Daily Pilot Athletes of the Week, Leslie Damion and Kristen

Griffith: Together again

Barry Faulkner

Unbeaten but still unheralded, Corona del Mar High doubles partners

Leslie Damion and Kristen Griffith didn’t let a low profile subdue high

expectations heading into last week’s Pacific Coast League girls tennis

tournament.

Despite a No. 5 seeding, obtained due to their limited partnership during

the PCL regular season, they swept all four matches to earn the league

doubles title.

“They didn’t get the seeding they deserved,” said CdM Coach Andy Stewart,

who estimated the duo played no more than two league matches together.

“We definitely thought we were the best team in the tournament,” Damion

said. “(Stewart) explained to us why we were seeded so low, and we just

said ‘OK, whatever.’ We used it as motivation to prove them wrong. We

wanted to prove we were better than the No. 5 seed.”

Damion, a sophomore, and Griffith, a junior, did just that. They swept a

first-round foe from Costa Mesa, then dispatched teammates Nicole Charney

and Ashley Jacobson, 6-0, 6-3, in the quarterfinals.

The next day, they handled top-seeded Laguna Beach tandem Danielle

Schulman and Rory Steinle, 6-1, 6-2, before meeting up with

seventh-seeded teammates Laura Claster and Katie Tenerelli for the title.

Claster and Tenerelli kept things close, before falling, 6-4, in the

first set. Then, Damion and Griffith turned up the heat and closed them

out, 6-0.

“It was no fun to take out our teammates,” Damion said of the title

match.

Stewart took Damion and Griffith out of their routine of playing together

-- which they did all of last season -- but it didn’t seem to hinder

their cohesiveness last week.

“They seem to know each other’s games, since they played together last

year,” said Stewart, in his first season coaching the Sea Kings. “They do

a lot of things well, they move together at the net and they like each

other.”

Both players said they were happy to perform in whatever roles Stewart

asked during the regular season. But both were intent on pairing up, once

again, for the postseason.

“(Damion) was the only person I played with last year and the only person

I wanted to play with this year,” Griffith said. “We have this thing

where we can play well together. She’s a little better than I am, but

we’re the same kind of players.”

Damion agreed.

“(Griffith) has a very consistent serve and ground strokes and we both

like to volley,” Damion said. “We do the basics well. She keeps the ball

alive and I like to end points.”

Their on-court chemistry also stems from contrasting personalities,

according to Stewart.

“Kristen is very aggressive and when she gets upset, Leslie calms her

down.”

Damion said Griffith’s more blatant show of emotion can be inspiring.

“Kristen gets very feisty,” Damion said. “She usually keeps me

motivated.”

Said Griffith: “I might be a little more competitive than she is. I

always try to pump her up and not let her get down. And she’s a calming

influence on me.”

Though such exchanges could trigger conflict, Damion said their mutual

respect always helps keep things in context.

“Because we can talk to each other, I can tell her things and not hurt

her feelings,” Damion said.

Both are looking forward to helping the Sea Kings progress as far as

possible in the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs. But when the

team’s run comes to an end, they’ll get a crack at showing what they can

do in the CIF individual tournament, which begins Nov. 20.

“If we’re both playing well, I think we can do well,” Damion said.

“(The CIF individuals) gives us another chance to do well,” Griffith

said.