By Pete Borello
Organizers of the annual Mountain View Open say this year’s tennis tournament should be as competitive as ever.
“We have a lot of top-ranked players in Northern California,” said Kathy Wheeler, Mountain View Open co-director, “and it should be really exciting.”
The tourney, in its 34th year, runs Saturday through Monday at Cuesta Park. Qualifying rounds were held last weekend.
While most of the 173 players signed up for the event are from the Bay Area - including seven from Los Altos - a few are coming from out of state.
Jan Tiilikainen of Reno will return to defend his men’s singles title. As proof of how strong this year’s field is, Tiilikainen is seeded 16th.
The top seed belongs to Saratoga’s Michael Jessup. The United States Tennis Association ranks Jessup among the top players in Northern California.
Cuesta pro Tomas Penicka (San Jose), who reached the final last year, is seeded 12th.
Recognizable names beyond the 16 seeded players include a pair of high school standouts. Senior James Pade (Redwood City) played No. 1 singles for Central Coast Section champion Menlo School, while Eric Chow (Sunnyvale) was the top player for a St. Francis High team that reached the CCS semifinals this spring.
“We’ve attracted a lot of young players this year,” Wheeler said. “I think it’s because an open like this is better for their national ranking.”
One nationally ranked player set to participate in women’s singles is Pinewood School sophomore Lejla Hodzic. The Cupertino resident, who led Pinewood to the CCS finals last fall, has landed the eighth and final seed in the division. Maria Cole (Santa Cruz) has earned the top seed, while 2000 runner-up Christine Limbers (Cave Creek, Ariz.) is seeded sixth.
The men’s doubles draw features another Pinewood product, Scotty Scott. A former Stanford player living in Greenbrae, Scott and partner Derek Fitzpatrick (San Jose) are seeded sixth. Tiilikainen and Mark Fairchilds (Aptos) are seeded No. 1.
There also will be a mixed doubles competition; seeding was determined at last weekend’s qualifier.
Total prize money for this year’s open is $2,500.
Admission is free and refreshments will be sold.
For more information, logon to www.mvopen.com.
