HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP: Breaker doesn’t advance

Brett McGaughey, a Laguna Beach High senior golfer, just missed on making the cut to advance at the CIF Southern Section Southern Individual Regional Monday at SeaCliff Country Club.

McGaughey, the Orange Coast League champion, shot a four-over-par 76, tying with seven others. But only four spots remained to make up the 30 that advanced to the CIF Southern Section Individual Finals at Mission Lakes Country Club in Desert Hot Springs.

CIF officials did not have a playoff for the seven players, instead going with a different tie-breaker “” a card-off, which is when a player’s score on the final nine holes are added up.

McGaughey is on the alternate list with two other golfers.

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BOYS’ VOLLEYBALL

The Laguna Beach High boys’ volleyball team dominated the first two rounds of the playoffs, sweeping both opponents.

The Breakers swept visiting Crescenta Valley 25-9, 25-14, 25-21 on May 9, and came back strong on Tuesday to defeat host Beckman in a 25-22, 25-21-25-16 win.

Crescenta Valley was the No. 3 representative in the Pacific League, and Beckman was the No. 2 in Pacific Coast. Beckman previously defeated Hemet, the second-place team in the Sunbelt League, on May 9. Tuesday’s match against Beckman proved to be more of a battle for the Breakers than the first round. The Patriots showed resistance with a few key plays and solid blocking, but the Breakers hurt themselves and kept the score close by failing to execute a number of plays.

Had they set up properly and not missed those opportunities, they would have defeated Beckman even quicker. Still, a sweep is not so bad.

“We played with effort and intensity,” Laguna Coach Lance Stewart said. “But we didn’t execute on the simple plays and that allowed [Beckman] to stay with us.”

The first two games were neck and neck from start to finish, but the Breakers did manage to separate themselves in the middle of the third game. Shawn Merz and Lorenzo Torriero made one kill after another, and Merz was fierce with his serving “” recording six aces in game three, and ten overall.

“Shawn has the capability to really dominate a game with hard and heavy serves,” Stewart said. “Serving will be our key to the finals.”

Cooper Gwaltney also recorded two aces, and Clay Knapp had one. Merz and Torriero had 15 and 12 kills, respectively. Chris Reames had nine digs, and Knapp had 34 assists. In the match on May 9, Merz finished with 18 kills; Reames and Mike Kahl had 8 and 7 digs; Knapp recorded 37 assists.

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BOYS’ TENNIS

The Laguna Beach High boys’ tennis team wrapped up the season after it lost, 10-8, at Corona in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs May 10.

In singles action, the Breakers’ No. 1 player Jake Michaels won two of three sets 6-1, 2-6, 6-3. Benito Romeo and Rex Miller each lost three sets 1-6, 1-6, 2-6 and 0-6, 0-6, 1-6, respectively.

The No. 2 doubles team of Graham Unterberger and Noah Michelson swept all three sets they played, 7-6, 6-3, 6-0.

The No. 1 doubles team of Ben Biscarrat and Jared Berkson lost the first set, but then won the second two, 7-5, 6-2. Mikey Rubel and Sean Ochwat lost their first two sets and won the third, 5-7, 3-6, 6-0.

Laguna Coach Jonee Earl said the team had a great season that ended against the Panthers, the Mountain View League champions.

“The wheels came off,” she said. “Miller sprained an ankle, Romeo broke all of his racquets, and a couple of senioritis-knuckleheads showed up, but it was a great year “” we did better than any of my seven seasons that I have witnessed.”

The Breakers won the Orange Coast League with a 9-0 record and were 12-5 in nonleague play.

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JUNIOR VARSITY BASEBALL

The Laguna Beach junior varsity baseball team ended the season on a positive note with an 8-7 win over visiting Estancia, a team combined of JV and varsity players.

“We played hard and with determination,” Laguna JV Coach Don Vickers said.

The Breakers scored two runs in the first inning, but a strong defense for the Eagles kept them from scoring any more until the seventh inning, when Laguna recovered from a five-run deficit and drove in six more to ultimately win the game.

Raphael Vickers hit a triple and two doubles.

ASHLEY BREEDING covers sports and features. She can be reached at (949) 494-5462 or at ashley.breeding@latimes.com.