Calabasas edges CdM

Richard Dunn

In a girls tennis match this close, you can point to several

different sets and an argument could be made for each one as making

the difference.

But, in the end, perhaps the gray T-shirt of Calabasas Coach Bill

Bellatty said it best: “In it to win it.”

The second-seeded Coyotes (21-2), on the strength of their three

singles players, edged third-seeded host Corona del Mar on games,

78-74, after a 9-9 tie in the CIF Southern Section Division I

semifinals Thursday.

“This match should have been for the finals,” the veteran Bellatty

said to the Sea Kings (18-4) following the match.

CdM Coach Andy Stewart announced it was his final match. The

coach, who led CdM to back-to-back CIF Division IV titles before the

Sea Kings moved back into Division I this year, resigned to accept a

position at Mesa Verde Tennis Club as an assistant pro.

Calabasas, which will face top-seeded Beverly Hills in the finals

Monday, lost to Corona del Mar, 13-5, in the CIF Division IV Finals

two years ago.

But the Coyotes, who feature three freshman and two sophomores in

the starting lineup, won seven of nine singles sets with a 49-26

advantage in games, while CdM won seven of nine doubles sets with a

48-29 edge in games.

“This is the best singles team we’ve played all year,” Stewart

said. “It’s rare when you play three superstars.”

Calabasas freshman Kristen McVitty swept at No. 1 singles, while sophomore left-hander Amanda Fink also swept. McVitty, ranked 20th in

the 14s in the United States Tennis Association, opened with a 6-4

victory over CdM’s No. 1 player, junior Brittany Holland, then beat

senior standout Taylynn Snyder, 6-2, before completing the sweep with

a 6-1 win over Jackie Manning.

Fink, a top-20 player in the USTA in the 16s, pulled out a tight

battle against Snyder, 7-5, in the first round as Calabasas managed a

4-2 lead.

The Coyotes’ No. 3 singles player, senior Erin Everly, teamed with

Celia Durkin to win the CIF doubles title last year, beating Snyder

and Holland.

Calabasas enjoyed a 7-5 advantage after two rounds, but CdM won

two quick doubles sets to tie the match in the third round.

CdM’s Juliette Mutzke and Amanda Rubenstein defeated the Coyotes’

Dana Schnitman and Cory Ceizler, 6-3, and Stanford-bound senior Anne

Yelsey and her freshman sister, Rachel, beat Durkin and freshman

Helen Kolpakov, 6-4, to square the match.

The Sea Kings’ No. 2 doubles team of Jamie Steele and Rachel

Miller shut out Jennifer Berstein and Kelsey Yu, 6-0, to give CdM an

8-7 lead in the final round. But Calabasas won two of the final three

singles sets to tie it. Coaches were counting games during the

final-round singles sets, with Calabasas maintaining a four-game lead

with two sets still on the court with predictable outcomes.

“They’ve got four big guns, and we’ve got three -- that’s what it

comes down to,” Stewart said.

CIF DIVISION I SEMIFINALS

Calabasas 9, Corona del Mar 9

(Calabasas wins on games, 78-74)

Singles -- Holland (CdM) lost to McVitty, 4-6, lost to

Fink, 2-6, def. Everly, 6-3; Snyder (CdM) lost 2-6, 5-7, won 6-3;

Manning (CdM) lost 1-6, 0-6, 0-6.

Doubles -- Mutzke-Rubenstein (CdM) lost to

Durkin-Kolpakov, 2-6, def. Schnitman-Ceizler, 6-3, def. Berstein-Yu,

6-1; Steele-Miller (CdM) lost 3-6, won 6-3, 6-0; A. Yelsey-R. Yelsey

(CdM) won 6-4, 7-5, 6-1.