Fallbrook Open draws more than 350 players

The 33rd Annual Fallbrook Open drew more than 350 players for the tournament at the Fallbrook Tennis Club which began June 2 and concluded June 10.

“It was a very good tournament,” said tournament organizer Dorothy Roth. “It was very high level.”

Sponsors enabled sufficient prize money to attract top players and others from throughout the region as well as many players visiting Southern California for the summer. The proceeds from the tournament will be donated to Fallbrook’s Boys and Girls Club.

Not everything went smoothly at the tournament. In the Men’s Open Singles division the top seed withdrew due to an injury prior to play while the finals ended when the winner of the first set retired due to an injury.

Bobby Hrdina was given the top seed for the Men’s Open Singles, but he injured his neck warming up and withdrew from the tournament. Second-seeded Aaron Yovan competed in the tournament but fell in the semifinals to third-seeded Fabio Silva, while fourth-seeded Francis Yoshimoto captured the other semifinal against fifth-seeded Miguel Garcia, who would also reach the Men’s Open Doubles final.

That created a finals between Silva and Yoshimoto, who are teammates at College of the Desert. Yoshimoto won the first set, six games to four, but in the second set with Silva ahead three games to one Yoshimoto pulled a back muscle and retired due to his injury to give Silva the championship.

The Women’s Open Singles Division saw top-seeded Barbara Tinsley lose to unseeded Taylor Rancy in the quarterfinals. Rancy, who lives in Murrieta, advanced to the finals against second-seeded Izabela Mijic of Irvine. Mijic took home the division championship with a pair of 6-2 wins over Rancy in the final round.

In the Men’s Open Doubles division the top-seeded team of John Chanfreau of Chula Vista and Ryan Redondo of Carlsbad defeated the second-seeded duo of Garcia and Adrian Pena, both of whom are Chula Vista residents. Chanfreau and Redondo won a 6-2 victory in the first set and took the second set six games to three.

The Mixed Open Doubles final saw Jonathan Bowman of Rolling Hills and Ashley Strimple of Carlsbad defeat Fallbrook’s Roxanne Parker and Murrieta resident David Ramirez, who also teaches at the Fallbrook Tennis Club and is the girls varsity coach at Fallbrook High School. The first set was tied at six games apiece before Bowman and Strimple won the tiebreaking game, and Bowman and Strimple then won the second set six games to four.

The first set of the Men’s 65 Singles final was also tied at six games apiece before a tiebreaking game was played between Jim Rosvall of Vista and Philip Schneider of Rancho Santa Fe. The tiebreaking game required the winner to earn seven points with an advantage of at least two points, and the two finalists played 16 points in that game before Rosvall captured the set by a 9 to 7 margin. Rosvall then took the second set, six games to three, for the championship.

In the Men’s 5.5 Singles Anand Vairavan of Escondido took a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Bernie Buggs of San Marcos in the finals to win the division championship. Jay Damasco of Temecula and Dave Fukami of Chula Vista were the Men’s 5.5 Doubles champions after a 6-2, 6-4 win in the finals over Oceanside residents Guy Bartleson and Clint Laukhuf.

The Mixed 4.5 Doubles final saw the San Diego duo of Junya Akagi and Yuko Boucree take a 6-2, 6-0 triumph over Highland residents Tracy Galongo and James Gardner. Akagi also captured the Men’s 4.5 Singles division; in the finals he prevailed 6-3, 6-1 over Frank Byrne of Riverside. In the Men’s 4.5 Doubles the Temecula team of Jim Cunningham and Thomas McClure defeated Sun City’s John Gorman and Menifee’s Adama Traore by a 6-1, 6-0 score in the finals.

The Women’s 4.5 Doubles and Women’s 4.5 Singles divisions both entailed round-robin play rather than bracket play for the championship. Fallbrook’s Megan White won the Women’s 4.5 Singles title while Fallbrook’s Sue Reed and Lake Elsinore’s Linda Brokaw were the Women’s 4.5 Doubles champions.

The Women’s 4.0 Singles finals went three sets before Carol Donahue of San Diego earned the title against Leslie Branson of Fallbrook. Branson won the first set, six games to two, before Donahue took 6-2 and 7-5 victories to win the match.

In the Women’s 4.0 Doubles final Melanie Castleberry of Escondido and Laurie Hopps of San Diego earned a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Sandi Rosenstein and Christine Teofilo. Rosenstein and Teofilo both currently live in San Diego, although Teofilo is originally from Fallbrook.

Jeffrey and Sara Ackley of Poway won the Mixed 4.0 Doubles title after a 6-3, 6-2 win in the finals over James and Patti Groves of San Diego. Noonan Ellis and Alfonso Tumini, both of whom live in Poway, were the Men’s 4.0 Doubles champions after a 6-1, 6-3 finals win over Steve Collier of Moreno Valley and John O’Neil of Riverside. William Pomerenke of Temecula utilized a 6-1, 6-3 win in the finals over Fallbrook’s Steven Davis to win the Men’s 4.0 Singles championship.

The Women’s 3.5 Singles final saw two Fallbrook residents battle to three sets before Michelle Hatch prevailed over Cherie Van Wechel. Van Wechel won a 6-3 victory in the first set before Hatch came back with 6-1 and 6-4 wins.

Hatch was also a winner in the Women’s 3.5 Doubles after teaming with Mary Merchat of Fallbrook. They faced the Temecula duo of Leslie Barker and Patricia Thompson in the finals and won the championship after a 7-6, 6-3 match.

The Mixed 3.5 Doubles final also went three sets. Ken and Lorna May of Fallbrook captured the first set by a 6-3 score, but Reuben and Rebecca Villar of Temecula tied the match with a 6-1 victory and then won the championship with a 6-3 triumph.

The Men’s 3.5 Singles winner was Michael Rollyson of Menifee, who faced Canyon Lake’s Dick Paul in the finals and took the championship with a pair of 6-4 victories.

Kraig and Kylie Haviland of Murrieta won the Parent-Child Doubles division, earning a 6-0, 6-2 win in the finals over Jennifer and Heide Clay of Vista. Jay and J.B. Schiller of La Jolla were the Father-Son Doubles champions after a 6-0, 6-1 win in the finals over Russell and Mason Geyser of Encinitas.