Lofty goals as Sage blooms

Chris Yemma

Seeds that were planted five years ago in the Sage Hill School tennis

department are starting to blossom into something quite potent.

The Lightning boys, who opened play Tuesday in a loss to Mater

Dei, are on a four-year plan to win a CIF Southern Section Division V

championship. Sage is entering its third year of the plan, meaning a

semifinal win is the goal.

“Each year we have three goals,” Lightning Coach A.G. Longoria

said. “The first is to win league, the second is to advance further

then we did the previous year and the third is to win CIF.”

Last season Sage lost in the quarterfinals to Cate. This season,

the Lightning’s minimum goal is to be seeded second and to make it to

the semis.

In order to be prepped for the postseason, the Lightning has

stacked its nonleague schedule against top-ranked teams. In addition

to Mater Dei, Sage’s first few opponents include Division I teams

Santa Margarita, Edison, Laguna Beach, Northwood and Corona del Mar.

“I’m happy those schools feel worthy to play us,” Longoria said.

“We’re pretty competitive, so we feel we need to play that type of

competition because we feel our season is really in the playoffs.”

Sage returns No. 1 singles player senior Tristan Cordier to lead

the team. Cordier was selected team Most Valuable Player last season.

Leading the doubles squad are Dan Chin and Michael Garrison. All

three players were first-team All-League last year.

The balance between the singles and doubles play will be a key

asset the team holds, Longoria said.

“To win you have to have an even balance,” he said. “I feel that

it is pretty even. I think we have to expect five points from singles

and five from doubles, and with 10, we’ll win. And if opposers stack

in one, we’ll get the other.”

The Academy League, considered by many coaches as the top league

in Division V, will be just as competitive this year. Last season’s

Division V top seed, Whitney, which lost in the quarterfinals to

Oakwood, returns virtually all of its talent and is expected to run

the table in the Academy League.

Sage is hoping to fall in second, Longoria said.

“In our league and in Division V, we feel we can play with

anybody,” Longoria said. “The team to beat is Whitney. They are

loaded. They have everybody plus some new people.”

The key, Longoria said, is if his team gets second in league and

second-seeded in the postseason, it will be on opposite sides of the

bracket as Whitney, meaning the two would meet in the final if both

make it.

Of course, all the tangibles have to fall in the right place for

that to happen. Sage is confident in accomplishing its part.

“I would say that this is the best team I’ve had,” said Longoria,

who is returning for Sage’s fifth season. “Every year we’ve had a

better year than the year before. This is the first time I will have

returners -- I have six letterman returning.”