117 netters participate in Fallbrook Winter Jr. Satellite

The 24th Annual Fallbrook Winter Junior Satellite Tournament was played Jan. 9-10 and Jan. 16-17 at the Fallbrook Tennis Club and drew 117 participants.

“It went very well,” said tournament organizer Dorothy Roth. “It went very smooth. Parents and players alike enjoyed the tournament.”

In addition to the championship elimination bracket, the Fallbrook Winter Junior Satellite Tournament includes a consolation bracket. “I like to give the kids at the satellite level the opportunity to have matches,” Roth said.

Some of the divisions were played in a round-robin format while others involved elimination brackets. All three doubles divisions saw round-robin play. Fallbrook players Bentley Acee and Eric Kuhlmann won the Boys 14 Doubles championship on the second tie breaking criteria of games won.

Murrieta’s David Ramirez and Bonsall’s Joey Willett had the same number of matches won and sets won as Acee and Kuhlmann and actually defeated the winners in the match between the two doubles teams, but Acee and Kuhlmann won more games throughout the tournament.

The match between the two top doubles teams saw Ramirez and Willett win in three sets, two of which were 7-6 results decided on a tie breaking game. Acee and Kuhlmann won the first set by a 6-4 score, so the opponents each won 18 games in that match. “It was very competitive,” Roth said.

Ramirez and Acee both played in lower age divisions during singles play. Ramirez won the Boys 10 Singles championship with a 6-4, 6-3 win in the finals over Fernando Santos of San Diego while Acee won the Boys 12 Singles consolation championship with a 7-5, 6-1 win against Dean Vo of San Diego in the finals.

Fernando and Leo Santos, who also live in San Diego, won the Boys 10 Doubles division. The Carlsbad duo of Carly Naslund and Victoria Zaks won the Girls 14 Doubles championship.

Two of the girls singles divisions were also decided on round-robin results. Bonsall’s Michaela Johnson won the Girls 18 Singles title and Temecula’s McKenna Wessells was the Girls 12 Singles winner.

Temecula’s Kelsey Stockton won the Girls 16 Singles championship with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Nicole Sadowsky of Rancho Santa Fe in the finals. Danielle Devor of San Diego defeated Zaks by 6-2 and 6-0 margins in the Girls 14 Singles championship match. Skyler Drapeau of San Diego won the Girls 10 Singles division with a pair of 6-3 wins in the finals over Lindsey Gelinas of Temecula.

Brandon Wong of San Diego was the Boys 16 Singles champion, defeating Fallbrook’s Stuart Henderson in 6-3 and 6-0 sets during the finals. The Boys 14 Singles finals between two San Diego residents saw Chad Johnson take a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Ryan Preiss.

Mark Rhodes of La Jolla won the Boys 12 Singles championship with a three-set win over Irvine’s Alex Gibson in the finals.

“It’s a good entry level for the kids who want to continue with their tennis and get match experience,” Roth said of the tournament.

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