Walters, Hogan clash today

Newport Beach residents Ali Walters and Hailey Hogan advanced to the girls’ 18 doubles semifinals Thursday at the 106th annual Southern California Junior Sectionals tennis tournament.

Walters, a UCLA-bound Newport Beach resident and part of the top-seeded team with Alison Ramos, advanced to the Round of 16 when their scheduled opponents withdrew due to illness. Walters and Ramos then defeated Estancia High senior-to-be Ellie Edles and partner Stefanie Villajuan of La Mirada, 6-2, 6-1, in a quarterfinal.

Edles and Villajuan, the No. 9 seeds, had outlasted No. 5-seeded Jessica Harrow of La Crescenta and Marie Zalameda of Los Angeles, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, in an earlier Round of 16 match Thursday.

Walters and Ramos will play Corona del Mar High junior-to-be Hailey Hogan and partner Sarah Lee today at 5 p.m. in a semifinal at Los Caballeros Racquet and Sports Club in Fountain Valley.

Hogan and Lee are another No. 5-seeded team in the block seeding format. They advanced via deault in the Round of 16. Then, Hogan and Lee outlasted No. 4-seeded Brynn Boren and Kristina Smith of Laguna Niguel, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, in a quarterfinal.

Newport Beach resident Austin Di Giulio and CdM resident Garrett Kurtz also advanced in boys’ 10 singles.

No. 9-seeded Di Giulio topped Trevor Faulk of La Jolla, 6-2, 6-1, in the Round of 32. He will play top-seeded Maxwell Cancilla of Huntington Beach in the Round of 16, today at 3:45 p.m. at Woodbridge Tennis Club in Irvine.

Kurtz also advanced from the Round of 32 when his opponent withdrew. He will face No. 5-seeded Konrad Kozlowski of Irvine today at 2 p.m., at Woodbridge TC.

A pair of locals also fell in the boys’ 18 doubles Round of 16. Chris Freeman of Costa Mesa, who attends Mater Dei High, and Santa Barbara’s Billy Grokenberger were the No. 4 seeds. They were upset by No. 9-seeded Daniel Faierman of Del Mar and Alex Yermanos of Encinitas, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5.

Newport Beach resident Henri Chomeau, a recent Mater Dei graduate, and partner Kevin Cox of Anaheim also lost in the Round of 16.

Freeman will be in Round of 32 play today in boys’ 18 singles, as will No. 4-seeded, UC Irvine-bound Fabian Matthews.

No. 4-seeded Joseph Di Giulio, last year’s boys’ 12s champion, also has a boys’ 14 singles Round of 32 match today. Other local boys still in the hunt include Costa Mesa resident James Zillman and Newport Coast resident Max Pham.

On the girls’ side, locals Walters, Cierra Gaytan-Leach, Melissa Matsuoka, Hogan and Julia Blakeley remain.

— From staff reports