Unblemished again

The Laguna Beach girls’ tennis team put the finishing touches on an unbeaten run through Orange Coast League competition by defeating host Estancia on Oct. 31, 11-7.

In singles play for the Breakers, No. 1 Madeline Jaeger and No. 2 Haley Moss each won two of three sets.

In doubles, Laguna’s top team of Sarah Russell/Alison Azera swept three sets. The No. 2 team of Alex Yates-Robinson and Heather Tran won two sets.

Laguna finished 7-0 in league play, its second straight season of going undefeated in the league

“I’m very happy with the girls winning league, but the big thing is, I’m most happy that they won it the way I wanted them to,” first-year Laguna Coach Jimmy Gleason said.

“The girls learned how to become better technical players. They really worked hard on their technique and improved throughout the season,” Gleason said.

The league prelims and finals were held Nov. 1-2 and were hosted by Laguna Beach High.

The event, especially the doubles action, was nearly an all-Laguna party.

Jaeger, a sophomore, played her way into the singles final where she finished runner-up to junior Eleanor Edles of Estancia. Jaeger pushed Edles to the limit in Friday’s final, but Edles pulled out the title by winning 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4).

Just two days earlier, Edles had defeated Jaeger, 6-1, when Laguna played at Estancia in the league finale.

“I think she was really winning that match most of the way,” Gleason said of Jaeger. “She lost big to Edles in league but really gave her all she could handle in the league final.

“Maddie has really grown throughout the season as a match player. She learned a lot and should be proud of what she accomplished.”

Moss gave the Breakers two players in the semifinal round of singles play but was eliminated by Edles who scored a 6-1, 6-0 win over the Laguna freshman.

Moss bounced back from that setback to claim third place by defeating sophomore Kendra Fisher of Estancia.

“Haley had a great season,” Gleason said. “She won that last match with a knee or thigh injury, or both. She really played tough.”

Laguna dominated the league doubles tournament. Yates-Robinson and Tran, both juniors and Laguna’s No. 2 team, captured the title by defeating teammates Russell, a senior, and Azera, a sophomore, the Breakers’ No. 1 team, 6-3, 6-0, in an all-Laguna final.

En route to the crown, Yates-Robinson and Tran defeated another pair of teammates, senior Kimberly Smith and freshman Bianca Sganga, 6-3, 6-1, in semifinals.

Smith and Sganga went on to win the third-place match by defeating Abby Koff/Jennifer Johnston of Estancia.

“It was awesome to see the girls dominate in doubles play,” Gleason said. “They all played really, really well.”

On Thursday (Nov. 8), Laguna began postseason play by hosting El Toro in a first-round CIF-Southern Section Division I match. The score wasn’t available at press time.

Should the Breakers defeat the Chargers, they’d advance to Saturday’s second-round action where they would play at No. 2-seed Troy of Fullerton.