DREAM TEAM

Haley and Miranda Young’s sister act helped lead Corona del Mar to the Division I semifinals and took them to the section quarterfinals.For Corona del Mar girls’ tennis Coach Brian Ricker, the textbook says that a team’s strength is in its singles players.

Haley and Miranda Young changed that stance in the course of one season.

Paired up by necessity, the twin sisters fashioned a 56-3 record and advanced to the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section individual championships. The juniors also helped lead the Sea Kings to the Division I semifinals, before losing to division runner-up Peninsula.

For that, the Youngs are the Daily Pilot Girls’ Tennis Players of the Year. The sisters edged out Newport Harbor’s doubles team of Sasha Dunlap and Chrissy Schwartz for the award.

Haley was tabbed as a starter for the Sea Kings in singles before the season started, but shoulder pain forced her to play doubles. Ricker paired her up with Miranda and the rest was history.

The pair’s only losses came to Peninsula’s No. 1 team of Tania Mahtani and Akane Kitamura, and to Troy’s Samantha Nadres and Stephanie Villijuan.

Along the way, they anchored a Sea Kings’ doubles lineup that was hard to beat, joining freshmen Danielle Kaiden and Lindsay Zotovich, and senior Lindsay Norman and junior Kelly McKitterick.

“We won this year the opposite of the way it’s usually done,” Ricker said. “Usually, it’s the singles that carries you. We had plenty of success and to do it that way is unique.”

Here’s a look at the members of the Dream Team:

* Haley and Miranda Young: The sisters’ strength helped carry the Sea Kings through a tough season that included the loss of Jill Damion to a shoulder injury, and the departure of Ali Walters for personal reasons.

“I knew when I put them together, they’d be a strong team,” Ricker said. “I didn’t realize how successful.”

* Sasha Dunlap and Chrissy Schwartz: Like the Youngs, Dunlap and Schwartz advanced to the Southern Section quarterfinals in doubles. The juniors, who were doubles partners two seasons ago, went 43-7 this season and were the Sea View League runners-up.

“They’re good friends on and off the court,” Newport Harbor Coach Fletcher Olson said. “They have good chemistry between them. They’re very determined and neither of them likes to lose, so when they got down, they got really tough.”

* Allie Hsu and Erica Spivack: Unlike the Youngs and the Dunlap-Schwartz duo, Hsu and Spivack were first-time partners. The Sage Hill juniors bonded quickly and dominated the Academy League, as the Lightning went on to win the CIF Southern Section Division V title.

The pair were upset in the league semifinals, but came back to win two matches at the CIF individual tournament before losing to eventual champions Claire Reitsch and Lyndsay Kinstler of Laguna Beach.

* Carissa Cummings and Salen Andrews: It was Cummings and Andrews who topped Hsu and Spivack at the league finals, and the Sage Hill juniors ended up winning the league doubles crown.

Cummings and Andrews went on to win one match at the CIF individual tournament.

* Rachael Miller: The senior was Corona del Mar’s top singles player and took second at the Pacific Coast League finals. Miller went on to reach the third round of the CIF individual tournament, losing to eventual semifinalist Cosmina Ciobanu of Troy.

* Sarah Geocaris: Strep throat kept the Sage Hill star from competing for a league singles title, but she did just about everything else for the Lightning. The junior went 40-0 in league play and lost just four games in 12 sets during the playoffs.

* Ellie Edles: The Estancia freshman came in with high expectations and met most of them. Edles went 44-1 in singles, leading the Eagles to the Golden West League title and the Division V quarterfinals.

She was the league runner-up in singles and reached the CIF individual tournament.

2005 DAILY PILOT ALL-NEWPORT-MESA

GIRLS’ TENNIS DREAM TEAM