Sea Kings bid for CIF Division I crown

Steve Virgen

Corona del Mar High boys tennis coach Tim Mang has enjoyed a

relatively stress-free season, thus far. However, his stress level

might rise today, or it might not. Mang is not sure. And, for the Sea

Kings, that just might be for the best.

The Sea Kings (23-0) will face Santa Barbara, a team they have not

faced this season and hardly know anything about, in the CIF Southern

Section Division I title match today at 11 a.m. at the Claremont

Club.

“We haven’t seen the Santa Barbara box scores,” Mang said. “All I

know is they have very strong doubles. This match will be very

unusual because, usually, I can scout the team. But this one is out

of the area.”

Santa Barbara (20-3) and most of the tennis teams in the Southern

Section know plenty about the Sea Kings, the Pacific Coast League

champions. They feature dominating players in singles, including

senior Garrett Snyder, bound for the University of Texas. Snyder has

compiled a 52-0 record in singles and doubles in dual matches this

season. Snyder, who won CIF doubles titles in 2001 and 2002, reached

the CIF singles title match Saturday.

Sophomores Wesley Miller and Spencer Reitz will also most likely

play in singles. Miller recorded three wins to help lead the Sea

Kings to a 14-4, semifinal win over Peninsula Thursday.

“He’s playing great,” Mang said. “He had been playing doubles all

year and I decided to put Carsten [Ball] in doubles. Wesley is not

too far from being a great singles player, which he showed against

Peninsula.”

Ball, also a sophomore, teamed up with junior Brennan Roberts in

doubles and swept Peninsula. Ball won the CIF doubles title with

Snyder last year.

Ball and Roberts, along with the sophomore doubles team of Alex

Nguyen and Nicholas Gingold, as well as the steady tandem of seniors

Bryan Warsaw and Issei Saida, will surely be tested against Santa

Barbara, champion of the Channel League.

The Dons’ best doubles team is senior Chase Muller and junior

Kerry Wheeler. They reached the CIF doubles semifinals this season.

Muller and Wheeler could possibly split and play with other partners,

but Santa Barbara Coach Aaron Webster did not indicate that would

happen.

“No one can beat them,” Webster said. “They have been the backbone

of the team. If we can beat CdM in doubles and get seven or eight

points, we will have a good chance to win.”

Santa Barbara enters the title match with great momentum, posting

victories over University, 10-8, Beverly Hills, 10-8, and Los

Alamitos, 11-7.

“Our confidence level is pretty high,” Webster said. “I have told

my guys that they have to believe. And that all the pressure is on

CdM.”

However, Webster is well aware of CdM’s prowess.

“They are loaded in singles,” Webster said. “We knew they would be

here.”

CdM finished 23-3 and lost in a Division V semifinal to Brentwood.

In 2001, the Sea Kings went 23-0 and took home the Division V crown.

They won the CIF Division I title in 1999.

“For us, that’s like winning the Super Bowl,” Mang said. “Finally

we are in Division I, so now we’ll know who is really the greatest

team.”

Mang, in his 11th year at CdM, ranks this team among the top five

he has coached. The Sea Kings’ smallest margin of victory has been

six points this season.