NEWPORT BEACH — The top seeds for singles and doubles in the Corona del Mar regional advanced without much of a threat on Monday in the opening rounds of CIF-SS Individuals Championships.
Laguna Hills junior Alex Valenstein and University’s doubles pairing of Danielle Pham and Yuki Asami each had no trouble winning two matches to advance.
Four singles players and four doubles teams advanced out of the bracket to the Round of 32 on Dec. 3 at Whittier Narrows Tennis Center in South El Monte, though some of those who advanced could receive a bye to the Round of 16 on Dec. 4 at Seal Beach Tennis Center. Three-quarters of the players who advanced out of the regional at Corona del Mar High School came from the Pacific Coast League and South Coast League.
After a first-round bye, the top-seeded Valenstein defeated El Dorado’s Brandy Walker and Savanna’s Jackie Acosta in straight sets. Valenstein advanced to the quarterfinals of individuals last year in doubles with teammate Mikey Barthelmass.
Pham and Asami won two 6-0 sets against Garden Grove’s Julie Quach and Codie Pham and gave up just one game in a win over Canyon’s Lauren Candia and Justine Phillips.
University’s Kyla Scott and Celine Gruaz also advanced through the doubles bracket with wins over Siv Chevvuri and Justine Wu of Cerritos and Kaitlyn Nguyen and Amy Huang of Tesoro. University sophomore Alyssa Rudin, who entered individuals as the Pacific Coast League alternate when Woodbridge’s Stephanie Hazell withdrew, defeated Santa Margarita freshman Katie Chang in straight sets to move on to next week.
The South Coast League advanced two singles players — Dana Hills’ Margo Pletcher and A.J. Gomer — and Tesoro’s doubles team of Layla Rodriguez and Justine Huang.
Canyon’s pairing of Amanda Zuidema and Helena Bui — the Comanches’ top two singles players most of the season — also advanced through the bracket, defeating teams from Yorba Linda and Laguna Beach.
There were 22 singles players and 24 doubles teams in total at Corona del Mar on Monday.
