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--> --> Heat brings out Big Al upsets By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Some big upsets, several third-set tie-breakers and of course the heat Friday highlighted Day 1 of the 27th annual Big Al's tennis tournament. As temperatures soared into the high 90s, six top seeds were bounced from their respective brackets, including the No. 1 seed of the men's 3.5 doubles, the No. 1 seed of the women's 3.0 singles and the No. 2 and No. 4 seeds of the men's 3.5 singles bracket. Adding to the drama, 6 of the day's 108 matches were decided by third-set tie-breakers, including Karl Carstensen's 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (3) loss in the men's 3.5 singles to Roland Lint of Red Bluff Calif. Carstensen, a resident of Talent, coached the Ashland High girls tennis team in the spring. In the biggest upsets so far, Dinesh Bajaj and partner Matt Merliss, both of Chico, Calif., defeated the top seeded team of Larry Drager (Manteca, Calif.) and Robert Klinger (Stockton, Calif.), 6-4, 6-0 in the men's 3.5 doubles; and Rebecca Vogelgesang of Olympia, Wash., defeated No. 1-seeded Debbie Hazell of Eugene, 6-0, 6-3 in women's 3.0. In other notable upsets: Bajaj downed fourth-seeded Andy Cochrane of Ashland in men's 3.5 singles, 6-3, 6-2; Mark Hochhalter of Stockton, Calif., advanced to the 3.5 singles round of 16 thanks to an injury default by No. 2 seed Jeff DeBower of Medford; Richard Duval of Redding, Calif., eliminated fourth-seeded Dan Graham of Ashland from the 4.0 singles, 6-4, 6-1; and Amber Morfin and Lindy Rhodes of Redding, Calif., teamed up to beat third-seeded Laura Laney and Cheryl Bellefeuille of Ashland in the women's 3.5 doubles round of 16, 6-3, 6-2. Bridget Wagner, an incoming senior at Southern Oregon University, won her opening round match in the women's open tournament over Shannon Lever of Medford, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. In the only other women's open singles match, Megan Roberts of Redding, Calif., defeated Jessica Baker, an incoming senior at Ashland High, 6-4, 6-1. Only one match was played in the men's open singles bracket - Lowell Crook of Chico, Calif., beat Steve Mirons of Eugene, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. · Big Al's results for Saturday and Sunday and updated brackets will be posted online at www.tennisinformation.com Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing