CdM tandem in 18 doubles final

NEWPORT BEACH — The winning continues for Corona del Mar High’s Melissa Matsuoka and Karen Ishii.

The two girls who helped the Sea Kings to an undefeated season and a CIF Southern Section Division I title last year will be playing for a championship today in the 18th annual War by the Shore tournament.

The No.2-seeded duo in the girls’ 18 doubles division defeated Janay S. Palicte of Bloomington and her partner Paloma Vazquez of Redlands, 6-3, 6-4, in a semifinal Thursday.

Matsuoka, who will be a sophomore, and Ishii, a junior-to-be, will face the top seed, Alex Tachovsky of Laguna Beach and Della Taylor of Redondo Beach, today at 2 p.m. for the championship at the Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club.

There will be a local-vs.-local final in the boys’ 14 doubles division. Newport Beach’s Joel Ishii and Corona del Mar resident Hayden Tremper, the top seed, will take on Newport Beach’s Christian Ball and his partner Gannon Daynes of Trabuoc Canyon today at 2 p.m.

Ishii and Tremper won 6-4, 6-1 to advance, while Ball and Daynes, the No. 2 seed, advanced with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Andrew and Zachary Morrison of Newport Beach.

In the girls’ 14 doubles division, Newport Beach’s Cynthia Waterman and her partner Rian M. Billingsley of Santa Ana were dropped, 6-0, 6-0, by the top seed, Kiah Generette (Cerritos) and Jessica Perez (Laguna Niguel), in a semifinal.

In the girls’ 18s singles, Alex McIntosh, who will be a junior at Newport Harbor High, lost in a quarterfinal match. Taylor, the No. 3 seed, defeated McIntosh, 6-2, 6-2.

— From staff reports