CdM’s lineup shuffling continues

Steve Virgen

The Corona del Mar High boys tennis team hopes to celebrate today,

but the Sea Kings will not have a ball when they host Loyola in a CIF

Southern Section Division I quarterfinal at 2 p.m.

Sage Hill School will face Cate in a CIF Division V quarterfinal,

also at 2 p.m. at Park Newport.

Junior Carsten Ball, the Sea Kings No. 1 singles player, will not

play for Corona del Mar. Ball, ranked fourth in the Southern

California Tennis Association boys 18s singles, will be competing in

the semifinals of the United States Tennis Association national open

in El Paso, Texas. The finals are Wednesday. Ball is the top seed.

The Sea Kings (20-1), top-seeded in Division I and the Pacific

Coast League champions, will depend on junior Wesley Miller and

junior Spencer Reitz in singles.

“In the next round, hopefully we get there, we are expecting

[Ball],” Corona del Mar Coach Tim Mang said. “With Loyola, it’s a

guessing game. They have three good singles players and one good

doubles team. Wesley can win three. We have to have his three. We’re

shooting for six [points] in singles.”

Mang said the Sea Kings are hoping for four points in doubles.

Corona del Mar’s No. 1 doubles team of Brennan Roberts and Ryan

Caughren played as the No. 2 squad Thursday, when they scored 6-1,

6-1, 6-2 victories over Thousand Oaks. The Sea Kings, the defending

CIF Division I champions, defeated Thousand Oaks, 12-6.

Alex Nguyen and Sean Pham, who won the PCL doubles title, are also

expected to contribute.

Loyola (18-3) defeated Los Alamitos on games, 82-80, in the second

round.

Sage Hill, in its fourth year, will be making its first appearance

in the CIF Division V quarterfinals. The Lightning, coached by A.G.

Longoria, are the No. 3 seed in Division V. Cate defeated Don Bosco

Tech, 16-2, in the second round.

Sage Hill (14-4) ended San Dimas’ 16-match winning streak with a

14-4 victory over the Saints to advance to today’s quarterfinal.

Tristan Cordier, the Lightning’s No. 1 singles player, won his three

sets and Sage Hill won all nine doubles sets.