The Patton and Sanford families have written chapters in the tennis history book of Santa Barbara.
Rita Patton taught the sport here, coached at Marymount School and City College, and even played on the Vaquero team with her youngest daughter, Maureen. Her eldest daughter Colleen was a star player for Santa Barbara High and played on a CIF championship team. Her son, Greg, was a standout player at Bishop Diego and UCSB before turning to coaching. He’s coached at UCSB and UC Irvine and has been at Boise State for the last 18 years.
Greg’s son, Garrett Patton, is adding to the Patton tennis legacy. A senior-to-be at Boise State, Garrett is one of the semifinalists in the men’s open singles of the 77th annual Santa Barbara Open. Garrett, the No. 3 seed, will take on professional player Matt Seeberger of Redwood City in one semifinal match at 11 a.m. at the Tennis Club of Santa Barbara. Seeberger upset No. 1 seed Noah Newman in last weekend’s quarterfinals.
In the other 11 a.m. semifinal, Cal-Berkeley’s Jack Sanford, the grandson of local legend, long-time SBCC tennis coach and the latest Tennis Patrons Hall of Fame inductee, Jack Sanford, plays No. 2-seeded Nicholas Bailou.
The championship match is scheduled for 2:30 at Tennis Club.
The women’s final pits former Dos Pueblos High star and No. 2 seed Lauren Stratman against Katsiaryna Zheltova of Belarus. That match is also scheduled at 2:30 p.m. at Tennis Club. Zheltova, a former Sacramento State standout, knocked off No. 1 seed and defending champion Zsuzanna Fodor in last weekend’s semifinals.
Stratman, who won four Channel League singles titles at DP, returned home from Columbia in New York and has enrolled at Westmont College.
Also at Tennis Club on Saturday is the finals of the USTA National 50s Men’s Hardcourt Championships. At 9:30 a.m., fourth-seeded and former champion Mike Fedderly of Palm Desert plays ninth-seeded Thomas Kong of Ventura for the singles title.
The doubles final is scheduled for noon.
