Edison comes up big in girls’ tennis

Mike Sciacca

Needing a late season surge in order to position itself for a CIF

playoff berth, the Edison High girls’ tennis team came up big in the

final week of the regular season.

Hovering in the middle of the Sunset League standings, Edison made

a push toward the postseason by following an 11-7 triumph over Huntington Beach with an 81-78 win on games Monday against league

champion Los Alamitos.

“Monday and last Thursday were the biggest days of our season and

when we needed it, we played our best tennis,” Edison Coach Nick

Friendt said.

Edison had finished the first round of league play with a 3-2

record, good for a third-place tie with Huntington.

During first-round play, the Chargers had defeated Los Alamitos.

“This is the first time we’ve defeated Los Al twice in a season

and it was obviously very windy Monday, but we competed better than

we played and sneaked out the win when we had the opportunity,”

Friendt said. “Though we’ve had complete team wins with everyone

stepping up and contributing, the players that most stand out are

sophomore No. 1 singles player Brittany Bass and freshman No. 3

doubles players Shauna Henderson and Melissa Boyer.”

In the 11-7 win at Huntington last Thursday, Bass defeated the

Oilers’ top singles player, Lauren Pascoe, 6-3, to avenge a 6-3 loss

to Pascoe earlier this season. Bass completed the sweep at No. 1

singles with 6-2, 6-0 wins.

Against Los Alamitos, she defeated Alyssa Nafarrete, 6-1, after

losing to her, 6-2, earlier in the season, and went on to sweep her

two other matches Monday by identical 6-0 scores.

“Brittany has turned into one of the top three singles players in

league and we’ve never recorded any wins in singles over the years

against Pascoe or the Nafarrete sisters,” Friendt said.

“Boyer and Henderson have also been fantastic. Boyer plays the

forehand and Henderson plays the backhand, each playing to their

strengths. Both are unbelievable athletes who move a lot on the court

and control the center with their attacking, aggressive game with

forceful volleys.”

In the Huntington match, Boyer and Henderson lost to the Kaufman

sisters, Amy and Stacy, 4-6, at No. 1 doubles, but won the next two

matches, 6-2, 6-1.

Against Los Al Monday, Edison won just three of nine possible

points in doubles action, with the Boyer-Henderson combo earning two

of those three points. Sophomore Lindy Shields won her last round in

singles play, 6-4, which proved to be an important match.

Los Alamitos won the league title with an 8-2 mark, while Edison

and Fountain Valley finished tied for second place with 7-3 marks.

The Barons, by virtue of head-to-head wins over Edison, will be

the Sunset League’s second place representative in the upcoming

playoffs, which begin Wednesday. Edison is the league’s No. 3 entry.

The Sunset League team and individual finals continue today

through Friday.

“When we had to, we played our best tennis and seized the

opportunity to make CIF,” Friendt said.

Also on Monday, Huntington dropped Fountain Valley into a

second-place tie with Edison by defeating the Barons by games on,

79-60.

Pascoe, playing at No. 3 singles, won two of three. The Kaufman

sisters, and the Oilers’ No. 3 team of Jenny Le-Christina Le, also

won two of three.

The win improved Huntington’s league mark to 6-4.

In girls’ volleyball, a battle between two of the county’s top

teams Saturday ended with host and top-ranked Mater Dei defeating No.

3 Edison, 25-17, 25-19, 25-14, in nonleague play.

In boys’ water polo, Marina defeated Carlsbad, 8-5, and shaded

Newbury Park, 9-8, in tournament action.