CdM stays united

CORONA DEL MAR — Nini Ugrelidze can smile now. The Corona del Mar High freshman is with her new family.

She was happy even after a bit of controversy Tuesday. Also, after leaving the country of Georgia for Corona del Mar earlier this year, things are going her way now that she’s with her mother again and with her new friends on the girls’ tennis team.

Of course there was another reason she was satisfied. The Sea Kings defeated California Academy of Math and Science, 15-3, to advance to the CIF Southern Section Division I semifinals. CdM (21-1) will play at Dana Hills, the top seed and defending section champion, Thursday.

Nine years ago, Ugrelidze’s mother, Ekaterina Meishvili, left Georgia for a better future in America. It was only until this year that Meishvili could manage to bring Ugrelidze to Corona del Mar instead of staying with Meishvili’s parents. Just getting Ugrelidze to Corona del Mar was a three-year process, Meishvili said.

“There was no future for her in Georgia,” Meishvili said of her only child. “Dreams come true slowly ... Her coming here is amazing. Struggle, struggle, struggle, and then we can’t believe we are together.”

Meishvili said it was difficult to be without her daughter for so long. Ugrelidze said she nearly cried every day. But the tears are gone now. And Ugrelidze has adapted quickly with the Sea Kings.

Brian Ricker, CdM’s coach, says Ugrelidze’s English improves every day. He believes she can be a very good player for CdM in the future. For now, she’s the Sea Kings’ No. 3 singles player. Ricker also likes the way she just fits in with the team.

“She’s really nice, so you can’t help but like her,” Ricker said. “She’s really friendly and tries really hard. It can be hard for a freshman sometimes.”

Things got tough for Ugrelidze against CAMS (15-6). In her lone set win, she argued with the Rebels’ Sara Zaragham. Ugrelidze said the set was over after she won her sixth game, but Zaragham thought the score was, 5-2. They had to replay a game, but Ugrelidze won, 6-1.

“I was right,” Ugrelidze said with a smile.

Her teammates, of course, supported her. While she played, a few of them walked behind her portion of the court and cheered for her. It was easy for senior Azadeh Nazemi to do that. Even though Nazemi was feeling ill, she still delivered a great performance with her doubles teammate Kelli Feeley, who was also feeling sick.

They swept, 6-1, 6-1, 7-5. After one of their victories, Nazemi told her teammates, “Let’s go cheer for Neeners.”

Nazemi said everyone on the team has enjoyed Ugrelidze.

“It’s so fun to have her on the team,” Nazemi said. “It’s sort of like we are mentoring her. We teach her some English and some cool and hip phrases.”

But Nazemi knew not to stand so close to her teammates Tuesday. She started to deal with flu symptoms this weekend, but she said there was no way she was missing the match against the Rebels. She said Feeley was feeling the same way, even though she is battling strep throat.

“Neither of us considered missing the match,” Nazemi said. “We really want to keep playing as long as we can because this is our senior year.”

Nazemi and Ishii weren’t the only ones who swept against CAMS. The No. 2 doubles team of Kalika Slevcove and Katelyn Nguyen won, 6-1, 6-0, 7-5.

Hailey Hogan also swept at No. 2 singles, 6-3, 6-0, 6-2. Melissa Matsuoka won twice and Elizabeth Nguyen substituted in to record a victory.

Kenzie Ludlow and Alison Ishii won twice at No. 3 doubles, 6-1, 6-0.

The Sea Kings swept the second go-round and were able to relax after that. Ugrelidze seemed to be plenty comfortable at that point.