PREP ROUNDUP : Dana Hills Puts in Time to Beat El Toro in Tennis

El Toro hasn’t beaten Dana Hills in a South Coast League girls’ tennis match since 1987, but Thursday the Chargers didn’t make it easy for the Dolphins, who worked 3 1/2 hours for a 10-8 victory at El Toro High Schol.

Dana Hills, which has lost only one league match in the past three seasons, relied on strong play at No 1 singles from Nicole Elliott, who swept, 6-1, 6-1, 6-0. The Dolphins (7-1, 2-0 in league), ranked fourth in Southern Section 4-A, also got a sweep from their No. 3 singles player, Anna Zaricki, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3, and two sets from No. 2 Elizabeth Stevens.

With the score 8-8, Stevens and Zaricki each had one set remaining and Dana Hills needed a victory in either to clinch the match. The Dolphins had a comfortable games margin (71-60) going into the final round in case of a 9-9 finish, but Stevens and Zaricki each won to provide the 10-8 margin.

El Toro (5-5, 0-2) won seven of nine doubles sets to nearly offset Dana Hills’ dominance in singles. The Chargers got a sweep from the No. 3 team of Jill Pool and Meghan Reed, 6-4, 6-1, 6-1. Denise Kenyon and Jessica Ledford combined to win two sets at No. 1 doubles for El Toro, and the No. 2 team of Carin Crawford and Sara Ludwig won two sets.

The Chargers, ranked No. 8 in 4-A, have lost twice by 10-8 scores and twice by games-margin tiebreakers. “It’d be nice to win one of these close ones, but I’m happy with how we played today,” El Toro Coach Al Jones said. “It’s always nice when you’re in position to beat a team like Dana Hills late in the match.”