TENNIS: AN EMOTIONAL WIN FOR H.-W.'S VANN DEFEATS DOUBLES PARTNER PATONAI AT JR. SECTIONAL.

Byline: ERIK BOAL Special to the Daily News

FOUNTAIN VALLEY -- From the time he woke up Sunday morning, Michael Vann knew it was going to be an emotional day.

The Harvard-Westlake of Studio City tennis standout had to face doubles partner Nick Patonai in a second-round qualifying match of the boys' 18-under singles draw in the 104th annual Southern California Junior Sectional Championships.

He would be taking the court at Los Caballeros Sports Village heavy- hearted on Father's Day, with the memory of his own father, who passed away in February 2004.

By the middle of the afternoon, an emotionally and physically spent Vann walked slowly toward the net, dropped his racquet and embraced Patonai, just moments after outlasting his close friend 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2.

``I feel terrible that I won,'' said Vann, who nearly had to retire because of injury early in the third set after suffering cramps in both calves, along with his right forearm and hand.

The three hours they spent on the outer court at the venue was not the first or the last time Patonai and Vann -- the All-Area Doubles Team of the Year -- saw one another Sunday. They warmed up together at a nearby court before arriving at Los Caballeros and Patonai had dinner with Vann's family after the match.

As much as Patonai was Vann's opponent Sunday, he was also his biggest support system. When they met before the match, Patonai's first question was, ``How are you holding up?''

Then, during the injury timeout in the third set, it was Patonai who rushed to Vann's aid, doing all that he could to minimize the cramping in an effort to prolong the match.

After the match resumed, Patonai recorded a quick service break to pull even at 2-2. But Vann was able to regain his form, winning the final fourgames, punctuated by a cross-court overhead on match point.

Another All-Area standout awaits Vann in today's third-round contest, with the winner moving on to Wednesday's main draw against an opponent to be determined. Viewpoint of Calabasas' Troy List defeated Dana Hills of Dana Point's Cameron Spearman 6-4, 6-3 to set up a showdown with Vann at 5 p.m.

Harvard-Westlake's Jordan Abergel also moved on to the third round, as did Granada Hills' Eric Lee, Encino's Peter Del Moral, Thousand Oaks' Callen Fraychineaud, Denis Lin and JT Sundling, Glendale's Alex Sarkissian and Arthur Kalayjian and Calabasas' Aram Abgaryan.

In the girls' 18-under qualifying draw, the much-anticipated showdown between past Foothill League champions never materialized as former Burbank standout Marianna Khachatryan received a walkover victory over Valencia graduate Cassie Strange, who was ill.

Khachatryan, who reached the girls' 18-under final at the Ojai Valley tournament in April, will face Calabasas' Erin Wiesener at 2 p.m. today with a berth in the 32-player main draw at stake.

Another Calabasas standout, Jillian Schnitman, playing in only her second tournament after being sidelined three months with a shoulder injury, suffered a 6-1, 6-2 setback to Placentia's Stephanie Hammel.

Thousand Oaks' Lauren Ritz defeated Flintridge Prep of LaCanada Flintridge graduate Jennifer Ouyang 6-4, 6-3 to move on to the third round, where she will play Irvine's Catherine Yoo at 3:30 p.m.

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