TENNIS / OJAI TOURNAMENT : Studio City’s Kessler Reluctantly Wins Girls’ 14 Title With Assist From Heat

Jessica Kessler’s face showed despair Saturday at the conclusion of her girls’ 14-and-under championship match at the Ojai tennis tournament.

Though Kessler had just beaten top-seeded Mugette Ahn of Los Angeles, she expressed regret over how the victory was achieved.

Kessler, of Studio City, won, 6-4, 6-7, retired, when Ahn could not play a third set in the wilting 91-degree afternoon heat.

“It’s very disappointing to win like this,” Kessler said. “You want to beat your opponent, not to win when they can’t play.”

Kessler also was frustrated because she blew four match points while leading, 6-5, in the second set, eventually losing a tiebreaker, 7-3: “I was up 40-love and I choked.”

Kessler had an easier time Saturday morning, defeating Agoura Hills’ Erin Boisclair, 7-6, 6-3, 6-2, in a three-hour semifinal.

After losing a first-set tiebreaker, 9-7, Kessler used steady ground strokes to grind down No. 2-seeded Boisclair.

While Kessler was struggling to win in the heat, Stacey Jellen of Calabasas was cruising in the girls’ 18 singles. Jellen trounced Nikki Willette of San Diego, 6-2, 6-1, in the semifinals and hammered out a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Pam Trump of Arcadia in the final.

“I was expecting a tough match from Pam,” Jellen said. “I just concentrated point by point.”

Jellen had lost to Trump in three sets during a February tournament and had beaten Trump in a tight 6-4, 6-4 match last month.

Jellen, ranked 640th among women players in the world, said she will turn her attention to a professional satellite tour in Florida next month.

Another player with reason to celebrate was Ventura’s Peter Webb, who teamed with Michael Smith of Santa Barbara to win the boys’ 16 doubles, 6-1, 6-3, over John Downer and Jeff Shoemaker of San Clemente. Webb and Smith were playing in only their second tournament together.

A number of other area juniors fell short in championship bids.

Geoff Abrams of Newport Beach knocked off twins Mike and Bob Bryan of Camarillo on his way to a boys’ 14 singles title. Abrams stopped the former in the semifinals, 7-5, 6-3, and the latter in the final, 6-2, 6-4.

Bob Bryan blitzed Trent Miller of San Diego, 6-1, 6-2, to reach the final.

It was the second straight year one of the Bryans had fallen in the 14s final. Mike lost in the championship match last year.

Danielle Ouwendijk of Somis was defeated in the girls’ 16 doubles final. She and partner Marisa MacLennan of Carmel lost to Amanda Augustus and Marisa Velasco of Chula Vista, 6-2, 6-2.

Derek Pope had hoped to become one of the rare Ojai players to win a championship, but he was defeated by Jakub Pietrowski of Huntington Beach, 6-0, 6-2, in the semifinals.

In the men’s open, Desi McBride of Woodland Hills fell one match short of the final with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 loss to Gus Anderson of Salinas.