Damion, Peyton produce for CdM

CORONA DEL MAR — Ryan Peyton walked off the tennis court after his second match of the day, maybe a little bit quicker than normal.

Peyton, a sophomore at Corona del Mar High, had just beaten Newport Harbor junior Josh Tuz, 6-4, in an intense match that could have gone either way. At least, the match was definitely intense for Tuz, who has a reputation of yelling at himself after mistakes and was outwardly displeased with the close loss.

The players watching the match started a light-hearted exchange.

“Run, Ryan!” Peyton’s teammate, senior Fabian Matthews, joked. “Ryan, he’s right behind you!”

Behind the CdM contingent, Newport Harbor players smiled.

“That’s all right,” one of the players said. “[Tuz] is all talk. He might be 6-foot-5, but he’s all talk.”

Tuz came back to win his last set of the day, but it was Matthews, Peyton and junior Chris Damion who helped the Sea Kings to victory in the Battle of the Bay. They combined for eight singles wins in the Sea Kings’ 12-6 nonleague win Friday at CdM.

It was a friendly competition between the Sea Kings (7-1) and the Sailors (3-3). Damion, in his last match of the day, spent time chatting on the changeovers with Newport Harbor junior Daron Arnold. Midway through their set, the last of the match, they decided to move it from the No. 3 singles court to the No. 1 court.

Newport Harbor, which lost the Back Bay match 14-4 last year, also made this year’s version considerably closer.

“It was a lot more competitive than last year,” Damion said. “All their players got a lot better from last year, and it was a lot more fun. It’s nice playing them, because sometimes you’ll play high schools and the kids are just not very sportsmanlike. Playing them is fun, because they’re all really nice kids. I’m friends with a lot of them. There’s no bad calls, no cheating, there’s no conflicts. It’s perfect. I couldn’t have asked for a better match today.”

Newport Harbor won five doubles sets to keep the match competitive. The Sailors’ No. 1 team of senior John Hutchinson and junior Cameron Chase swept. A pair of freshmen, Craig McKennon and Greg Brostek, also subbed in and won an exciting tiebreaker set, 7-2 in the ’breaker, in the second go-round.

“That was a big momentum-booster,” Sailors Coach Kristen Case said. “That kept us in the match, and it was really key for our team to keep the momentum up. They went in and they were fearless. It was exciting to watch. And they’re a solid pair; they showed what they could do.

“...Throughout this preseason, I’ve been going through and trying to fine-tune our lineup. I’m still in the process of doing that. It’s good when you see things like that happen, because it makes it a little bit easier to make final adjustments.”

CdM also had a solid day at No. 3 doubles, where freshmen Shane Korber and Hayden Tremper won a pair of sets. It was wins like those that also leave CdM Coach Tim Mang optimistic.

“That was pretty good,” Mang said. “There’s a lot of potential there in both those guys, and they’re big kids.”

But the singles were really the story for the Sea Kings. Matthews can typically sweep at No. 1 singles, but Mang said Damion and Peyton both stepped up.

“I had the feeling that Ryan would do really well,” Mang said. “Chris planned on playing doubles, so he had to adjust, but he came through.”

The Sea Kings now prepare to face defending Pacific Coast League and CIF Southern Section Division I champion University, on Tuesday at CdM. The Trojans are ranked No. 1 in the Division I coaches’ poll; CdM is at No. 7.

“I think if our doubles plays well, and we play some pretty good singles, we’ll have a good chance,” Peyton said.

Newport Harbor, meanwhile, is already in the midst of Sunset League play, where the Sailors split their first two matches this week.

“I think we’re definitely ready to go into league,” Case said. “Our goal is to win league, so I think we’re ready to take that on.”

Nonleague

Corona del Mar 12, Newport Harbor 6

Singles – Matthews (CdM) def. Heimstaedt, 6-0, (sub) Ishii (CdM) lost to Tuz, 2-6, Matthews def. Arnold, 6-1; Damion (CdM) won, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4; Peyton (CdM) won, 6-1, 6-4, 6-1.

Doubles – Fisher-Buchert (CdM) lost to Hutchinson-Chase, 4-6, def. Friend-Duley, 6-4, lost to (sub) C. McKennon-Brostek (NH), 6-7 (2-7); Pham-Vu (CdM), lost, 3-6, 2-6, won, 6-3; Tremper-Korber (CdM) lost, 3-6, won, 7-5, def. R. McKennon-Gracia (NH), 6-0.

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