Roseville's Riffice falls in first round of Eddie Herr 18s

   Sam Riffice of Roseville in the Sacramento area lost to Ergi Kirkin of Turkey 6-4, 7-6 (2) in the first round of the boys 18s in this week's Eddie Herr International Championships in Bradenton, Fla.
   Riffice, who trains at the USTA center in Boca Raton, Fla., won the Eddie Herr 16s last year at 15 and repeated in the Orange Bowl the following week. They are among the top junior tournaments in the world.
   Past competitors in the Eddie Herr include Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, David Nalbandian, Maria Sharapova, Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic.
   Herr, the father of international junior tennis, died in 2000 at 93.
   Riffice and Vasil Kirkov of Tampa, Fla., won in the first round of doubles.
   On the girls side, 11th-seeded Michaela Gordon of Saratoga advanced in the opening round of the 18s, and Anna Campana of Hillsborough and Jessi Muljat of Sacramento triumphed in the 16s.
   Gordon, 16, whipped Thaisa Pedretti of Brazil 6-2, 6-0.
   Campana upset 15th-seeded Judith Van Kessel of the Netherlands 6-2, 2-6, 7-5. Muljat, 14, overwhelmed Flavia Gutierrez of Bolivia 6-1, 6-0 to set up a meeting with fifth-seeded Mihaela Marculescu of Romania.
   Gordon also breezed in the opening round of doubles with Jacqueline Cristian of Romania. They are seeded third.
   The second-seeded team of Muljat and Nicole Mossmer of La Jolla received a first-round bye.