The first Adult Sectionals of 2024 kicked off on April 19th as more than 500 players met in Orange County for three days of competition. Teams from all thirteen areas were represented over five divisions of Mixed 18 & Over league play. The first two days of qualifying matches took place at both Great Park Tennis Center and Costa Mesa Tennis Center, with championship matches taking place Sunday solely at Great Park.

Winners from every division secured a spot at the highly coveted 2024 USTA National Championships, which is scheduled to take place November 1-3. The 6.0, 8.0, and 10.0 teams are set to compete at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex in Surprise, Arizona, while the 7.0 and 9.0 teams will face off in Orlando, Florida, at the USTA National Campus.

In qualifiers, match formats varied throughout divisions with 6.0 and 9.0 teams playing three unflighted matches, 7.0 and 8.0 teams playing flighted matches, and 10.0 teams playing a round robin. Three lines of doubles were played in each match to determine the victor. 

6.0 MIXED

Remaining undefeated throughout the weekend, Orange County captured the championship in the 6.0 division. Captained by Deping Liu and Michael Gu, the team out of Lower Peters Canyon Park had themselves a very impressive tournament. In the squad’s three qualifying matches, they secured victory in each by a score of 2-1, downing teams from San Diego, San Gabriel Valley and Los Angeles in order. 

With the top two teams advancing to the championship on Sunday, Orange County found itself once again facing off against San Diego, who compiled a record of 2-1 in qualifiers. Only losing to OC prior to the finale, the SD bunch led by Joseph Kemery and Michael Chaiwimol took down teams from Beach Cities and San Fernando Valley, each by a final of 2-1. In the championship match, OC made sure they would not leave empty handed, completing a clean sweep over SD by a final of 3-0. 

7.0 MIXED

Bringing home another title to its area, Orange County would once again be victorious, taking home the 7.0 championship. With Michael Gu at the helm, the team from Heritage Park Community Center was dominant. Broken into three flights, OC found itself in a pool with teams from Ventura, Antelope Valley and Central Coast. The OC squad would take down all three of its opponents handedly in qualifiers, not dropping an individual match or set throughout. 

In the team’s first playoff match against a 2-1 Los Angeles crew, OC kept its winning ways alive, completing another clean sweep. With this victory, the championship match was set between OC and San Gabriel Valley. This finale boasted a battle of two undefeated teams, as neither conceded an individual match the entire tournament to that point. In a heavily contested affair, OC got the best of Colin Tang’s SGV squad, taking home the gold by a score of 2-1. 

8.0 MIXED

Clinching its first title of the season, San Gabriel Valley took home the hardware in the 8.0 division. Captained once again by Colin Tang, the group from Arroyo High School were too much for their opposition. In qualifying rounds, SGV was bracketed into a pool with teams from Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Bakersfield. Going 3-0, the squad did not drop an individual match within the qualifiers and earned their spot as a top seed in the playoffs. 

In the first match of playoffs, Tang’s squad took on a familiar opponent in the form of another team from the same area. Facing off against Laurie Manley’s SGV squad, Tang’s team kept their undefeated streak alive, clinching victory again by a score of 3-0. Winning their semifinal match, SGV was thrust into the finals. 

In a rematch of the 7.0 championship, OC and SGV would meet once again, this time however with a different outcome. Leading up to the match, the OC group captained by Lee Nguyen and Kristina Ebon were exceptional, compiling a record of 4-0 and only dropping one individual match throughout play. In the finale, Tang would get his revenge, leading his squad to a 2-1 victory and its first championship of the weekend. 

9.0 MIXED

Playing in the 9.0 division, the San Diego team from Martin Luther King Park were crowned champions. With Joseph Reyes and Cynthia Herrera at the forefront, SD claimed its first championship of the 2024 campaign. In qualifying matches, the group took on teams from Ventura and Orange County, besting all three by scores of 2-1. 

Claiming the top seed entering playoffs, SD was matched up once again with the OC team out of iTennis La Habra. In the semifinals, history would repeat itself, with SD once again claiming victory by a score of 2-1. With a win away from glory, the Beach Cities crew out of El Segundo Recreation & Parks stood in San Diego’s path. Captained by Jarrod Quan and Abhinauv Venugopal, BC compiled a 2-1 record in the qualifying rounds before upsetting an undefeated SGV squad in the playoffs. In a back and forth finale, SD would cap off their undefeated tournament, taking down BC by a final of 2-1. 

10.0 MIXED

Going unbeaten with an impressive 11-1 record in individual match play, San Diego would once again secure the championship, this time in the 10.0 division. With five teams making the trip to Orange County, round robin play commenced to determine the ultimate victor. 

In the squad’s first three matches of the weekend, they did not drop a single individual match. In doing so, SD downed two teams from Beach Cities and one from Los Angeles. With the opposition mathematically unable to make up ground in the championship race, SD clinched their title in just three matches. Finishing the weekend, SD defeated the team out of Orange County by a score of 2-1. This victory marked the second of the weekend for teams from the area, and the first for captains Deborah Lee and Oluwatobi Ojo. Ending the event with a record of 3-1, the Beach Cities team led by Jarrod Quan were crowned as finalists. 

SPIRIT AWARD

USTA Southern California would like to congratulate Beach Cities 7.0 squad as they have been chosen as winners of our first SoCal spirit award of the year. Voted on via social media, the group out of Manhattan Country Club was chosen as the team that exuded the most SoCal spirit over the weekend, doing so by sporting an impressive display of the section’s color of 2024, purple.