Palisadian Lucas Bellamy won the 79th annual Harper Ink Junior Open tournament in San Diego on Sunday, emerging victorious from a 128 player draw in the Boys 14 singles division by winning six matches without losing a single set.
Bellamy, who moved into the Top 100 in the U.S. with the victory, entered the event as a third seed. He started off by beating Andrew Hu, 6-3, 6-4, in the round of 64, then ousted Ryan Wong, 6-2, 6-2, in the round of 32.
In the round of 16, Bellamy beat ninth-seeded Patrick Trhac, 6-4, 6-1, then cruised past fifth-seeded Myles Webb in the quarterfinals, 6-2, 6-2. In the semifinals, Bellamy bested top-seeded Cody Lin, 6-3, 6-4, to set up a finals showdown with Allen Chen of Texas.
Showing as much mental resolve as physical endurance, Bellamy outlasted Chen in a three-hour affair, pulling out a 7-5, 7-6 win.
Bellamy wasn’t the only Palisadian to find success at Harper Ink, however. Palisades High freshman Ben Goldberg advanced all the way to the round of 16 before falling to Trabuco Canyon’s Harry Cohen in a tough, three-set match, 4-6, 7-6, 3-6.
Next week, PaliHi’s Daniel Rozovsky and Ryan Schindler will play in the prestigious Ojai Valley Junior Tennis Tournament, as will Robbie Bellamy (Lucas’ older brother), who is expected to earn one of the top seeds. The tournament begins April 25.
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