Rancho Santa Fe’s Kelly Shaffer is 2012 Coastal League Champion and CIF semi-finalist
For the second consecutive year, Rancho Santa Fe resident Kelly Shaffer, 16, was awarded the MVP title and named winner of the Girl’s Individual Tennis Coastal League playoff. Top-seeded Shaffer only dropped one game in three matches in the one-day event that was held at La Jolla Country Day school Oct. 30.
Shaffer then went on to a top four finish competing in the county-wide CIF girls individual championships held at the Barnes Tennis Center Nov 5-9. The week- long event gave 80 high school players, which qualified through their league, a chance to compete. Second seeded Shaffer won three matches against: Canyon Crest’s Hayley Scarano 6-2, 6-0; Westview HS’s Ashley Chao 6-1, 6-4; and Mater Dei’s Valeria Corral 6-2, 6-1. She lost 4-6, 2-6 in the semi- final rounds to Patrick Henry’s Victoria Robertson, who went on to win the event title in three sets in a finals match up against Fallbrook HS’s Monica Robinson. Shaffer’s final season match tally was 33 wins and 2 losses.
Shaffer, who trains in San Diego with coaches Jon Hoffpauir (tennis) and Will Scandalis (fitness), competes within the Southern California section and on the national level through the USTA (United States Tennis Association). She is currently ranked five in San Diego (in the girl’s 16 category) and 21 in Southern California.
Recent USTA win highlights include: Quarter-finalist Southern California Sectional Doubles Championships, November 2012; Winner Desert Cities Grand Prix Masters Invitational Championships, October 2012; champion team member Jim Buck Team Championships (8 wins 1 loss); National Zonals Team member (7 wins 1 loss) July 2012; Finalist USTA Regional Segment Irvine, July 2012; Quarter-finalist US Open Sectional Qualifier June 2012; and Semi-finalist Southern California Designated Santa Barbara, June 2012. Shaffer was a USTA wild card recipient at the 2012 USTA National Championships; and won three singles and 2 doubles matches at the National Clay Court Championships in Virginia Beach this past summer. She was a featured player and “Hot List” recipient in both August and September 2012 on a leading college tennis recruiting website: tennisrecruiting.net.
One interesting family connection of note, Shaffer’s great-aunt is the famed tennis player, Helen Wills Moody Roark (1905-1998); winner of 31 Grand Slam Titles and two Olympic Medals.
Shaffer has attended The Bishop’s School in La Jolla since 2008 (taking a year off for tennis training in her freshman year). She is currently a junior.