JENNIFER DAWSON OF CARLSBAD CAPTURES WOMEN’S SINGLES TITLE

Written by: Staff on 3rd December 2011

JENNIFER DAWSON OF CARLSBAD CAPTURES WOMEN’S SINGLES TITLE |

La Jolla, Calif. – (December 3, 2011) – Second-seeded Jennifer Dawson of Carlsbad, who lost in last year’s singles final of the USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships, came back to win the title this year when her opponent, Dina McBride of Woodland Hills, Calif., retired at 3-3 in the first set of their final due to a left Achilles tendon injury.

On a cool and mostly sunny morning at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club, Dawson and McBride began their highly-anticipated championship singles match on Court No. 1.

McBride, a former collegiate player at the University of San Diego in the mid-1990s, scored an impressive 6-4, 6-1 semi-final victory over Gretchen Magers, the top seed and five-time tournament champion. Dawson, who also played for USD from 1985 to 1989, is a teaching pro at the nearby La Jolla Tennis Club and had a large group of vocal supporters watching her match.

In what was an entertaining start to the first set, Dawson and McBride moved each other around the court as each player patiently waited for an opportunity to advance to the net to put the ball away. With McBride serving at 2-2, 30-40, Dawson scored the first service break of the match when McBride’s backhand slice drop shot clipped the tape and fell back on her side of the court.

McBride quickly came back with her own service break to tie the score at 3-3 as Dawson sent a shot wide on break point. In the next game, McBride served at 30-30, but after losing the next point, she was forced to stop and retire from the match due to her injury.

“It’s feels great to win it, but I wish I could have won it in a real match, rather than by an injury. You’re happy, but kind of sad at the same time because you really want to earn that. It’s a little bittersweet,” said Dawson following the match, which lasted just 30 minutes.

Coming into the final, Dawson anticipated a difficult match against McBride. “I knew it was going to be a tough match. She’s a very good player,” Dawson said. “I was just planning on hitting a lot of balls and doing a lot of running and hitting and just battling through it. I expected it to be a long match.”

At the post-match presentation, Dawson was awarded a USTA gold ball for winning the national championship. “It’s always an honor to get a gold ball. It’s not easy to come by,” she said.

In the men’s singles semifinals, top-seed and defending men’s singles champion Jeff Tarango of Manhattan Beach, Calif., advanced to his second consecutive final when fourth-seeded Peter Smith of Los Alamitos, Calif., retired at 6-2, 5-7, ret. due to illness.

Tarango will face second-seeded Oren Motevassel of Sunnyvale, Calif., who defeated third-seeded and Jeff Greenwald of Corte Madera, Calif., 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 in his semifinal match. Sunday’s final is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Motevassel fell to Tarango in three sets in last year’s singles final of the USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships.

Named “Club of the Year” for 2011 by the San Diego District Tennis Association, the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club is designated one of the “Top 50 Tennis Resorts” by Tennis Resorts Online. In addition to hosting the USTA National Men’s & Women’s 40 & Over Hard Courts, the USTA National Father & Son Hard Court Championships and the Grandfather & Grandson Hard Court Championships, the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club is home to the Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championships every March (one of the five-oldest tennis events in the world), and the USTA National Senior Women’s Hard Court Tennis Championships in May. The Club also hosted the 2008 Fed Cup, and was also the proud host of the 2006 Davis Cup First Round Tie between the United States and Romania.

The La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club enjoys a 75-year tradition of hosting tennis tournaments and tennis pros from around the world. Tennis legends who have played at the LJB&TC include Pancho Gonzales, Jack Kramer, Ted Schroeder, Maureen Connolly, Billie Jean King, Stan Smith, Arthur Ashe, Roscoe Tanner, and John McEnroe.

*****

USTA National 40 Hard Court Championships

La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club

La Jolla, Calif.

Surface: Hard

Women’s Singles

Championship

Jennifer Dawson (2), Carlsbad, Calif., def. Dina McBride, Woodland Hills, Calif., 3-3, ret.

Women’s Doubles

Championship

Alissa Finerman, Santa Monica, Calif., and Erika Smith, Oakland (2), def. Gretchen Magers, San Diego, and Ros Nideffer, Poway (1), 6-4, 6-3

Men’s Singles

Semifinals

Oren Motevassel (2), Sunnyvale, Calif., def. Jeff Greenwald (3), Corte Madera, Calif., 3-6, 6-3, 6-1

Jeffrey Tarango (1), Manhattan Beach, Calif., def. Peter Smith (4), Los Alamitos, Calif., 6-2, 5-7, ret.

Father-Son Doubles

Quarterfinals

Peter Smith and Tanner Smith, Los Alamitos, Calif. (4), def. Alex Levie and Adam Levie, Solana Beach, Calif. (7), 6-1, 6-0

Brett Morse-Karzen and Jerry Morse-Karzen, Wilmette, Ill. (2), def. Kevin Kearney and Chris Kearney, Irvine, Calif. (5), 2-1, ret.

Brett Joelson and Brian Joelson, Beaverton, Ore. (1), def. Peter Krisan and Aaron Krisan, Marietta, Ga., 6-0, 6-1

Travis Rettenmaier, Las Vegas, Nev. and Tom Rettenmaier, Fountain Valley, Calif. (3), def. Brett Van Linge, San Luis Obispo, Calif., and Jerry Van Linge, Newport Beach, Calif. (8), 6-4, 6-3

For additional scores, please go to:

http://tennislink.usta.com/TOURNAMENTS/TournamentHome_New/Tournament.aspx?T=95071

Topics: Jennifer Dawson, La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, Usta