Gilmore waits for a ball off the backwall in the Women's Singles final.

CONCORD, Calif. –  In the third USHA Championship Event at the Big C Athletic Club, Sean Lenning defeated Emmett Peixoto in the Men's Open singles, 21-17, 21-11.  Lenning overcame 8-1 and 6-1 deficits in both games to get the win. 

 

Lenning then paired with Luis Moreno to win the Men's Open doubles over Ricardo Diaz and Eddie Betancourt, 21-11, (20-21), 11-6.

 

Lisa Gilmore won the Women's Singles final with a convincing win over Anna Christoff, 21-16 and 21-3. 

 

Special thanks goes to the NCHA, The Big C AC, and all those who participated. 

Men’s Open Singles   

Does he get it?  Lenning digs a ball while Peixoto anticipates where it will go.

Preliminary Round:  Dean Crispen (San Francisco) d. Steve Dobrash (San Jose, CA) (5), 19, 10; Chris Tico (San Francisco) d. Alex Medina (El Paso), 15, 5; Nelson Quintero (Miami Beach) d. Jim Tamagni (Watsonville, CA), 2, 17.   

First Round:  Emmett Peixoto (Watsonville, CA) d. Crispen, 9, 2; Luis Moreno (Tucson, AZ) d. Ricardo Diaz (San Jose, CA), 6, (19), 9; Joe Hagen (Minneapolis) d. Tico, 17, (5), 6; Sean Lenning (Shoreline, WA) d. Quintero, (15), 5, 3.

Semifinals:  Peixoto d. Moreno, 10, 11; Lenning d. Hagen, 6, 1.

Final:  Lenning d. Peixoto, 17, 11.

Women’s Open Singles 

First Round:  Anna Christoff (Minneapolis), def.; Courtney Peixoto (Watsonville, CA) d. Crystal Diaz (San Jose, CA), 1, 4; Lisa Gilmore (Winnipeg) d. Cherylann Mendonca (Sacramento), 4, 2; Jessica Gawley (Regina, SK) d. Brittany Hinchliffe (Berkeley, CA), 3, 1. 

Semifinals:  Christoff d. Peixoto, 5, 16; Gilmore d. Gawley, (9), 11, 10.

Final:  Gilmore d. Christoff, 16, 3.

In Men's Open Doubles, Lenning goes horizontal for a ball that even got beyond the camera's view.

First Round:  Sean Lenning/ Luis Moreno (WA/ AZ) d. Leo Havenor/ Luis Diaz (CA), 7, 12; Ricardo Diaz/ Ed Betancourt (CA) d. Emmett Peixoto/ Nelson Quintero (CA/ FL), 4, 6.

Final:  Lenning/ Moreno d. Diaz/ Betancourt, 11, (20), 6.

Saturday's Results

Luis Moreno waits for a backwall shot in the Men's Open Doubles

The last two National Collegiate Men’s Open champions faced off in the day’s first quarterfinal match at the Big "C" AC.  Ricardo Diaz came back from a first game blowout (losing 21-6) to win game two (21-19) and held a 9-3 advantage in the tiebreaker.  Just as he had in last week’s collegiate final, Moreno chipped away at his deficit until he tied the score, 9-9.   

What appeared to be a Diaz winner after a long rally was negated after a referee’s call on a good serve was overturned. Instead of a 10-9 advantage for Diaz, the score was still 9-9.  Moreno was able to get the side out and serve out the match. 

In the Women’s Singles, Jessica Gawley and Lisa Gilmore were knotted 10-10 in the tiebreaker of their semifinal match.  Gilmore was able to convert, and she earned her spot in the final against Anna Christoff.

Steve Dobrash gets low for a backwall shot against Dean Crispen in Men's Singles action.

Friday's Results

CONCORD, Calif. – Preliminary match play began on Friday evening as most players participating in the NCHA NorCal Regionals arrived at the Big “C” Athletic Club. 

Steve Dobrash and Dean Crispen produced a thriller in the first round for any fans who stayed behind for the day’s last match.  Dobrash looked st rong with a first game with a 21-5 win over the Olympic Club’s Crispen.  But Crispen, down 17-19 in the second, came back with a 21-19 win to force the tiebreaker. 

In the deciding game, Dobrash held a 10-6 lead over Crispen and looked to close out the match, but again Crispen responded with 5 unanswered points, winning 11-10. 

In other action, Nelson Quintero advanced with a win over Jim Tamagni in two games.  Although Quintero enjoyed a 21-2 first game win, Tamagni clawed back into the match before succumbing, 21-17. 

All top-4 seeds advanced in the Women’s singles and will meet in tomorrow’s semifinals.