One of the premier events of the calendar year for Southern California junior tennis, the 122nd Annual Jim Hillman Southern California Junior Sectional Doubles Championships commenced over the last weekend of October and first weekend of November.

Top junior talent from SoCal competed in the 12s, 14s, 16s, and 18s age divisions, featuring both gender-specific and mixed doubles events. All draws followed a single-elimination format, with matches played as best-of-three sets, featuring a ten-point tiebreaker in lieu of a third set. Spanning across three tournament locations, the event concluded on Sunday, November 3rd, with all championship matches taking place at the Lakewood Tennis Center.

–

MIXED 18s – In the Mixed 18s finale, the No. 2 seed of Chula Vista’s Adrien Abarca and Fallbrook’s Emily Deming defeated Chino Hills’ Natalie Kha and Westminster’s Trevor Nguyen by a score of 6-3, 6-0. Abarca and Deming were dominant throughout the tournament, with four of five of their victories having come in straight sets. Heading into the championship, the un-seeded duo of Kha and Nguyen pulled off four upsets over seeded teams, with two of which being decided by a third-set tiebreaker. The titles are not the first for either Abarca or Deming, as Adrien won the Mixed 14s championship in both 2021 and 2022, while Emily took home the win in this same event in 2022. Both blue-chip prospects, Abarca is verbally committed to play tennis at the University of Tennessee, while Deming is set to take her talents to the University of Georgia. 

“It feels really great to win doubles sectionals. I haven’t played this event in almost two years, and playing with Adrien was a lot of fun. I think we built off of each other’s energy really well,” Deming shared. “My favorite part about teaming up together was being able to have fun throughout our matches.” Abarca added. “Winning is a nice confidence boost because of how big this tournament is.”

GIRLS’ 18s – Crowning a champion in the Girls’ 18s division, the No. 3 seed of Buena Park’s Daniela Borruel and Fountain Valley’s Anna Cherico defeated Pacific Palisades’ Alexandra Wolf and Pacific Palisades’ Kingsley Wolf 6-2, 6-2. The victory marked the fifth that came in straight sets for Borruel and Cherico, who notably took down the No. 1 seed of the tournament entering the championship match. On the other side of the bracket, Alexandra and Kinglsey pulled off a few upsets of their own, besting the No. 2 and No. 4 seeds in the quarterfinals and semifinals. The title match pitted former partners against each other, as Daniela and Alexandra not only teamed up in this division a year ago, but also won the championship. The USC commit, Borruel continues to add to her impressive junior resume, as she also won the championship in the Girls’ 16s in 2021. 

“This tournament was our first time playing together. We have played against each other in the past, but now playing together was a very positive experience. Our communication and teamwork is something that I think we did well, which is something I will carry on to my future play,” Borruel stated. “I love playing with Daniela because she is probably the most positive partner I have ever played with,” Cherico said. “We created an emphasis on not apologizing for anything which I think was really important. Playing with Daniela helped me make sure that I brought out my love for tennis, as I tried to remember that tennis, and especially doubles, is supposed to be fun.” 

BOYS’ 18s – In a battle between the top teams the tournament, the No. 1 seed of Orange’s Nathaniel Suh and Topanga’s Lorenzo Brunkow defeated the No. 2 seed of Chula Vista’s Adrien Abarca and Laguna Niguel’s Justin Riley Anson by a final of 6-3, 7-6 (3). The pair of SoCal commits, Suh (USC) and Brunkow (UC Santa Barbara) clawed their way to a championship, with multiple contests going the distance including third-set tiebreak thrillers in both their round of 16 and semifinals matchups. Heading into the championship, Abarca and Anson were a force to be reckoned with, securing all of their wins in straight sets, with two of which being against seeded opponents. This victory adds even more hardware to the mantle for Suh, as he took home both the Mixed 16s and Boys 16s crowns in 2022. 

“This is my first sectionals’ win in singles or doubles so it feels really good to finally get one. I think we learned a lot about each other’s games through this tournament. I enjoyed working through the challenges we faced, especially because we had some battles in the second and third round and worked hard to save some match points,” said Brunkow. “I really enjoy playing doubles and playing with Lorenzo was super fun,” mentioned Suh. “I know that whenever I was at the baseline or serving, I could always rely on him at the net, and whenever he was up at the net, I knew that he would come through with some volleys. Knowing this helped me out on the court and allowed me to be comfortable playing my game. Hopefully in the next tournament we play together we can continue to have this type of success.”

–

MIXED 16s – In the championship of the Mixed 16s division, the No. 3 seed of Irvine’s Kaiden Somaratne and Irvine’s Mingyue Deng defeated Orange’s Anika Guniganti and South El Monte’s Zander Abrams by a score of 7-6 (7), 6-2.  Both highly regarded recruits in the class of 2028, Somaratne and Deng faced early challenges in the tournament, dropping the first set in both their quarterfinal and semifinal matches. However, they quickly turned things around and never looked back, securing dominant wins in both matches to reach the final. An unseeded pairing, Guniganti and Abrams picked up multiple important victories en route to the finale, taking down two top-seeded teams in the process. 

“We both feel really happy with our results and how we played. I think we worked well as a team together and communicated well,” Somaratne said. “I’m happy about this win because I worked and prepared really hard for this,” Deng shared. “We practiced a lot together leading up to the tournament and we go to the same clinic which I think helped us on court.”

GIRLS’ 16s – In a back-and-forth classic, the No. 4 seed of Orange’s Anika Guniganti and Diamond Bar’s Michelle Tan defeated the No. 1 seed of Rancho Santa Margarita’s Emily Gao and Irvine’s Mingyue Deng in a final of 7-5, 4-6, 6-0. This was the only of the duo’s matches that went the distance, as Guniganti and Tan handled business in their prior matches all in straight sets, with two more victories coming against seeded talent. Similarly, Gao and Deng had been unbeaten in straight sets up until the final, also defeating a ranked team on their path to the championship. In a role reversal from the Mixed 16s final, Guniganti avenged her earlier loss to Deng and secured the upset to pick up the first trophies of the weekend for her and Tan. 

“I’m really happy because this is my first sectionals that I’ve won, and I’m glad I was able to do it with Anika,” Tan shared. “I’m just really happy with this win,” Guniganti mentioned. “Teaming up with Michelle is so fun because she knows me personally off the court and we work well together on it.” 

BOYS’ 16s – Determining the Boys’ 16s champion, the No. 3 seed of Irvine’s JiHyuk Im and San Diego’s Kotaro Kunimoto defeated Walnut’s Russell Kuo and Laguna Niguel’s Hans Sempre by a score of 6-0, 6-1. Im and Kunimoto overpowered their opponents throughout the entirety of the tournament, claiming victory in all of their matches in straight sets. In doing so, they conceded three games or less in seven of their ten sets played. Kuo and Sempre defied the odds on their way to the finale, beating seeded teams in both the round of 16 and the semifinals, while taking down the No. 1 seed in the quarterfinals. In addition to this victory, Im also captured the Boys’ 12s title in 2021 and finished as a finalist twice in 2023, in both the Boys’ 14s and Mixed 14s events

“In our doubles tournament before this one, we lost in the semifinals, so I made sure to work a lot on my volleys and serving to prepare for this,” Im shared. “Being able to play doubles with JiHyuk was great. I hope that I can play more doubles with him in the future,” added Kunimoto. “Our communication worked really well for us throughout the weekend.” 

–

MIXED 14s – The Mixed 14s finale showcased the No. 3 seed of Camarillo’s Jesse Tang and Moorpark’s Madeline Cleary defeating San Diego’s Mayurchandra Bharath and San Diego’s Surabhi Raghavendra by a score of 6-1, 6-4. The win marked the third for Tang and Cleary over seeded competition this tournament, including one in the quarterfinals and a semifinals three-set nail-biter over the No.1 seed. For Bahrath and Raghavendra, the duo picked up hard-fought wins of their own, with the most notable of which coming in the quarterfinals where they took down the No. 2 seed in three sets. The championship marks the first for the mixed duo of Tang and Cleary, while Bharath and Raghavendra share history playing together, taking home finalist trophies in 2022 in the Mixed 12s division. 

“I think we have a lot of energy and we both communicate very well, which helps us always know where we’re going to be on court. We are always very encouraging and always trying our best,” Cleary shared. “I just like Jesse’s energy. He always brings it and it never feels like our momentum is going downhill.” 

GIRLS’ 14s – With the top-seeded teams prevailing throughout their sides of the bracket, the Girls’ 14s championship featured the No.1 seed of Moorpark’s Madeline Cleary and Irvine’s Anya Arora defeating the No. 2 seed of Whittier’s Gwyneth Britton and Eastvale’s Sophia Lee in a final of 6-1, 6-3. Cleary and Arora were exceptional throughout the tournament, winning an impressive 60 sets while dropping only 11. Three of their five victories came against seeded opponents. Britton and Lee, after cruising through their first three matches, fought back in the semifinals to secure a comeback victory over ranked competition. Currently ranked No. 11 in doubles for the Girls’ 14s, Cleary is the highest-ranked SoCal player in her respective age division. Her and Arora are no strangers to success as a pair, as the two also won the Girls’ 12s title just a year ago, and recently captured the doubles title at the G14s L3 National Open in Lakewood this September. They also took home the title at the L3 Closed Doubles in Anaheim this past July.

“Winning sectionals feels great. We definitely had our ups and downs, but came together and pushed through to get here. We practiced a lot of volleys and match play prior to this tournament, which helped us know what situations we wanted to put ourselves into,” said Cleary. “Winning is really nice, especially being the defending champs from last year. It makes this win really special,” Arora stated. “We know each other so well, that at times it feels like we don’t even need to communicate to know what the other person is going to do. I feel like our chemistry together is almost unmatchable.”

BOYS’ 14s – In the Boys’ 14s title match, Long Beach’s Asher Yuan and Porter Ranch’s Adrian Sharma defeated Rancho Palos Verdes’ Aaron Luo and Diamond Bar’s Andy Wu by a final score of 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. Both teams in the championship match were responsible for taking down multiple of the top-seeds of the tournament, as Yuan and Sharma bested the No. 1 seed in the semifinals, while Luo and Wu took down the No. 4 seed in the quarterfinals. Adding to those victories, Yuan and Sharma pulled out a three-set win over the No. 3 seed in the quarterfinals, while Luo and Wu claimed another win over ranked talent in the semifinals. 

“We feel good following the win. I feel like we are always a very persistent team,” Sharma said. “I enjoyed getting to know each other better and discovering our play styles so we can play more tournaments like this in the future. We always have fun playing together,” shared Yuan.

–

MIXED 12s – The Mixed 12s finale featured a showdown of the top-seeded teams, as the No.1 seed of Thousand Oaks’ James Borchard and Encino’s Skylar Mandell defeated the No. 2 seed of Thousand Oaks’ London Slaton and Laguna Niguel’s Danielle Han 7-6 (7), 6-2. Aside from fending off an upset bid in the semifinals, Borchard and Mandell won all of their matches in straight sets. Slaton and Han were equally as dominant, winning all but one of their matches in straight sets, with two of their victories coming against seeded opposition. The championship marks the second in as many years for Borchard, who found success in this division in 2023. 

“It just feels great winning because this tournament is amazing,” Borchard stated. “It was really fun playing today. I felt like I played some of my best tennis and it was really fun playing with James. I feel like I really got better at doubles through this tournament,” Mandell added. 

GIRLS’ 12s – Besting the top-ranked team, the No. 3 seed of San Diego’s Mika Wei and Tustin’s Melissa Stojanovic-Vasquez defeated No. 1 seed of Cerritos’ Aarna Patel and Laguna Niguel’s Danielle Han by a score of 7-6 (5), 6-3. Wei and Stojanovic-Vasquez were brilliant all tournament, winning all of their matches in straight sets, with notable victories over three seeded teams. Patel and Han were equally as strong within their play, not having dropped a set prior to the championship. 

“I feel really good with this win as this is one of the more popular tournaments in the section. I feel like we communicated properly throughout all of our matches which really helped us. It was awesome spending time with Melissa over the weekends,” Wei said. “I feel really happy and had a lot of fun playing with Mika. We had many practice matches leading up to this, both in our division and other divisions. It’s always positive when we play together which I really enjoy,” stated Stojanovic-Vasquez. 

BOYS’ 12s – Rounding out the weekend, the No. 1 seed of Thousand Oaks’ James Borchard and Tustin’s Nathan Lee defeated the No. 2 seed of Thousand Oaks’ London Slaton and Camarillo’s Christian Pohoski in a final of 6-0, 6-3. Borchard and Lee were outstanding throughout the tournament, dominating their opponents by shutting out the opposition in four of the five first sets of their matches.They did not go one match without having at least one set where they held their opponents scoreless. Slaton and Pohoski earned a hard-fought trip to the finals, taking down multiple seeded teams en route to this matchup. With this win, Borchard joins Madeline Cleary as the only players to have won the championship this year in mixed and gender doubles of their respective age divisions. This also marks back to back years for Pohoski as a finalist in this division, and Slaton’s second finalist appearance of the tournament. 

“It feels great that I can win in both gender and mixed. It’s always so fun to play with Nathan because of how talented he is,” Borchard said. “Playing in this tournament, but especially winning, felt great. James’ energy always gives off good vibes which helps me on court,” stated Lee.