Oh so close.

Joseph Boo

CLAREMONT - Newport Harbor High’s girls tennis team fought

valiantly and almost pulled the match out in a CIF Division I final full

of heroics.

After Newport Harbor dropped all nine doubles sets in September’s meeting

in an 11-7 loss to Peninsula, seniors Kristen Case and Jenny Meyer swept

all three of their sets to almost carry the Sailors to the CIF title. But

Newport just fell short, 10-8, on Monday morning at the Claremont Club.

This is Peninsula’s ninth championship in 10 years and the third time it

beat the Sailors in the finals, the last time in 1996.

“They played very well,” Newport Harbor Coach Fletcher Olson said about

Case and Meyer. “Coming in, they knew they had to win two out of three

sets. And they ended up sweeping.”

It was a close match where Division I’s top ranked Peninsula (25-0) could

not put the Sailors, 19-2 and No. 2 in Division I, away. Unlike the

previous match in September, when Peninsula won 11-7, Newport singles

player and Peninsula’s doubles team did not dominate against each other.

Case and Meyer defeated Caitlin Blashaw and Christie Tjong, 6-3, in the

first round that closed Peninsula’s lead to 4-2 in the match. They kept

the Panthers off-balanced throughout the match with strong serves and

expertly mixed in net volleys and lobs.

“Jenny and I played very well,” Case said. “We knew it was our last

match. For our team to have a chance, we had to win our last three

(sets).”

That match followed an upset from Peninsula’s Colby Comstock, who took

advantage of Natalie Braverman’s slow start to win, 6-4. Comstock took a

quick 2-0 lead before Braverman, a sophomore who’s ranked in the top five

nationally in her age group, stormed back with three points in a row.

But Comstock chased down Braverman’s missiles, just hitting the ball in

play, extending the rallies, and surviving at the end.

“That was a major upset with Colby beating Braverman,” Peninsula Coach

Tom Cox said. “That offset us losing the doubles match.”

Despite the upset loss, there was no goat’s tag for Braverman. Had she

won, 6-0, the match would eventually have ended 9-9 with Penisula winning

on games, 75-71.

Braverman came back in her next set and crushed Shilpa Joshi, 6-1, and

Chelsea Godbey put away Jeannine Liang. Case and Meyer won their second

set to pull Newport to within one. That meant Adams had a chance to tie

the match with a win over Comstock.

With Adams up, 3-1, Comstock landed awkwardly while chasing a shot and

brought forth speculation that she might retire.

But Comstock put on an elastic support on her knee, came back, and won

three consecutive points to go up, 4-3.

“It was just a dull pain,” Comstock said. “It’s not too serious. But it’s

the last match, and I was going to play, no matter what.

“I moved a little slower, and I was lucky my shots landed in.”

After being flustered a little, Adams regrouped and took advantage of

Comstock with powerful shots down the line. Adams came back to take a 5-4

lead, and ultimately won, 7-5.

“Colby got right out there and played the way she always played,” Adams

said. “I tried to make her run around and take advantage.”

While Adams and Comstock were still playing, Peninsula captured two

doubles points by identical scores of 6-1. With Peninsula leading by 12

in games at that point, Newport had to win each set by large margins, or

the match outright.

The Sailors got two big wins to keep pace. Braverman notched another 6-1

win in her final set. Case and Meyer won their third set, 6-2, and the

match was tied, 8-8, with a three-point margin separating the two.

The crucial set was Godbey and Comstock. With Comstock slowed by the

injury, a Godbey win was definitely possible and it would’ve given

Newport control of the match.

Instead, Comstock came through with the best performance of the day.

Keeping the ball in play with almost every swing, she easily won, 6-0, to

clinch the championship for Peninsula.

“I had a lot of confidence going into that set,” Comstock said. “My

teammates tried to tell me it wouldn’t clinch the match, but I figured it

out.”

“That was two 6-0 defeats we would have had if she retired,” Cox said.

“We would have been down in sets and games. That would have been the

match.”

Instead, Comstock stayed in and won the match, nullifying a huge effort

from the Sailors.

“I’m very proud,” Olson said. “We did a great job and left everything on

the court. It’s sad for our seniors not to win, but we gave Peninsula a

run.”

“We played with heart,” Case said. “We all did. We came so close. It

could have gone either way.”

This match also marks the end of an impressive career for Newport

Harbor’s seniors. Seven of them, Adams, Case, Godbey, Amanda Collopy,

Allison Schneider, Sarah Barker and Erica Buder came in as one of the

most heralded freshmen class in tennis. Meyer, another senior,

transferred from Corona del Mar in her sophomore year.

“It’s just been incredible,” Godbey said about her four years on the

team. “We were the closest team around. We did everything together. We’ll

never have an experience like this again.”

CIF DIVISION I CHAMPIONSHIP

(at Claremont Club)

Peninsula 10, Newport Harbor 8

Singles: Braverman (NH) lost to Comstock, 4-6; def. Liang, 6-1; def.

Joshi, 6-1; Adams (NH) won, 7-5, 6-2, lost, 4-6; Godbey (NH) lost, 0-6,

won, 6-3, lost, 3-6.

Doubles: Case-Meyer (NH) def. Blashaw-Tjong, 6-3; def. Ursich-Pagliano,

6-2; def. LeBrucherie-Setian, 6-4; Collopy-Hawkins (NH) lost, 2-6, 2-6,

1-6; Barker-Schneider (NH) lost, 1-6, 2-6, 1-6.