WAR BY THE SHORE TOURNAMENT:Ishii, Matsuoka roll to title

NEWPORT BEACH — Karen Ishii and Melissa Matsuoka haven’t played many doubles tournaments together, but they know each other’s games quite well.

The familiarity comes from both being a part of Corona del Mar High’s tennis team. Last fall, they helped the Sea Kings to an undefeated record and the CIF Southern Section Division I championship.

Alex Tachovsky of Laguna Beach and Della Taylor of Redondo Beach, by comparison, probably know more about Ishii and Matsuoka than they’d like.

The CdM duo cruised past them, 6-1, 6-2, on Friday afternoon to win the girls’ 18 doubles title at the War by the Shore tournament at Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club.

Tachovsky and Taylor were the No. 1 seed. But Ishii and Matsuoka, the No. 2 seed, had few problems bulldozing their way to the championship in a match that only took about an hour.

For Matsuoka, who played with Tachovsky in the Copper Bowl tournament in Arizona this year, it was the second straight War by the Shore doubles title. Matsuoka won in the girls’ 14s last year with Elizabeth Nguyen.

“I didn’t really think about that,” said Matsuoka, who will be a sophomore at CdM. “I guess I just took it one match at a time. We played really well today.”

Ishii, who will be a junior at CdM, agreed. She was particularly strong poaching at the net, making very few errors and putting away any ball that came into her vicinity.

It was that kind of dominance that helped her and Matsuoka take a 4-0 lead in the first set before losing a game. In the second set, they again went up 4-0.

“We’ve both had a lot of practice with our coach and all the other girls on [CdM],” Ishii said. “Poaching’s not that scary anymore. It was for me when I first started out, because I didn’t know the timing. But it was good practicing with the other girls, because they were so good. We were really fortunate.”

Even when both players had problems serving at times, throwing in a few double faults, there were no frowns and no yells from their side of the net.

“We try to stay positive and not get down on ourselves,” Matsuoka said. “Just stay happy, I guess.”

Whatever the strategy is, it’s working. Ishii and Matsuoka would be open to playing together for the Sea Kings in the fall, but, as Ishii said, “everything is up in the air.”

CdM’s No. 1 singles players (Jill Damion) and No. 1 doubles team (Hayley and Miranda Young) all graduated, and Cierra Gaytan-Leach (No. 2 singles last year) plans to focus on being on the CdM golf team this fall.

Matsuoka, the defending Pacific Coast League singles champion, will probably play singles again. But whatever happens, Coach Brian Ricker will have two rock-solid players in his arsenal in Ishii and Matsuoka.

Ishii, especially, has grown to love poaching.

“Oh my gosh,” she said. “I love the net. It’s like …”

“Your house?” Matsuoka offered.

“What?” Ishii said, turning to her friend and laughing. “My house?”

Maybe not the best analogy, but whatever works.

“I’m just kidding,” Matsuoka said.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or at matthew.szabo@latimes.com.