Tennis and tea are perfect partners and they made the 121st Ojai Tournament memorable and unique. Over 1,500 players participated in the traditional event, which started in 1896. It is one of the oldest amateur tournaments in the country. The Southern California Tennis Association Foundation is proud to be an event sponsor.
The week-long competition takes place in the quaint town of Ojai, nestled between Ventura and Santa Barbara. The town has approximately 15,000 residents and it is known as a creative community including expert woodworkers, painters, ceramicists, sculptors and much more. It is also known as a tennis Mecca during one week each spring.
The Ojai Tennis Tournament was supported by about 500 local volunteers and it used about 7,000 Wilson tennis balls. Matches were played on 112 private and public courts throughout the extended areas. In addition, the tradition of serving orange juice started in the 1930’s, and this year it took more than a ton of oranges to provide that beverage to players and spectators.
Highlights include honoring six Ojai Wall of Fame stars. They were US Open champion Tracy Austin, 12 time Grand Slam champion Rosie Casals, former world No. 1 doubles player Rick Leach, legendary UCLA Men’s coach Billy Martin, three-time Grand Slam champion Peggy Michel and French Open doubles champion Pam Teeguarden.
While the off-court atmosphere was exciting, the on-court action proved to be incredible. The Pac-12 Men’s Team Championship went to USC, while Stanford won the Pac-12 Women’s title. The California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) celebrated the College of the Desert men’s team as both the Dual Team State Champion and they were the CCAAA Cumulative Team Champions. American River College won the CCCAA Women’s Dual Team title. (See the full list of finalists below.)
The Southern California Tennis Association Foundation is proud to stand behind this historic tournament,” said Linda Milan, the Executive Director for the SCTA Foundation. “It’s a great opportunity for players to compete in a one-of-a-kind environment. It’s also exciting to watch the some of the best young talent in action.”
Here are the tournament results:
- Pac-12 Men’s Team Championship: 1 USC d. No. 3 Utah, 4-2
- Pac-12 Women’s Team Championship: 1 Stanford d. No. 6 USC, 4-0
- Men’s Open Singles:(1) Karue Sell (Los Angeles) d. (2) Kent Hunter (Los Angeles, CA), 6-4, 6-3
- Men’s Open Doubles:Alex Fuchs (Los Altos, CA) / Emon van Loben Sels (Sacramento, CA) d. (1) Timothy Sah (San Diego, CA) / Christian Kontaxis (Rancho Mirage, CA), 6-3, 6-4
- Women’s Open Singles:(1) Chanel Simmonds (Redmond, WA) d. Leyden Games (Irvine, CA), 6-1, 6-2
- Women’s Open Doubles:(2) Isabella Asenov (Ojai, CA) / Makeilah Nepomuceno (Rosemead, CA) d. (1) Julie Silveira (Orinda, CA) / Christen Bartelt (Malibu, CA), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
- Boys’ CIF Singles: (2)James MacDonald (University HS-Irvine) d. (1) Niels Hoffmann (Corona del Mar HS), 6-4, 6-2
- Boys’ CIF Doubles:(2) Avery Tallakson / Brayden Tallakson (Woodbridge HS) d. Rex Harrison / Aden Dorros (The Bishop’s School), 6-4, 6-2
- Boys’ CIF Griggs Cup Team Champion:University (Irvine)
Boys’ 14s Singles: (1) JiHyuk Im (Irvine, CA) d. (2) Takuto Goh (Culver City, CA), 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 - Boys’ 16s Singles: (2) Lorenzo Brunkow (Topanga, CA) d. (1) Mario Garcia (San Diego, CA), 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3)
Girls’ 14s Singles:(5) Yuktaa Pandit (Fresno, CA) d. (2) Fiona Tseng (Beverly Hills, CA), 7-5, 6-3 - Girls’ 16s Singles:(1) Brooke Kwon (Diamond Bar, CA) d. (3) Raina Kim (Santa Monica, CA), 7-5, 1-6, 6-0
- Girls’ 18s Singles:(7) Armira Kockinis (La Habra Heights, CA) d. (3) Dongke Liu (Ojai, CA), 5-7, 7-6 (1), 6-4
- Girls’ 18s Doubles: (2) Stella Simpson-Morgan (Rolling Hills, CA) / Alisa Lansky (Redondo Beach, CA) d. Giana Mucci (Calabasas, CA) / Reagan Levine (Laguna Beach, CA), 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-4
- Men’s CCCAA Dual Team State Championship: College of the Desert d. American River College, 5-0
- Women’s CCCAA Dual Team State Championship: American River College d. Orange Coast College, 5-3
- Men’s CCCAA Singles:Joe Corse (College of the Desert) d. (8) Hernan Olivas (College of the Desert), 6-4, 6-0
- Men’s CCCAA Doubles:(4) Eita Ishikawa / Joe Corse (College of the Desert) d. Jinsei Tajima / Philemon Jabin (Ventura College), 4-6, 6-2, 10-4
- Men’s CCCAA Cumulative Ojai Team Champion:College of the Desert
- Women’s California Community College Athletic Association Singles:(2) Nicole West (Santa Monica College) d. (4) Hana Moss (College of the Desert), 6-2, 1-6, 6-1
- Women’s California Community College Athletic Association Doubles:(2) Hana Moss / Emunah Daffon (College of the Desert) d. (4) Anna Kynclova / Lia Sarjveladze (LA Mission College), 3-6, 6-2, 10-5
- Women’s CCCAA Cumulative Ojai Team Champion:Orange Coast College
*Appreciation to the Ojai Tennis Tournament, which contributed to this report. For more info on the event, CLICK HERE.
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About the Southern California Tennis Association Foundation:
We are a 501c3 nonprofit organization and is the charitable arm of USTA Southern California. The Foundation’s mission is to “Change lives and build communities through tennis.” Since 2020, the SCTA Foundation has had a community impact of giving over $1million in tennis grants and tennis scholarships to deserving youth, adults, tennis organizations, tennis facilities and tennis programs to make tennis an equal opportunity sport, accessible to all, regardless of age, ability, ethnicity, or economic background. Visit us on Social Media on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. To learn more about the SCTA Foundation go to: www.sctafoundation.org. To donate go to: sctafoundation.org/donate/ or https://secure.qgiv.com/for/sctfougivtue.