June 1, 2022

The highly anticipated debut of the SoCal Pro Circuit began in earnest Tuesday with the Rancho Santa Fe Open kicking off first-round main draw play in singles and doubles on the heels of concluding its men’s and women’s singles qualifying at Rancho Santa Fe Tennis Club.

Among the players with Southern California ties who qualified for the singles main draws at the Rancho Santa Fe Open were Valencia native and Thousand Oaks resident Jordyn McBride, Santa Monica resident Micheline Aubuchon, Laguna Beach native Kelly Keller and San Diego State ace Joe Tyler.

McBride, who just completed her sophomore season with West Coast Conference runner-up University of San Diego, was a 6-1, 6-4 winner over Midori Castillo Meza. Keller, who just finished her junior year playing for the University of Arkansas, defeated Isabella Tcherkes Zade, 6-4, 6-3. Aubuchon, a 25-year-old past standout at Loyola Marymount, eked out a 6-3, 5-7, 10-5 (third-set tiebreaker) victory over Juliette Daries.

On the men’s singles qualifiers, Englishman and San Diego State graduate student Tyler held off Zheng Qing Ji, 6-3 6-7 (5-7), 10-7. Just across the United States border from San Diego, Tijuana, Mex. native Lucas Gomez qualified in singles after rallying to defeat Jared Thompkins, 3-6 7-5, 10-4 (third-set tiebreaker). The 26-year-old Gomez has played for the Mexican Davis Cup team.

Fresh off of completing his storied collegiate career at the University of San Diego with a berth in the 2022 NCAA Division I men’s singles championship match in Champaign, Ill. on Saturday, outgoing senior August Holmgren embarked on his professional career on the SoCal Pro Circuit on Tuesday. The USD Toreros No. 1 partnered with Alexander Cozbinov as the No. 2 seed in the men’s doubles event to dispatch San Diego County teenager Trevor Svajda and Zheng Qing Ji, 6-1, 6-1, in the first round. Holmgren-Cozbinov is the highest seed remaining after top-seeded Felix Corwin and Ajeet Rai were knocked off by Abraham Asaba and Mitchell Harper, 6-2, 6-3.

San Diego County natives who also advanced to the men’s doubles quarterfinals on Tuesday include Del Mar resident Bryce Nakashima (the teenage brother of top-75 ATP Tour standout Brandon Nakashima), who partnered with Yuta Kikuchi for a 6-1, 6-4 triumph; Cornell University senior and past Easter Bowl junior champion Alafia Ayeni, who teamed with Hillel Rousseau for a 6-1, 6-1 win; and former Torrey Pines High School standout Jacob Brumm, who earned a narrow 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4) result alongside partner Tadeas Paroulek.

Holmgren opens his singles account today against top-seeded Corwin, and Irvine resident Gage Brymer – a past CIF-Southern Section Individual champion at Irvine University High School who won the CIF Boys championship at the famed Ojai Tennis Tournament three years in a row – is the event’s No. 2 seed in the singles event.

Riding the momentum and confidence of a stellar collegiate season where he came within one set of bringing home a first national collegiate title to USD’s men’s program on Saturday, Holmgren has committed to playing all three San Diego County events within the SoCal Pro Circuit. While he acknowledged he’ll have to get used to coping with more defeat on the pro circuit, he did not hesitate in setting his expectations for the next three weeks.

“I want to win all of them,” Holmgren firmly stated.

In Tuesday’s first round of women’s doubles, 21-year-old San Diego resident and Serra High School alumna Haley Giavara, who just completed her junior season at Cal, and UCLA product Elysia Bolton form the draw’s top seed. The dynamic duo scored a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Makenna Jones and Sophie Luescher and advance to a quarterfinal matchup with Orange, Calif. native and University of San Diego junior Solymar Colling and Claudia de las Heras Armenteras, who ousted Shria Atturu and Deniza Marcinkevica, 2-6, 6-2, 10-7 (third-set tiebreaker).

Weekend semifinals and finals matches will live-stream and commentating will be done by Cracked Racquets and popular podcaster Alex Gruskin. Tennis Channel has also partnered with the SoCal Pro Circuit and will be providing coverage on their various digital platforms.

To learn more about the SoCal Pro Circuit, go to www.ustasocal.com/procircuit;

Like the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SoCalProCircuit;

Follow along on Instagram: @SoCalProCircuit

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