Two locals in top three at USTA event

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Two locals in top three at USTA event|TENNIS:...

Corona del Mar resident Cierra Gaytan-Leach continued her impressive summer, finishing second in girls’ 16 doubles at the United States Tennis Assn. national hardcourt championships completed Sunday in San Diego.

Gaytan-Leach, paired with Tayler Davis from San Jose as the No. 2 seed, fell in the title match, 6-1, 6-2, to No. 4-seeded Lauren Embree from Marco Island, Fla. and Rachel Saiontz from Miami, Fla.

Cosa Mesa resident Nelly Radeva, playing with Sarah Guzick from Greer, S.C., finished third in the girls’ 16 doubles.

Unseeded Radeva and Guzick upset top-seeded Chelcie Abajian of Hawthorne, N.Y. and Hilary Bartlett of New York, N.Y., 6-4, 6-2, in the round of 16.

Radeva and Guzick topped Ryann Cutillo from Kings Park, N.Y. and Lauren McHale from Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 6-7, 6-4, 6-3, in the quarterfinals, before falling to Embree and Saiontz, 6-4, 6-4, in the semifinals.

Radeva and Guzick triumphed over Jacqueline Kasler from Gulf Breeze, Fla. And Alexandra Cercone from Seminole, Fla., 6-1, 6-4, in the third-place match.

Gaytan-Leach and Davis, who were playing up in the 16 division, topped Cerecone and Kasler, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, in the semifinals.

In the quarterfinals, Gaytan-Leach and Davis defeated another tandem of Floridians, Angela Chupa from Bradenton and Mary Clayton from Fort Lauderdale, 7-5, 6-1.