CIF GIRLS TENNIS:Sea Kings finish it off

CLAREMONT — The win wasn’t sudden or thrilling, and definitely not unexpected.

It was more of a workmanlike win on Monday for the Corona del Mar High girls’ tennis team, which captured the CIF Southern Section Division I championship.

There was celebration, but no giant hugs or bursts of cheering. The win occurred quietly early in the third go-round, when Cierra Gaytan-Leach finished off her third singles sets to give CdM its clinching 10th set.

Word eventually spread to each player as she finished her last set. Eventually, the players gathered as a team and celebrated the Sea Kings’ 13-5 win over Troy at The Claremont Club, giving CdM (24-0) its first CIF section title since 2001.

“We worked really hard all year, and we came out here really pumped up,” said sophomore Lindsay Zotovich, who teamed with freshman Melissa Matsuoka to sweep three doubles sets. “We were ready to win and do well.”

It was a match the Sea Kings felt confident they could win. Then again, they’ve been feeling confident all season, and for good reason.

“The depth our team has is amazing,” said senior Jill Damion. “Everybody’s just really, really good. It was going to be hard to lose, unless we all really screwed up and just tanked. We just have too many good people on our team. No other team has as many good kids who play tennis outside of school.”

But the Sea Kings were a bit nervous early on. Troy took two of the first five completed sets, including a surprising 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles. Gaytan-Leach’s set with the Warriors’ Frances Tseng was the longest of the first round, and players from both teams came to sit on an adjacent court to watch it.

The set was back and forth, eventually going to a tiebreaker. Gaytan-Leach was down 4-3 in the tiebreaker before taking the last four points, accentuating the victory with a volley winner.

That triumph made the score 4-2, CdM, after the first round, instead of a 3-all tie.

“It was gigantic,” Sea Kings Coach Brian Ricker said. “I told our team after the first round that Frances just played the match of her life, and their No. 1 doubles team probably just played the best set they’d played all year, and we’re still winning 4-2. Cierra stepped up and showed some good confidence and some good mental toughness.”

Damion agreed with her coach.

“Cierra’s first match was key,” she said. “It paved the way for [No. 3 singles player] Hailey [Hogan], because that girl kind of lost it. She was down when I played her too.”

From there, the Sea Kings were on cruise control, winning five of the next six matches to clinch at least a tie with one round still to go. The ninth set came on a big 7-5 win by the No. 3 doubles team of Danielle Kaiden and Karen Ishii, with Kaiden serving out the set.

“It’s kind of unreal, but I think it’s definitely well-deserved,” said senior Miranda Young, who teamed with twin sister Hayley to win two of three matches at No. 1 doubles. “We worked really hard all year. We didn’t have any weak players, so we could count on anyone to win a match.”

Each of the Sea Kings’ three singles players and three doubles teams won at least two matches. That might seem unusual for a team that starts nearly as many freshmen (two) as seniors (three), but Ricker said the team really gelled as the season moved forward.

He said he was happy for the seniors, a list that includes Damion, Miranda and Hayley Young, Michelle Atkins and Kelly McKitterick.

“I’m really proud of the way they played,” Ricker said. “I’m glad they got to experience this. Those are hard-working girls who put a lot of time into the sport. And they also brought the other players in, the newcomers and the freshmen.”

Gaytan-Leach was a newcomer to the CdM team this year, but the sophomore said the perceived pressure of being the undefeated, No. 1-ranked Division I team didn’t get to the Sea Kings.

“We never thought about being No. 1,” said Gaytan-Leach, who was home-schooled last year. “We just thought, ‘Let’s bring it.’ We brought it, and this is what we got. We’re CIF champions. I’m really happy.”

CIF Division I

Championship

Corona del Mar 13, Troy 5

Singles -- Damion (CdM) lost to Ramos, 1-6, def. Tseng, 6-2, def. Kang, 6-2; Gaytan-Leach (CdM) lost, 4-6, won, 7-6 (7-4), 6-0; Hogan (CdM) lost, 3-6, won, 6-1, 6-0.

Doubles -- Young-Young (CdM) lost to Nadres-Villajuan, 2-6; def. Chow-Liao, 6-2, def. Geiss-Hui, 6-0; Zotovich-Matsuoka (CdM) won, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0; (sub) Lee-Atkins lost, 2-6, Kaiden-Ishii (CdM) won, 7-5, 6-3.