ROLLING HILLS ESTATES, Calif., June 24, 2023 (by Steve Pratt)
Three Bruins and a Bear make up the for women’s semifinalists at the SoCal Pro Series stop at the Kramer Club this week as three current or former UCLA women’s tennis players won quarterfinal matches to advance.
Torrance’s No. 3 seed Kimmi Hance beat wild card Amelia Honer, a rising UC-Santa Barbara junior who was the 2022 Big West Freshman of the Year, to move on to face teammate and reigning NCAA singles champion Fangran Tian in a Saturday semifinal.
Hance’s former UCLA teammate and qualifier Taylor Johnson downed fellow qualifier Nikki Redelijk in three sets, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 to also advance. In an all-NorCal battle it was Cal’s No. 1 player Jessica Alsola also coming back after dropping the first set as she beat 15-year-old qualifier Aspen Schuman from Menlo Park, 6-7 (2), 6-2, 6-0.
The No. 8-seeded Alsola from Canada will face Johnson at 11 a.m. on Saturday for a right to play for the women’s SoCal Pro Series women’s title on Sunday.
On the men’s side, No. 3-seeded Omni Kumar of Irvine had little trouble with Sweden’s Arvid Nordquist winning, 6-1, 6-0. He will face qualifier Quinn Vandecasteele who won his fifth straight match in as many days downing USC’s No. 1 player Stefan Dostanic, 6-3, 6-1 on Friday.
In the men’s doubles final Saturday, the top-seeded team of Nico Godsick and Lorenzo Claverie will face winner of Eduardo Nava and Nathan Ponwith, the No. 3 seeds. Godsick is the son of the former U.S. Fed Cup Captain and two-time Grand Slam champion Mary Joe Fernandez. Nava is from Woodland Hills and played for Wake Forest University.
In the women’s doubles final, the top-seeded team of Maria Fernanda Navarro and Brandy Walker will face Tian and Japan’s Rinon Okuwkai.
Daily tournament admission and parking is free to the public at all SoCal Pro Series events. The SoCal Pro Series’ remaining tournament dates and locations are:
- Through Sunday – Jack Kramer Club, Rolling Hills Estates
- June 26-July 2 – Racquet Club of Irvine, Irvine
- July 3-9 – Lakewood Tennis Center, Lakewood
- July 10-16 – Lakewood Tennis Center, Lakewood
To learn more about the SoCal Pro Series, go to: https://www.ustasocal.com/proseries
