CdM clicking on all cylinders

Bryce Alderton

For as far as the eye could see in Newport Beach on Friday, the

Corona del Mar High boys tennis team’s journey through the first two

matches of its national tournament was clear sailing.

CdM, seeded third in the fourth annual All-American Invitational

Boys Team Tennis Tournament, made quick work of Clovis West in a

quarterfinal match Friday afternoon at Park Newport, 9-0, after

defeating La Jolla Country Day School, 7-2, in the morning.

The Sea Kings, ranked No. 1 by the Times, are attempting to repeat

as tournament champions and looked well on their way Friday.

Seniors Garrett Snyder and Issei Saida, along with sophomores

Carsten Ball, Wesley Miller, Spencer Reitz and junior Brennan

Roberts, all won their singles matches against their Clovis West

opponents to take a 6-0 lead, making doubles play a mere chance to

sharpen one’s game. Clovis West, located in Fresno, has won its CIF

section title three consecutive years. CdM has won nine CIF Southern

Section championships.

Roberts, playing at No. 5 singles against Clovis West, provided

the only drama of the afternoon with a thrilling 8-7 triumph (7-2

tiebreaker) over A.J. Benhiwal. Roberts had to break Benhiwal’s serve

at 7-6 to prolong the match, and gained momentum from that, despite

experiencing pain in his stomach. Roberts said he felt a strain in

his stomach when serving.

“I tried to take what I could get and not miss,” said Roberts, who

played singles last season but has been moved to doubles for the most

part this year.

Roberts used his serve-and-volley to pin Benhiwal in corners,

often resulting in an unforced error by Benhiwal.

“I was really happy with the way I played,” Roberts said.

Reitz took his singles opponent, 8-1, then teamed with Snyder to

sweep Geoff Mora and Adam Cassabom, 8-0.

“This doubles match was tougher than in league matches,” Reitz

said. “Everyone is doing their job in this tournament and, hopefully,

we’ll win this thing. In this match, we hit our serves and had good

success with volleys and returns. We weren’t weak in any area.”

Clovis West Coach Cris Petersen could attest to Reitz’s comment.

“We’re now with the best of the best ... all the matches are going

to be tough,” Petersen said. “Teams in Southern California are a lot

stronger than in Northern California.”

Bryan Warsaw and Ball teamed at No. 2 doubles for an 8-1 triumph

and Saida and Miller swept, 8-0.

Against La Jolla, Snyder and Ball each won their matches, 8-1,

with Miller (8-0) and Reitz (8-2) also claiming victories. In

doubles, Snyder and Reitz trailed, 3-0, before settling down to

record an 8-4 victory.

There are six singles and three doubles matches in the tournament,

each consisting of an eight-game professional set.

CdM plays in a semifinal at the Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club at 11

a.m. today against Punahou, from Honolulu, which beat Menlo, 5-4, in

a quarterfinal Friday. The final will be at Palisades Tennis Club at

6 p.m.

CdM National High School

Boys Tennis All-American

Invitational Team Tournament

*--*

First round

CdM 7, La Jolla Country Day 2

Singles -- Snyder (CdM) def. Moallemi, 8-1; Ball (CdM) def. Jordan, 8-1; Miller (CdM) def. James, 8-0; Reitz (CdM) def. Pritzker, 8-2; Roberts (CdM) lost to Burkhart, 3-8; Saida (CdM) lost to Levy, 7-8. Doubles -- Snyder-Reitz (CdM) def.

Jordan-Moallemi, 8-4; Ball-Roberts (CdM) def. Pritzker-James, 8-1; Miller-Saida (CdM) def. Burkhart-Levy, 8-2

*--*

*--*

Quarterfinal

CdM 9, Clovis West 0

Singles -- Snyder (CdM) def. Grotemeyer, 8-2; Ball (CdM) def. Mora, 8-3; Miller (CdM) def. Fortune, 8-2; Retiz (CdM) def. Cassabon, 8-1; Roberts (CdM) def. Benhiwal, 8-7 (7-3); Saida (CdM) def. Joshi, 8-2. Doubles -- Snyder-Reitz (CdM) def.

Mora-Cassabon, 8-0; Ball-Warsaw (CdM) def. Fortune-Benhiwal, 8-1; Miller-Saida (CdM) def. Joshi-Roeser, 8-0

*--*

*--*

Other scores from Friday’s matches:

Miramonte 6, Rio Americano 3 Harvard-Westlake 8, Woodberry Forest 1 Monte Vista 6, Brentwood 3 Troy 5, Los Gatos 4 Clovis West 6, Campolindo 3 Menlo 7, Jesuit 2 Punahou 8, Horace Mann 1 Second Round Monte Vista 6, Troy 3 Punahou 5, Menlo 4 Woodberry 6,

Rio Americano 3 Brentwood 6, Los Gatos 3 La Jolla 6, Campolindo 3 Horace Mann 6, Jesuit 3 Miramonte 6, Harvard 3

*--*