VENTURA, Calif. – The California Lutheran University women's tennis team sent 10 individuals and five doubles team to The Ojai 120th Annual Tennis Tournament which was held Thursday through Sunday.
The tournament was held at Pierpont Racquet Club, Ventura College and Ojai Valley Athletic Club/Weil Tennis Academy. The singles events were a 32-person draw, while the doubles events started at 16. There was a first round loser consolation event for both singles and doubles.
The duo of Carmen Bufkin and Brennan Foreman made the deepest run of the tournament won the doubles draw 6-2, 6-2 They got there by winning the round-of-16 6-3, 6-2, their quarterfinal 6-1, 4-6 (10-4) and the semis 7-6(4), 6-2. They were the first Regals team to win a tournament title, which was a D-III West Region Championship.
For singles, Mina Ahmadi and Brennan Foreman both won the opening round match and Bufkin received a bye as the trio continued in the Main stage of the draw.
After Bufkin received her bye, she went on the longest run in the Main draw. She won her round of 16 match 6-3, 6-1 and advanced to the quarterfinal stage. In a match that went back and forth, Bufkin came out on top and won the quarterfinal 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-4. Her fantastic run came to a close in the semifinals as she came up just short 7(2)-6, 2-6, 1-6, falling one match short of the final.
Ahmadi won her round-of-32 match without giving up a point 6-0, 6-0, and Foreman advanced with a 4-6, 7-6(6) win. Both lost in the round-of-16 and saw their Ojai Tournament come to an end. Ahmadi fell 1-6, 3-6, and Foreman was defeated 4-6, 1-6.
Luisa Garcia, Sophia Gawrit, Carolina Groff Hinojosa, Heidi Levanen, Kayla Kling, Joslin Seaberg and Lauren Sebastian also competed individually.
After round-of-32 defeats, they all moved to consolation side of the bracket. Groff Hinojosa and Garcia went the furthest, both coming up just short in the consolation final. Groff Hinojosa won her consolation-quarterfinal 6-3, 6-4, and the semis 5-7, 6-3 [10-5], but fell in the final 6-1, 6-1. Garcia won her quarterfinal 7-5, 6-4 before falling in the semis 1-6, 5-7.
Seaberg picked up another win for the Regals. She won in the consolation round-of-16 qualifier 7-6(8), 6-1, and advanced to the consolation quarters after a bye in the consolation round-of-16. Her tournament came to an end in the quarterfinal 1-6, 0-6.
The Regals nearly had two teams in the doubles final match as Garcia and Groff Hinojosa were one match short of joining Bufkin and Foreman. Garcia and Groff Hinojosa won the round-of-16 6-4, 3-6(10-6) and the quarterfinal 6-1, 3-6 (10-8). The duo played their hearts out and came up just short in the semis 5-7, 6-7(1).
Also competing in doubles play was Levanen and Seaberg as they made it to the quarters and Gawrit and Sebastian and Kling and Ahmadi which fell in the round-of-16.
The Regals get back into conference play to finish the season. With two duals left, Cal Lutheran currently sits in the fifth-spot. CLU is at Chapman on Friday at 3 p.m.
Results: The Ojai 120th Tournament
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director