Girls tennis: Sailors, Sea Kings shoot for CIF titles

Tony Altobelli

CLAREMONT - Two local teams, two different divisions, two CIF

Southern Section titles at stake.

That’s what awaits the Newport Harbor High and Corona del Mar girls

tennis teams with finals’ action today at the Claremont Tennis Club.

The Sailors will take on Palm Desert for the Division III title at

10:30 a.m., while the Sea Kings go up against Calabasas for the Division

IV crown at 11:30.

Corona del Mar, the top-seed in Division IV, is steamrolling through

its opponents like a bully taking lunch money in school.

The Sea Kings (24-2) have won 50 out of the 54 sets played in the

playoffs, including 18-0 wins over Pacifica in the second round and

Chaminade in the semifinals.

“We’re healthy and we’re all playing well at the same time,” Sea Kings

Coach Andy Stewart said. “I don’t know much about Calabasas, but if we

continue to play the type of tennis we’re playing, there’s not too many

teams that can beat us.”

Especially in Division IV, where a 14-4 decision over San Marino has

been the hardest CdM has been pushed in these playoffs.

In the shutout win over Chaminade, sophomore Anne Yelsey won 18 of 19

games played in her three-set win, as did the No. 1 doubles team of

Brittany Holland and Leslie Damion.

“Our doubles have really been playing well lately,” Stewart said.

“Actually, everyone on the team has been very successful, but our doubles

teams have really picked up their game.”

In Saturday’s CIF Individual individual championships at Old Ranch

Club in Seal Beach, Yelsey and Reitz eased into the Round of 16, as well

as the Holland-Damion doubles combination.

Yelsey blanked Mater Dei’s Michelle Van Oppen, 6-0, 6-0, and won by

default over Troy’s Aya Sakoda.

Reitz punished Joyce Kim of Cypress and Esperanza’s Kelly Six with

identical 6-0, 6-0 lessons.

Holland and Damion, top-seeded in doubles, eliminated Michelle Dinh

and Karen Eitan of Troy, 6-2, 6-3.

The Sailors’ road to the Division III finals has been a little

trickier, but just as rewarding.

After breezing past Savanna (18-0), La Serna (17-1) and St. Lucy’s

(14-4) in the first three rounds, Newport, seeded No. 3 in the division,

outlasted second-seeded Mater Dei, 10-8, to advance to the finals.

It was a solid first round of play and an early 5-1 lead that proved

to be the difference for the Sailors over the Monarchs.

The lead stretched to 7-1, before Mater Dei fought back and won four

straight sets.

But Newport hung tough and came up with the close sets, as well as the

match.

Newport Coach Fletcher Olson sees the Palm Desert matchup to mirror

the intensity of the Mater Dei clash.

“I think it’s going to come down to which team can stay more focused,”

Olson said. “For us to win, it will have to take all nine players to play

their best tennis. We’re young, but they’ve earned the right to be in the

finals.”

A pleasant surprise for Olson’s squad has been the play of Carmen and

Diana Khoury.

“Carmen is a junior and she had never played tennis on a team before

this year,” Olson said. “Diana started this year on our doubles teams,

but I’ve moved her to singles and she keeps playing better and better.”

Palm Desert, the top seed in the division, lost in the finals last

year to Laguna Hills and according to Olson, has talent from top to

bottom.

“From what I’ve seen, they’ve got a couple of solid players in

singles, as well as a couple of real good doubles teams, so it should be

a battle out there,” Olson said.