Stanford Three Show Stamina in First Round Wins
and Kramer Club’s Johnson Impresses in Pro Debut

Three juniors-to-be from Stanford had to work overtime Wednesday, but all of them advanced to the second round with three-set come-from-behind victories at Jack Kramer Club in Rolling Hills Estates in the sixth of seven USTA SoCal Pro Series summer events. 

Rancho Santa Fe’s Hudson Rivera outlasted No. 7-seeded Savriyan Danilov from Russia, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. A graduate student at the University of San Diego, Danilov made his pro debut at the ATP 250 Kremlin Cup in 2019 and seemed to control the action early against Rivera, who helped the Cardinal to a fourth straight NCAA Super Regional in the spring.

“It was my first time playing him ever and after that first set it was all about staying composed and realizing it’s not over,” said Rivera, who has now won three matches in three days having to qualify. “Everyone can play, we’re all close to the same level so it comes down to who plays the big points better. I like where my game is right now.”   

Rivera’s Stanford teammate Kyle Kang, the No. 3 seed, and UCLA qualifier Emon van Loben Sels slugged it out from the baseline for four hours and 15 minutes before Kang ultimately prevailed, 6-7(6), 7-6(7), 6-4, after saving two match points in the second set. The Fullerton native, fresh off his sophomore season, is looking for another deep run after advancing to his first SoCal Pro Series semifinal two weeks ago in Rancho Santa Fe.

“It’s the longest match I’ve ever played,” said Kang. “We’re good friends but I’d never played him before… It was a real mental battle. After the first set I was determined to give it my best every point and see where it got me. I was down a bit and just trying to survive, but once I won the second tiebreaker I was confident that if I dug deep I could do it.”

Van Loben Sels, who in June was named ITA Southwest Region Most Improved Player, defeated UC-Santa Barbara’s Gianluca Brunkow of Topanga 6-3, 6-4 Monday and SMU’s Krish Arora 6-4, 6-4 Tuesday in qualifying matches to reach the main draw.

Van Loben Sels Bruins teammate Rudy Quan, a 19-year-old from Thousand Oaks, will meet 28-year-old Ryan Dickerson in an intriguing second-round matchup Thursday following his 6-3, 6-1 win against UC Santa Barbara’s Phillip Jordan. It is a rematch of their first-round encounter in Lakewood last year when Quan rallied to beat Dickerson in three sets. 

On Tuesday, Dickerson upset former UCLA standout and second-seeded Evan Zhu from Irvine, 6-3, 6-4.

Quan played No. 1 singles as a freshman for the Bruins this past season and was just named ITA Southwest Region Rookie of the Year in June after leading his team to the Big Ten Championship. He won a qualifying round at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells in March.

Having secured their spots in the second round Rivera and Kang cheered on Nico Godsick, who rallied past UCLA alum and Irvine native Gage Brymer, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, screaming to the crowd after a forehand winner on match point, to earn a shot at top-seeded Australian Dane Sweeny.

Stamina proved to be the winning formula for the Cardinal trio, which needed a combined 96 games and more than 10 and a half hours for the opportunity to play another day.  

Two weeks ago, Rivera and Godsick participated in the USTA American Collegiate Wildcard Playoff and lost in the final, coming within one victory of qualifying for the US Open in Flushing Meadows in late August. This week, Godsick and Kang are partnering up and they took their first round match, 7-6(3), 6-3, over New Zealand’s Matthew Shearer and ex-Oklahoma and Ohio State standout Jake Van Emburgh.

“Super cool” is how Rivera described he and his teammates’ feat.

Recent Torrey Pines graduate William Kleege, who is headed to San Diego State, also found himself in a marathon against Venezuelan Juan Jose Bianchi, who fought off five match points to win, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5).

It was deja vu for Kleege as he and his partner Nav Dayal of Long Beach had reached match point in their opening round doubles clash on Tuesday before falling 12-10 in a third-set super tiebreaker to San Diego native and UC Irvine alum Noah Zamora and his partner, Bianchi. 

“I had my chances,” Kleege said. “This is my fifth Series event this year, the second time I’ve lost in the first round in three sets and this time it was four hours. In doubles I’ve defended my points from last year.”

The future looks bright for UCLA rising sophomore Olivia Center from South Pasadena after her 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Tanvi Narendran from the University of Arizona.

“There’s much less pressure playing for yourself… The level of screaming is down a few notches,” said the 19-year-old, who got to the quarterfinals of the first Series event at Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego in May. “I’m taking it one match at a time and having fun [with] each point.” 

Center, who played No. 1 singles for San Marino High and led the Titans to back-to-back CIF titles, will partner with Bruins teammate Kate Fakih, also from South Pasadena, to represent the USA at the World University Games in Germany later this month. In the meantime, she is teaming up in doubles this week  with good friend and El Segundo native Sophia Webster of Vanderbilt. The No. 4-seeded duo cruised into the quarterfinals with 6-0, 6-1 victory over Leslie and Madison Rose. 

Krisha Mahendran, who lives 10 minutes away from Kramer Club, saw a familiar face staring back at her in her first-round match—that of USC teammate Simone Kay, a Santa Monica native. Mahendran is about to embark on her freshman campaign with the Women of Troy.

“I’ve played her lots of times in practice but never in a tournament since she’s a year above me,” said Mahendran, who resides in Palos Verdes and chose USC over Cal and Notre Dame. “We know each other’s games so well and it can be easy to overthink things. I prefer playing people I don’t know. I’m just going to take it round by round this week.”

Huntington Beach’s Mika Ikemori, who earned All-Big West first team doubles honors and second team singles honors at UC Davis in the spring, lost 6-2, 6-2 to Ava Hrastar of Auburn.

Pasadena’s Tori Kinard, the oldest woman in the Series at age 37, trailed 3-1 in the second set when she retired against New York’s Clair An, who had won the first set, 6-4.  

Hometown girl Parker Fry, a wildcard entry who just completed her senior year at USC, lost her first-round match 6-2, 6-1 to UCLA’s Alexandra Vagramov of Canada. Fry grew up in Rolling Hills and attended Palos Verdes High.

Wildcard Armira Kockinis of La Habra Heights earned her first-ever WTA point in dramatic fashion, outlasting Canada’s Gabriella Vannessa Lindgren, who retired in the third set. After dropping the opener, Kockinis battled back to lead 3-1 in the decider before the match came to an abrupt end. Final score: 3-6, 6-4, 3-1 ret. Next up? A tough test against No. 2 seed Stefania Rogozinska Dzik, a graduate student at Loyola Marymount University, as Kockinis looks to keep the momentum rolling.

To say Long Beach native Eryn Cayetano is on a roll is an understatement.

Upon returning to the site of her first career pro tournament in 2022 (when she won the singles and doubles titles as a wildcard), the No. 1 seed and former two-time USC All-American swept Japan’s Nanari Katsumi, 6-1, 6-2 to make it 11 straight SoCal Pro Series singles victories. The 24-year-old took the singles and doubles titles at Rancho Santa Fe two weeks ago in her 2025 Series debut and accomplished the feat again Sunday in Lakewood. 

The last match of the day started 90 minutes late but for the enthusiastic fans who stayed until late in the evening it was worth the wait to witness teenage wildcard and Kramer Club’s own Andy Johnson make his pro tournament debut against 27-year-old Nathan Ponwith, who played for Georgia and Arizona State and has been ranked as high as No. 367 in the ATP singles rankings.   

Johnson, a 15-year-old blue chip prospect from nearby Rancho Palos Verdes, is entering his sophomore year of high school and is ranked No. 1 in Southern California and No. 3 in the nation in the 16U Division. He is one of three players on the U.S. Davis Cup Juniors team, which has advanced to the finals in November in Santiago, Chile.

The hometown hero did not disappoint and he showed no visible signs of nervousness against an opponent 12 years his senior and with loads more experience. He notched his first pro win on the court he calls his second home, ending his 6-3, 6-3 victory with a clean backhand return winner up the line and a pump of his fist.

“I was definitely nervous but probably towards the end of the first set the nerves went away,” admitted Johnson, who turns 16 on August 23. “I live five minutes from here, it’s an honor to play here and it means so much to me.”

Peter Smith, Andy’s coach for going on 12 years, was not surprised by his prize pupil’s performance. 

“He played Andy tennis,” Smith said. “Sometimes you just tell him little things but no, not much. In juniors you can’t talk to them at all but in ITFs you can. Everyday he gets better.” 

There are plenty more victories in Johnson’s future, who now faces 24-year-old Miles Jones of Marina Del Rey, the No. 8 seed, in his next match.

Players to Watch

Alyssa Ahn — The No. 6 seed rolled to a 6-4, 6-1 first-round victory over qualifier Sophie Suh, a sophomore from Orange Lutheran High. Ahn, a recent Torrey Pines graduate, upset top-seeded Haley Giavara in three sets in the quarterfinals in Lakewood last week and she has made the semifinals in three straight Series events—San Diego, Rancho Santa Fe, and Lakewood.

Isaiah Strode — The fourth-seeded Strode swept Rolling Hills Estates’ own Kyle Overmyer, 6-2, 6-3, on Wednesday and could be a threat to make at least the semifinals with Nav Dayal of Long Beach looming in Round 2. The 27-year-old from San Diego has a 16-11 singles mark on hardcourts this year.     

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