CdM regroups with win

Steve Virgen

Coach Andy Stewart’s encouraging words to senior Taylynn Snyder

not only was a motto for the No. 2 tennis player, but for the entire

Corona del Mar High girls tennis team, which reacted with vigor

Tuesday in a nonleague matchup of tennis powers at Peninsula High.

“Take it to her,” Stewart told Snyder during her second set

victory, a win over Peninsula’s No. 3 Alex Jurewitz. Snyder recorded

three victories, the first being the most pivotal that brought

momentum for the Sea Kings who won seven singles and three doubles

sets to win, 10-8, over the Panthers (3-1).

Peninsula has lost 10 dual matches in its 11 years of existence,

and CdM has accounted for five of the Panthers losses.

“We could have easily won that 12-6,” Stewart said. “But, we’re on

the road, 10-8, I’m outta here. I’ll take it. Without Anne (Yelsey),

any victory will be good, especially a win over Peninsula. That

Woodbridge loss was good for me and good for the team because I have

to realize now without Anne, I have to do something. I have to change

the doubles. I can’t play straight up.”

Stewart moved Juliette Mutzke to doubles, and Mutzke along with

Amanda Rubenstein picked up two key victories. The duo’s big win came

in the match’s first round, in which CdM won four out of the six

sets. The Sea Kings (5-1), ranked No. 1 in CIF Division I, grabbed

control in that first round. Mutzke and Rubenstein recorded a 6-4 win

over Peninsula’s No. 1 doubles team of Macall Harkins and Tiffany

Liu.

Yelsey, the senior team captain and standout who is nursing a knee

injury and expects to be back in “about two weeks,” supported her

teammates during the match and rooted for her sister, Rachel, who

teamed up with Jamie Steele to earn an important win in the first

round. Corona del Mar freshman Rachel Yelsey and sophomore Jaime

Steele defeated senior Stephanie Stearns and sophomore Paige Weber,

6-4.

“I figured with Anne out we would win,” said Peninsula Coach Tim

Cox, whose team is ranked No. 5 in CIF Division I. “But, some people

didn’t just come through for us. Maybe we’ll get to see them again.

The way the playoffs could go maybe it will happen.”

Junior Brittany Holland, the Sea Kings’ No. 1 singles player, also

contributed a victory in the first round. And, Snyder used dramatics

to record Corona’s fourth win.

Snyder, down 5-3, to freshman Tania Mahtani, rallied back to win

four straight games and grabbed a 7-5 victory.

“Winning the first set brought me good rhythm,” Snyder said. “I

started playing better. That gave me confidence and it helped me get

through the next two sets. The cheers from my teammates helped me.

Doing it for my team pushed me to come through.”

Holland used powerful ground strokes and pinpoint serves to win

two out of three sets. She battled back in the most exciting set

match of the day. Trailing 0-3, Holland came back only to lose in a

tiebreaker, 6-7, (10-8) to Jurewitz.

Corona’s No. 3 singles player, freshman Rachel Miller, contributed

two wins. Her 6-1 victory over Tania Mahtani clinched CdM’s team win

in the final round.

Cox, who said Mahtani played despite an injured shoulder suffered

in her loss to Snyder, also shuffled his lineup. He put one of his

best singles player at No. 3 in Jurewitz, and he put Harkins, the

Panthers’ standout junior, in No. 1 doubles. It was Harkins’ first

match back from a leg injury that had her sidelined throughout the

early season.

NONLEAGUE

Corona del Mar 10, Peninsula 8

Singles -- Holland (CdM) def. Zinkiewicz, 6-1, def.

Mahtani, 6-1, lost to Jurewitz, 6-7 (10-8); Snyder (CdM) won, 6-1,

7-5, 6-2; Miller (CdM) won, 6-1, 6-1, lost, 1-6.

Doubles -- Mutzke-Rubenstein (CdM) def. Harkins-Liu,

6-4, def. Stearns-Weber, 6-0, lost to Schweyer-Jackson, 5-7; R.

Yelsey/Steele (CdM) lost, 3-6, won, 6-4, lost, 2-6; Carnahan-Manning

(CdM) lost, 2-6, 3-6, 2-6.

Mesa loses on tiebreaker

WESTMINSTER -- Costa Mesa Mustangs lost a close match to Golden

West League rival Westminster on a tiebreaker Tuesday.

The Mustangs (4-5, 4-1 in the Golden West League) led Westminster,

9-8, before Westminster’s No. 2 doubles team beat Costa Mesa’s third

doubles team, 7-6, tying the match at 9 with Westminster winning the

match on games won, 79-74.

“It was a tough one,” said Costa Mesa coach Joe Havens. “But

Hillary (Havens) played really well and our No. 2 doubles team could

have swept their match.”

Havens, Costa Mesa’s No. 1 singles player, swept her three sets,

6-3, 6-2, 6-3, while Mesa’s No. 1 and No. 2 doubles teams of Chi

Doan-Minh-Thy Pham and the team of Brenda Tran-Laura Fais each won

two sets.

Costa Mesa’s next start will be Thursday when it hosts

league-rival Santa Ana.

GOLDEN WEST LEAGUE

Westminster 9, Costa Mesa 9

(Westminster wins tiebreaker, 79-74)

Singles -- H. Havens (CM) def. Xiong, 6-3; def. Ho,

6-2; def. H Tran, 6-3; K. Nguyen (CM) lost 0-6; 0-6; 0-6; H. Nguyen

(CM) lost 1-6; 3-6; won 6-4.

Doubles -- C. Doan-Pham (CM) lost to M. Tran-T. Tran,

4-6; def. C. Nguyen-Dinh, 6-3; def. Q. Tran-H. Nguyen, 6-0; B.

Tran-Fais (CM) lost 4-6; won 6-3, 6-2; V. Gomez-P. Rodriguez (CM)

lost 2-6, 6-7; won 6-4.

Estancia rolls to 12-6 win

Estancia High’s girls tennis team improved to 4-5, 2-3 in the

Golden West League with a 12-6 victory over visiting Orange Tuesday

afternoon.

Orange fell to 4-6, 2-3.

The Eagles return to action on Thursday at Pacifica, then meet

Ocean View on Tuesday in league play.

GOLDEN WEST LEAGUE

Estancia 12, Orange 6

Singles -- Curran (E) lost to Shelly, 1-6, def. Bui

(substituted for Nguyen), 7-5, def. Lam, 6-3; Trettin (E) lost, 1-6,

won, 6-2 (Nguyen), 6-1; Nellor (E) lost, 1-6, won, 6-0 (Nguyen),

6-0.

Doubles -- Thai-Sudhikam (E) lost to Calderon-Farrel,

1-6, def. Cruz-Ignacio, 6-1, def. Lee-Huyhn, 7-5; M. Morton-H. Morton

(E) lost, 1-6, won, 6-2, 6-4; Zaidler-Ingram (E) lost, 1-6, won, 6-1,

6-0.