April 3 --- The Dudley Cup, Santa Monica's annual youth tennis tournament, was conducted for the 83rd time this week.

I'm sure some of the participants will be well known in the
future, for that's the way it's been through the years. For example, a kid named Pete Sampras once played.

But of greater importance, some of the city's best young players were able to test their skills against opponents from all over Southern California. I saw some nice comraderie, with youngsters exchanging stories about their school life.

I even saw some of them pass time by engaging in a friendly card game.

Alex Anselme of Santa Monica was top-seeded in the boys 16 and under division and won it. He defeated Jay Bharadwa of Los Angeles in the final, 6-3, 6-1.

Logan Hansen of Santa Monica was top-seeded in the girls
10-and-under and won it. She defeated Jane Huh of Los Angeles in the final, 6-1, 6-3.

Logan's sister, Austin, was the No. 3 seed in the girls 12 and
under division. She reached the finals before losing to top-seedd Lin Tracy of Anaheim, 6-2, 6-3.

The tournament has annually been conducted at Lincoln Park. The name has been changed to Christine Emerson Reed Park, but the tradition continues. A lot of hard-working people made sure the hundreds of competitors got to their matches on time.

The tournament even had a celebrity competitor, Whitney Reed Jr. of Culver City. If the name sounds familiar, it should. He's the son of Whitney Reed, a long-time tour pro.

The younger Reed was seeded No. 2 in the Boys 14 division and reached the semifinal before losing. It was his first time playing in this division and he appears to have a bright future.

Marissa Ervin is now a freshman at Stanford. With her partner she won the U.S. Open junior doubles title last season and had a successful high school career at Harvard Westlake.

But the Santa Monica native retains fond memories of her Dudley Cup experience nine years ago.

She was 8, trying various sports, when she discovered the Dudley Cup. Her parents figured why not, since the event was right in the city.

Little did Marissa know that her opponent would be Venus Williams.

Even though Marissa lost she discovered her sport. She told her mother ``I have to play tennis.''

She went on to be a youth champion and a heavily recruited high school star who now will become a big name on the collegiate circuit.

Congratulations to all the youngsters who participated in this
year's tournament. Once again Santa Monica put on a great event and can be proud.

Santa Monica Sports Notes
The powerful Santa Monica College swimming teams had easy wins in a double dual meet with Citrus and Pierce Colleges. The men defeated Citrus 78-28 and Pierce 68-13, led by Dimitry Barabanov (first in the 1000 yard freestyle in 12:24.38, Colin Wiliamson (first in the 200 freestyle in 1:57.19 and Mike Werzel (first in the 100 freestyle in 51.87.

The women defeated Citrus 82-11 and Pierce by forfeit as Autumn Smith won the 100 and 200 yard individual medleys in 1:12.82 and 2:39.59. Sara Goldstein won the 200 freestyle in 2:16.22...

The SMC mens volleyball team defeated Irvine Valley College, 8-15, 15-2, 15-10, 9-15, 15-6 led by Meletios Exadaktylos from Samohi with 15 kills and 11 assists. Steve Varnell from St. Monica had 12 kills...

After winning seven consecutive volleyball matches to start the season the Santa Monica High boys lost their second in a row, 15-1, 15-7, 15-4 to powerful Mira Costa High. Samohi previously lost to Peninsula, also in straight sets.

The Santa Monica High boys tennis team defeated Redondo, 10-8, despite the absence of four players due to the spring break. Jeff Miller, Samohi's No. 1 singles player, was recovering from the flu but won his matches 6-3, 6-1, 6-2.

The Santa Monica High baseball team defeated defending Bay League champion West Torrance 6-3 after losing to the same team earlier in the week 13-8.

In the first game the Vikings held an early 7-3 lead before
succumbing to the Warriors' rally. In the second game Jonas Swyer pitched a complete game as Samohi took advantage of eight errors. Swyer, who struck out eight, is now 4-0.

Samohi's most productive hitters were third baseman Chino Barba (two-for-three), shortstop Jaime Guterrez (two-for-two) and second baseman Travis Mills (two-for-three).

Samohi, which swept two games from North Torrance last week, has a 3-1 league record and is 5-5 overall.

Samohi defeated North Torrance in track and field. The boys won 88-47 and the girls won 89-47.

Lai Lai Crawford won the girls shot put in 40.5 and the discus in 105.5. For the boys football star Jamal Watson won three events, the long jump, triple jump and high jump. Joseph Young also won three hurdles races.

Billy Johnson pitched a complete game and struck out 10 in St. Monica High's 2-1 victory over St. Anthony at Blair Field in Long Beach. It was the Mariners' Camino Real League opener.

In volleyball, St. Monica also won its Camino Real League opener with a 15-7, 15-8, 15-1 win over Bosco Tech. Tim Johnson had seven digs.