Red-hot opponent

Steve Virgen

The best way to describe Cierra Gaytan-Leach’s loss to Jordaan

Sanford Friday would be to use, perhaps fittingly, a Michael Jordan

reference.

When the NBA legend would catch fire, there was hardly anything

anyone could do to put it out. The top-seeded Sanford was

Jordanesque, and the unseeded Gaytan-Leach could not prevent her from

winning the girls 12s singles championship, 6-1, 6-1, in the 102nd

Southern California Tennis Association junior sectional championships

at the Los Caballeros Racquet and Sports Club in Fountain Valley.

It also didn’t help that Gaytan-Leach played her worst match of

the tournament, she said. But that did not deter Sanford’s victory,

as she controlled the match by moving Gaytan-Leach side to side and

away from where she would want to go.

However, Gaytan-Leach appeared pleased with her overall

performance in the junior sectional championships, which included a

thrilling semifinal victory over Kaitlyn Christian, 7-6 (8-6), 6-7

(5-7), 7-6 (7-5), Thursday.

“At the end of that match, I was very tired, but happy that I

won,” said Gaytan-Leach, who defeated Sanford of Rancho Cucamonga,

6-4, 7-6, in the Los Caballeros designated tournament in September.

“If I would have lost that semifinal, I would have been mad.”

Gaytan-Leach, the granddaughter of Newport Beach Breakers Coach

Dick Leach, was not seeded in the junior sectionals because she has

played just two tournaments in the girls 12s singles. She needs to

compete in five tourneys in that division to earn a seed. She played

two more matches than Sanford.

Gaytan-Leach, who will be an eighth-grader at Corona del Mar

Junior High and plans to go to CdM High in 2005, has been playing in

the girls 14s singles. She also played up in doubles, competing with

Catherine Isip in the girls 18s of the junior sectionals.

Gaytan-Leach, who also excels in golf, has also found success in

doubles with partner Tiffany Mai. Gaytan-Leach will team with Mai to

compete in the Long Beach national open Monday. Gaytan-Leach will

also compete in girls 16s singles.

She, along with Isip, won their fourth tennis title together,

winning the girls 12s doubles crown in a United States Tennis

Association national open at the Upland Tennis Club in May.

Sanford has also been brilliant in tournaments, recently winning

three straight, the Anaheim designated, USTA nationals and the Roxy

Junior national championships, before collecting another title

Friday.

In the junior sectional championships Sanford lost just two games,

leading up to her semifinal match against Lacey Smith of Oceanside.

Sanford defeated Smith, 7-5, 1-6, 6-4. She said she was nervous and

tight during the match. But she was different against Gaytan-Leach.

“She was consistent,” Gaytan-Leach said of Sanford. “She played

well, but I think I made too many errors.”