Cooler heads prevail

CORONA DEL MAR — Brian Ricker held up the large ice chest Tuesday, eyeing Corona del Mar High senior tennis player Kate Stimac after the match against Sage Hill School.

It was Stimac who has gotten her coach twice already this year, sneaking up behind Ricker and dumping water on him. She did it after the team won the California High School Tennis Classic in Clovis earlier this month, and again last week.

Ricker had thrown water on one of his players after the Sea Kings’ match against Laguna Beach, so it was hard to feel too sorry for the fourth-year CdM coach.

“Sometimes it gets too serious, so we try to keep it as light as possible,” Ricker said. “Usually I don’t like to take the punishment. But if you dish it out, you’ve got to be willing to take it.”

Cooler heads prevailed Tuesday, as Ricker tossed the water and ice onto the tennis court instead of his substitute doubles player’s noggin.

Cool was the mood throughout the Sea Kings’ 14-4 win over the Lightning anyway. Not a lot of drama after CdM jumped out to a 6-0 lead after the first go-round, winning each of the six sets either 6-0 or 6-1.

But even in a close match, there wasn’t going to be any bad blood between two schools where a lot of the players know each other.

“I think it’s nice, because it’s friendly competition,” said Stimac, who teamed with partner Annalie Avaheim for a substitute win in doubles, of playing Sage Hill. “It doesn’t get too mean; we just come and play. Everyone’s very courteous and we push each other to be better.”

Yet even in the lopsided win, Ricker was tinkering. He moved Danielle Kaiden and Lindsay Zotovich, normally doubles players, to singles for the match. And he moved Paige Polizois, who has been CdM’s No. 3 singles player, to doubles with Karen Ishii.

“I wanted to give [Kaiden and Zotovich] a little responsibility, put a little pressure on them,” Ricker said. “I think it worked well. Even in losing, they played well.”

Ishii and Zotovich have been the No. 1 doubles team for the Sea Kings (6-1), not dropping a set this year. But the decision to split them up, Ricker said, is in an attempt to make CdM’s overall doubles package stronger.

Thinking ahead, Ricker said CdM would likely need to sweep nine doubles sets to win a possible rematch with Troy in the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs. The Warriors, ranked No. 1 in the Division I coaches’ poll, beat the No. 2-ranked Sea Kings, 10-8, in a nonleague match on Sept. 18.

“We’re going to try and put three equal-weighted doubles teams together, to give everyone a chance to sweep if we get that opportunity,” Ricker said. “I think we have to start changing the teams up now.

“[Zotovich and Ishii] would have had a realistic shot at going undefeated this year. We’re going to split them up, but we need them to be leaders and do the same thing with another partner, which I think they can do.”

As for Tuesday’s match, CdM No. 1 Hailey Hogan dealt Sage Hill sophomore Julia Blakeley her first loss of the year. But Blakeley, the transfer from University, is now 14-1 after coming back to win her other two singles matches.

Jaclyn Smrecek also earned a singles win for Sage (4-3), ranked No. 2 in the CIF Southern Section Division IV coaches’ poll, as did the doubles team of Sarah Choi and Samantha Murray. That totaled four, which Sage Hill Coach A.G. Longoria said is the most sets the Lightning have ever taken off CdM.

“I’m fairly pleased with how we played today,” Longoria said. “This prepares us for the playoffs.”

Melissa Matsuoka and Elizabeth Nguyen won two doubles sets for CdM, as did Ishii and Polizois. Rebecca Beyer and Auriel O’Neil subbed in for a win at No. 1 doubles.

Hogan also swept at No. 1 singles, which Ricker said was good to see.

“Hailey’s coming along nicely,” Ricker said. “She’s working on expanding her game. She’s always been aggressive from the baseline, and now she’s looking for chances to come in.”

Nonleague

Corona del Mar 14, Sage Hill 4

Singles – Hogan (CdM) def. Blakeley (SH), 6-1, def. Smrecek (SH), 6-4, def. Taskinen (SH), 6-0; Zotovich (CdM) lost, 2-6, won, 6-1, 6-0; Kaiden (CdM) lost, 3-6, 4-6, won, 6-0.

Doubles – Nguyen-Matsuoka (CdM) def. Smart-Cochran (SH), 6-0, (sub) Beyer-O’Neil (CdM) def. Moore-Chang (SH), 6-0, Nguyen-Matsuoka def. Choi-Murray (SH), 6-0; Ishii-Polizois (CdM) won, 6-1, 6-1, (sub) Legrand-Legrand (CdM) lost, 4-6; (sub) Stimac-Avaheim (CdM) won, 6-2, Feeley-Nazemi (CdM) won, 6-3, 6-0.