Breakers fall short

NEWPORT BEACH — Two days after being involved in the second biggest comeback in World Team Tennis history for all the wrong reasons, the Newport Beach Breakers had a chance to return the favor Wednesday.

Instead of leading the Springfield Lasers by eight games late, the Breakers this time trailed the Lasers by seven heading into the final set.

Not even Newport Beach’s comeback kid Ramon Delgado could pull it off.

Playing four matches in four nights took its toll on the Breakers.

The Breakers failed to get revenge and overtake first place in the Western Conference, losing to Springfield, 21-17, in overtime at Breakers Stadium at Newport Beach Country Club.

The Lasers remained atop of the conference, improving to 4-0. The Breakers (3-2) are tied for second place with the Sacramento Capitals.

A fight for second place is next. It might remain that way for Newport Beach after dropping its two lone regular-season matches to Springfield, the team Newport Beach Coach Trevor Kronemann expects to win the conference.

“I think after four days of traveling the country, we’re … a little bit tired, a little bit fatigued,” Kronemann said before rattling off the cities, Sacramento, Springfield, Kansas City and Newport Beach.

“Planes, trains and automobiles, and I think tonight it finally caught up to us there at the end.”

Much needed rest is in store for the Breakers today. Then they’re off to face the Capitals Friday in Sacramento and the following day back in Newport Beach.

The Breakers had an opportunity to be in first before traveling to Sacramento. The Breakers might have if they hung on to a 20-12 lead entering the final set, women’s singles in Springfield, Mo.

“We had this team by eight games going into the fifth set in Springfield,” Kronemann said. “We’re looking at 4-0, staring you right in your face. That’s a great start.”

The Lasers ruined the Breakers’ undefeated season, 22-21, storming back Monday with the tenacious play of Vania King.

King returned Wednesday and continued her stellar play, winning 5-2 in women’s singles, and recording the same score in women’s doubles.

The Breakers started off slow.

In mixed doubles, the combination of Kaes Van’t Hof and Marie-Eve Pelletier hurt Newport Beach the second time around against the Lasers.

The duo fell behind to Martin Damm and his new teammate, Chanelle Scheepers, 3-1, in the opening set.

The Lasers changed their mixed doubles lineup from Monday’s match, replacing King with Scheepers. The move worked.

Van’t Hof tried to rally the Breakers, getting them within one point. Eventually Springfield put it away, 5-3, trying to take command early, unlike the last time these two teams played.

The momentum stayed with Springfield.

The same player who put the Lasers on top late in overtime and in the super tiebreaker stepped on the court. King played like one in the first game, taking every point against Julie Ditty.

The left-handed Ditty appeared to have no answers for King’s shots. Someone shouted, “Go Ditty!” and she took off.

Ditty won back-to-back games to go ahead. The two players went back and forth, Ditty not backing down. Ditty wasn’t about to let King run away with the set as she was able to do on Monday, winning 5-1 to force overtime.

Like the previous time, Ditty gave way. This time, she stayed on the court. Kronemann didn’t remove her like he did in overtime on Monday.

“We just weren’t being quite effective enough,” Kronemann said his reason was for replacing Ditty with Marie-Eve Pelletier. “It’s one of those things, we got to answer to you guys when it comes around, ‘Why didn’t he put somebody else in?’ It’s always a tough decision.

“I just said after seven or eight games, I was like, ‘All right, enough. We got to try and break the momentum.’ You never know what’s going to happen.”

Ditty learned how difficult it is to knock off King.

King prevailed, claiming the last three games. The Lasers jumped ahead, 10-5, going into the crucial men’s doubles set. This one turned out to be the closest of the five sets.

Newport Beach relied on its comeback kid and hometown kid to cut the deficit. Delgado tried his best. Van’t Hof contributed to the effort.

The Delgado-Van’t Hof tandem took the opening game, never extending their lead by more than one game. Damm and Raven Klaasen proved to be a formidable duo again.

The set went to a tiebreaker, a best five-out-of-nine point scenario. Newport Beach jumped ahead, 2-0, and got within one point of taking the set when Damm delivered a one-hopper toward the net.

The shot had more steam than Klaasen’s line drive on the ground. The ball hit the net and pushed Delgado and Van’t Hof past Damm and Klaasen, 5-4, the identical score from Monday’s set.

The victory took a lot out of Delgado. The reigning WTT Male MVP tried to rally the Breakers at home for the second time this season in men’s singles.

Delgado won the final set, 5-2, forcing overtime, but Klaasen closed it out by winning the first game in overtime.