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To say that the Courtside Tennis Club did all right in the Northern California Junior League playoffs late last month would be like saying that the Williams sisters are pretty good female tennis players—it just might be the understatement of the year.
Because the Williams sisters are great players, and the six Courtside teams were pretty great in the NorCal tournament held July 2831 at the Sunnyvale Tennis Center.
All six Courtside teams made the finals at the NorCal event, and three of the six teams won championships to qualify for the state finals Aug. 2324 at St. Mary's College in Moraga.
The girls 12, girls 15 and boys 12 teams were Northern California champions, while the boys 15, boys 18 and girls 18 teams lost in the finals—the 18-year-old teams by 5-4 scores.
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Contributed photograph
Girls 15 team members include (front row) assistant coach Anthony Carpio; (second row, from left) Sara Silberstein and Tiffany Nguyen; (back row, from left) Kelsey Marsh, coach Tim Sunderland, Emily Michaels, Sabina Anik, Roxy Pourmirazie, Vaiana Guittet, assistant coach Carla Nicholas and Chelsey Green. Not pictured is Nicole Low.
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The girls 15 team repeated as NorCal champs with a convincing 6-0 win over Fig Garden of Fresno. Rolling to victories for Courtside were Vianna Guittet (Los Gatos High School) 6-2, 6-2; Chelsea Green (Los Gatos) 6-1, 6-0; Sabina Anik (Homestead) 6-4, 6-2; Roxy Pourmirazie (Leland) 6-1, 6-3; Tiffany Nguyen (Kennedy Middle School) 6-0, 6-0; and Kelsey Marsh (Saratoga) 6-0, 6-2.
The Courtside girls 12 squad was also a repeat NorCal champion with a 6-0 whitewash against Gold River of Sacramento. Winning for the locals were Lyndsey Marsh (Redwood Middle School) 6-0, 6-0; Taylor Klein (Fisher) 6-0, 6-0; Kiersten Meehan (Fisher) 6-2, 4-6, 10-3; Katherine Torbov (St. Clare) 6-1, 6-1; Jamie Solomon (Hillbrook) 6-0, 6-1; and Jacqueline Scherr (El Torro) 6-1, 6-1.
Joining the cast of Courtside champs was the boys 12 team with a tight 5-4 win over Broadstone of Sacramento, the defending state champion. Jeff Liu and Matt Roberts were each double winners for the locals. Liu won 6-2, 7-6 (1) at No. 2 singles and Roberts won 6-2, 6-3 at No. 6. The two later combined for a 6-2, 6-0 victory at No. 3 doubles.
Eric Johnson chipped in with a win at No. 4 singles and Andrew Hsieh won at No.
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Contributed photograph
Boys 12 team members include (front row, from left) Tim Nguyen, Garrett Taylor, Kevin Brogan and Jim Castellanos; (second row, from left) Eric Johnson, Mike McGinnis, Matt Roberts, Eugene Trelsnick and Andrew Hsieh; (back row, from left) assistant coach Carla Nicholas, Toki Sherbakov, Jeff Liu, Brandon Chang and coach Tim Sunderland.
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The Courtside boys 18 team lost a 5-4 heartbreaker to R.F.C. of Davis, with four of the five losses coming in three-set matches.
Joe Scott (Leland) won at No. 3 and Neil Bhalerao (Harker) won at No. 6. The two came back with a victory at No. 2 doubles. Victor Larsson (Los Gatos) and Mike Wu (Lynbrook) won at No. 3 doubles. But Larsson and Wu each lost three-set decisions in singles play, and Steve Richards (Leland) lost in three sets at No. 2 singles. Daniel Solomon (West Valley College) also lost at No. 1 singles and lost a three-setter at No. 1 doubles with Richards.
There was also a tough 5-4 loss for the Courtside girls 18 squad, losing to Clovis. Katrina Lebedeva (Los Gatos) and Katie Wittwer (Saratoga) each won in singles play and they teamed for a win at No. 2 doubles.
Anna Yamashita (Westmont) came through with a win at No. 4 singles, but she and Alicia Hull (Los Gatos) lost at No. 1 doubles. Hull, Liz Weeker (St. Francis) and Vanessa Erskine (St. Francis) all lost in singles play, and Weeker and Augustina Allede lost in doubles.
In the boys 15 final, Courtside lost 6-3 to Alpine Hills. Pat Brogan (Los Gatos) won at No. 1 singles, and he teamed with Kurt Chong for a win at No. 1 doubles. Jack Mohr (St. Martin's) picked up a win at No. 5 singles.
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Contributed photograph