Favorites Continue to Win

Top-seeded Nazlie Ghazal, a senior left-hander at Temecula Chaparral, advanced to the semifinals of the Southern Section individual tournament with victories Thursday over a pair of top young players from Orange County at SeaCliff Country Club in Huntington Beach.

Three of the top four seeded players made it to the semifinals, with fourth-seeded Ally Krasnopolsky, a senior at North Hollywood Campbell Hall, and unseeded Tania Mahtani of Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula having split sets before darkness suspended the match. The tournament championship match is scheduled for 1 p.m. today.

Ghazal advanced by defeating Santa Ana Mater Dei sophomore Michelle Murphy, 6-1, 7-6 (3), in the fourth round, and Rancho Santa Margarita Tesoro freshman McCall Jones, 6-4, 6-4, in the quarterfinals. The other singles semifinal will include third-seeded Mission Viejo sophomore Maggie Mello and No. 2-seeded North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake sophomore Hilary Barte.

Sisters Erynne and Aimee Oki of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, who were quarterfinalists last season, improved on that showing by advancing to the doubles semifinals. The top-seeded team of Jill Damion and Allie Walters of Corona del Mar also advanced.