab-Radcliffe.
The all-day get-together for yours truly-coached O’Connell, Clear Lake and Dobie exes, featuring a doubles tournament in the morning and a dinner in the evening, will be held at Dobie High School, 10220 Blackhawk Blvd., in Houston, on Aug. 15, starting at 9 a.m.
Those wishing to participate and/or attend should call 2004 Dobie graduate and tennis team member Mark Bocado at 832-643-1363 or e-mail him at markbocado(at)gmail.com.
Tip Of The Day
So many shots are missed because you do not anticipate your opponent returning a potential winner back.
Therefore, do not relax during a point until it is officially won or lost.
Manuel Moreno Jr., head tennis coach at Pasadena J. Frank Dobie High School, is the Spring Branch Independent School District’s Denene Bammel and District 22-5A “Coach of the Year” for 2009. E-mail him at mmjtenicon(at)aol.com.
