No dark clouds for CdM

Steve Virgen

With darkness looming and a share of the Pacific Coast League

championship in the balance, the Corona del Mar High girls tennis

team needed all the points it could get.

Sophomore Rachel Miller, playing at No. 3 singles, stepped up with

what she thought was her best performance of the season, and her

efforts seemed to typify the Sea Kings’ 10-3 victory over visiting

University on Tuesday.

The match was called because of darkness, immediately after CdM

collected the clinching set point when Amanda Rubenstein defeated

Galit Rosenavich, 6-1.

The Sea Kings are co-champions of the PCL, sharing the title with

Laguna Beach. It is the fifth straight time CdM has won or shared the

league championship.

Miller, as well as senior Brittany Holland, earned two victories

each in singles, while the doubles teams of Juliette Mutzke and Jill

Braverman, and the Young twin sisters, Hayley and Miranda, also

posted two wins each.

In the first round, Miller defeated Jessica Janner, 7-6, 8-6 in

the tiebreaker, to give the Sea Kings a boost of energy. She did not

rest more than five minutes before her next set because the sun was

going down. Miller didn’t seem to lose any momentum, defeating

Marissa Lin, 6-4.

“She really stepped up,” CdM Coach Scott Feichter said. “These

were good matchups for her. She finished it when she had the chance,

and she really pulled it out.”

Holland, the Sea Kings’ No. 1 singles player, coasted to her

victories, gaining 6-2 wins over Irena Katsavkov and Janner. Mutzke

and Braverman recorded 6-0 victories over Uni tandems Jennifer

Huang/Trudy Kao and Betsy Wan/Erica Djen. The Young twin sisters

collected 7-5 and 6-4 wins, while Jackie Manning and Jami Steele

earned a 6-3 win for CdM (12-4, 9-1 in league), ranked No. 4 in CIF

Southern Section Division I.

The Trojans finished 10-8, 6-3 in the PCL.