Doehring wins Quiksilver Junior Championship

Fallbrook’s David Doehring won his first national tennis championship May 30 when he captured the boys 12-and-under division of the Quiksilver Junior Championship tournament.

Doehring, who was 12 years old at the time, won six rounds in the tournament. All six of those rounds were best-of-three matches, and Doehring won all 12 sets.

“This little kid is very exceptional because of his hard work and discipline,” said Dave Ramirez, who coaches Doehring at the Fallbrook Tennis Club. “He just has a really innate desire to always do his best.”

Doehring, who turned 13 on August 10, has been playing tennis for about five years and has worked with Ramirez for about two years. “In the last couple of years he’s really come on strong,” Ramirez said.

Ramirez explained that when Doehring started learning tennis he knew few of the sport’s fundamentals. “What he did know how to do is go get the ball; he’s very athletic,” Ramirez said.

Doehring has since gained technical knowledge. “I think he’s going to do excellent,” Ramirez said.

The Quiksilver Junior Championship tournament was held May 27-30 at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach. Doehring received a bye in the first round, advancing him to the round of 64 where he defeated Julian Ruffin of Irvine in a pair of 6-0 sets. In the round of 32 he took a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Adrian Davila of Calexico, and in the round of 16 he won a pair of 6-1 sets over David Blakeley of Irvine.

The quarterfinals paired Doehring against Nathan Lewis of Irvine, and a 6-1, 6-4 victory placed Doehring in the semifinals against top-seeded Joseph DiGuilio of Newport Beach. Doehring, who had a ninth seed, overcame DiGuilio in a 6-4, 6-2 match.

The finals pitted Doehring against second-seeded Jonathan Huang of Santa Ana. Doehring took a 6-4 win in the first set and sealed the match and tournament with a 6-1 victory in the second set.

“It was fun, and actually I had a good time,” Doehring said of the tournament.

Doehring was born at Fallbrook Hospital and is a lifelong Fallbrook resident. He is homeschooled through Julian Charter School.