Walters moves to quarters

FOUNTAIN VALLEY ? The seventh match point turned out to be the charm for Newport Beach’s Ali Walters at the 104th annual Southern California Junior Sectional Championships on Thursday.

Walters had numerous chances to put opponent Michelle Sulahian of Van Nuys away in the round of 16. But she finally ended it, getting a backhand winner down the line for a service break and a 6-4, 7-5 win over the No. 4 seed in girls’ 16 singles action.

Walters moves on to today’s quarterfinal match, scheduled for 12:30 p.m. against No. 5-seeded Arianna Colffer at Los Caballeros Racquet and Sports Club.

“She was hitting some really nice shots, so I just wanted to hang in there,” Walters said. “I just tried to keep the ball in and stay low.”

Walters and Sulahian traded breaks in the first set. After Walters broke serve to go up, 5-3, Sulahian broke back. But Walters returned the favor to take the first set, playing a volley to an empty court space on set point.

Walters was up, 5-2, in the second set but Sulahian rallied. After holding serve, she withstood two match points and broke to close to within 5-4. She then held again to make it 5-5.

After Walters held to regain the lead, 6-5, Sulahian saved four more match points before Walters finally broke to end the match.

The result was much to the displeasure of Sulahian, who yelled at herself throughout the match. Not that it bothered Walters, who previously went to Corona del Mar High but is now home-schooled as she regularly travels for tournaments.

“When [Sulahian] gets down on herself, it actually makes me feel better,” Walters said with a smile. “She’s definitely very animated on the court. I just tried to stay relaxed and calm and focus.”

Walters only made it to the round of 32 last year in girls’ 16 singles, so it’s already a definite improvement for her.

“It feels really good,” she said. “I’m really excited.”

In the boys’ 12 singles round of 16 on Thursday, Newport Beach resident Joseph DiGiulio topped Aaron Meltzer of Bonita, 6-1, 6-1 at Mile Square Park.

DiGiulio, the No. 4 seed, is no stranger to big-time tournaments. He won the boys’ 10 junior sectionals last year before taking the Wilson Junior Nationals last fall. More recently, DiGiulio advanced to the semifinals of the Quiksilver Junior Championships in May.

DiGiulio, who just turned 11, attends St. Catherine Catholic School in Laguna Beach.

He had his way against Meltzer. After being broken early in the first set, DiGiulio rattled off nine consecutive games to go up 5-0 in the second set.

“I felt like I played pretty good,” DiGiulio said. “I just tried to focus and play my game. I want to win the tournament.”

DiGiulio will play No. 8-seeded Rickey Baylon of Buena Park in the quarterfinals today at 11 a.m. at Los Caballeros.

In another round of 16 match in girls’ 16 singles Thursday, No. 6-seeded Cierra Gaytan-Leach of Corona del Mar dropped a 6-4, 6-2 verdict to Britney Sanders, who resides in Ontario.

After a close first set, Gaytan-Leach fell behind, 4-0, in the second set. She broke Sanders and held her own serve in an attempt to rally, but ended up falling short.

“It was an off day,” said Gaytan-Leach, who had never played Sanders before. “Her forehand was really strong, and she had a good serve.”

Gaytan-Leach has a consolation match today at 12:30 p.m. at Costa Mesa Tennis Center, against Jessica Harrow of La Crescenta.

Gaytan-Leach also remains alive in girls’ 18 doubles, where she and partner Micaela Hein have a quarterfinal match on Saturday.

“I’m really excited about doubles,” she said. “I’m looking forward to that.”dpt.23-tennis-1-BPhotoInfoQ81S8V1L20060623j1ab92nc(LA)Corona del Mar resident Cierra Gaytan-Leach smashes forehand return.