Tennis Notebook: Monrovia’s Madregallejo Wins Consolation Title at Easter Bowl

The Easter Bowl is one of the top junior tournaments in the nation. Getting invited to participate in the event is an honor.

But Monrovia resident Nikko Madregallejo made his experience a long one as he won the consolation championship of the boys’ 16-and-under division. The tournament was played at Rancho Las Palmas Resort in Rancho Mirage near Palm Springs.

“It was a pretty good result. I did the best I could,” Madregallejo said. “I’m happy with my performance.”

Madregallejo, who was seeded fifth, got as far as the quarterfinals in the main draw before he lost to second-seeded Ronnie Schneider of Bloomington, Ind., 6-7 (7-5), 6-3, 6-2.

He then moved to the consolation bracket where he began by defeating Thomas Mayronne of Monroe, La., 6-1, 6-2.

In the consolation semifinals he defeated No. 17 Robbie Bellamy of Pacific Palisades 6-2, 6-3.

In the consolation final, Madregallejo defeated third-seeded Luca Corinteli of Alexandria, Va., 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10).

Madregallejo has been part of the United States Tennis Association’s national program for two years. He now trains in Boca Raton, Fla. and said he returns to California for about two weeks out of every month.

Two years ago he was the runner-up at the Easter Bowl in the 14-and-under division.

Madregallejo said he expects to play in some international events the rest of the year.

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Arcadia, ranked No. 2 in the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 poll, has already clinched part of the Pacific League title. The Apaches are 15-0 overall and 9-0 in league following their 15-3 win at Hoover of Glendale on Tuesday.

On Thursday, Arcadia travels to Burbank High. A win over the Bulldogs would guarantee the league title outright.

“Our focus is to finish league undefeated and get ready for the playoffs,” coach Jerry Dohling said.

Singles players Travis Tu and Albert Chen earned sweeps against Hoover as did the doubles teams of George Chiu and Hardy Lou and Eric Gao and Dustin Lieu.

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San Marino improved to 9-4 overall and 7-0 in the Rio Hondo League on Wednesday with an 11-7 win over Temple City.

Singles players Johnny Wang and James Wade earned sweeps for the Titans.

The No. 1 doubles team of Robert Cater and Nicholas Splichal won two of three sets.

“It looks like we’ve captured league,” coach John Kuramoto said. “That was our objective.”
The Titans, who are ranked No. 9 in Division 1, have one final league match against Monrovia.

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La Salle has finished its regular with an 11-9 overall record and an 8-2 record in the Del Rey League. The Lancers will be the Del Rey’s No. 2 representative in the CIF-SS playoffs.

The Lancers closed out the season with a 16-2 home victory over St. Monica.

No. 1 singles player Garrett Mak returned to play just a day after playing in the Easter Bowl.

“That surprised me,” La Salle coach Tim Pawley said. “He still showed up and won all three sets.”

Mak also won the Del Rey League individual tournament and will advance to the CIF Southern Section’s individual event.

The Lancers doubles team of Jordan Adams and Austin Fitzgerald finished as the Del Rey League runner-ups, but also advance to postseason as a doubles team.

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St. Francis dropped its final two Mission League matches to CIF power Harvard-Westlake by scores of 15-3 and 16-2. That puts the Golden Knights at 6-7 overall and 4-6 in league play. St. Francis has a chance to end its regular season with a .500 mark Thursday if it can defeat Hoover of Glendale in a nonleague match at Fremont Park in Glendale, which is St. Francis’ home court, but just down the street from Hoover.

If the Golden Knights beat Hoover, they may petition for an at-large berth into the CIF playoffs.

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Arcadia’s Francis Dean, the Pacific League girls’ singles champion, reached the round of 16 in the 16-and-under division in the Easter Bowl before she had to retire due to injury after just one game against top-seeded Jamie Loeb of Ossining, NY.

Dean is ranked No. 23 in the Southern California Tennis Association rankings in the same age division.

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Next weekend is the 111^th Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament, which will feature many locals. The draws have yet to be posted. Stay tuned for more tennis news!

Jim Riggio's Tennis Notebook appears weekly across all Patch sites in the San Gabriel Valley.