Girls tennis: CdM breezes to CIF title

Steve Virgen

CLAREMONT - On a team of all-stars, perhaps the squad’s captain,

Leslie Damion, best exemplifies the essence of Corona del Mar High girls

tennis, at least for this year.

Damion, one of six CdM seniors, ended her career with style as the Sea

Kings won the CIF Southern Section Division IV title, defeating Palm

Desert, 13-5, at the Claremont Club Monday.

Damion, who teamed with junior Taylynn Snyder for three doubles wins,

reveled in the award presentation ceremony, but she wasn’t happy with her

individual performance. Maybe that’s what makes the top-seeded Sea Kings

(24-0), so good. Their dominance stems from their desire to improve, no

matter the situation.

“I didn’t want to lose,” Damion said. “I didn’t play well today, but

we still won all three. Playing badly and still winning is, I guess, a

nice thing. For the team, it’s exciting. Very exciting.”

Brittany Reitz, another senior bound for Purdue, scored a big-time

victory over Palm Desert’s No. 1 singles player, Robyn Baker, who lost to

Reitz in a 2000 CIF individual singles quarterfinal. Playing at No. 3

singles, Reitz, last year’s CIF singles champion, kept Baker off balance

with strong, looping shots that had Baker zigging and zagging on the

court. The victory gave CdM a 9-3 lead to end the second round and locked

up the win.

“It was a great way to go out this season,” Reitz said. “It seemed to

be a key win for the team today and I’m glad I could be here to do that.”

Senior Brittany Minna and her sophomore doubles teammate Amanda

Rubenstein also earned a key 6-3 victory over the No. 2-seeded Aztecs’

No. 2 doubles team.

“We have a lot of confidence,” Damion said of the Sea Kings. “Then it

comes down to everyone’s individual performance. And everyone wants to

win. Since our first match of the year, we just got better and better.”

The Sea Kings’ improvement also came from their depth and unity, Coach

Andy Stewart said. Stewart’s girls built friendships during team dinners

at a Mexican restaurant that became a superstitious tradition. The Sea

Kings also met on Thursday nights to watch, “Friends” together.

“I’ve had so much fun this year,” CdM junior Anne Yelsey said. “This

is what we’ve worked for all year. We have come out every time hard and

tried our hardest every match and it has paid off. Everyone deserved to

win this.”

Corona’s No. 1 singles player, Yelsey, battled with Baker and lost,

6-3, but then answered with two wins. Sophomore Brittany Holland posted

three wins, but did not have the opportunity to play against Baker, who

was replaced by a substitute in the third round.

Palm Desert (23-4), the Desert Valley League champion, had no answer

for the Pacific Coast League champions’ depth. After the second round,

the Aztecs substituted to give other players playoff experience.

“My team played well,” Stewart said. “Even though Anne lost that set,

I thought she played so well. That was a great match.”

As the Sea Kings enjoyed the school’s seventh section title, Stewart

looked toward next year.

“We’re going to have a good team next year,” he said. “It’s going to

be hard to replace the seniors. It’s going to be tough. But I still have

six good returners. We’re not as deep as this year, but I still think

I’ll be here talking to (the media) next year. I don’t know the girls on

the other teams, but I know mine.”