Newport Harbor girls’ tennis upsets Laguna Beach in Sunset Conference opener

The Newport Harbor High girls’ tennis team is a few sets away from a much more impressive record.

Early in the season, the Sailors absorbed a season-opening 9-9 nonleague loss to Aliso Niguel, plus 10-8 losses to Capistrano Valley, Sage Hill and San Juan Hills.

Newport Harbor came into Tuesday’s Sunset Conference crossover opener at home against Laguna Beach as the decided underdog.

“It’s all perspective,” Sailors coach Kristen Case said. “The way you look at it is everything. We had three 8-10 [losses] and a 9-9, and you can look back like, ‘Bummer, we were right there.’ You can choose to have a negative perspective on it, but I wholeheartedly choose to look at it in a positive manner. It shows that we were right there. You just keep chipping away, and your time will come.”

The Sailors’ time for a big win came at the expense of the Breakers.

Newport Harbor’s No. 1 doubles team of senior captain Amra Barton and junior Talia Baia swept as the Sailors upset the Breakers 10-8.

Newport Harbor’s Talia Baia returns a shot against Laguna Beach during a No. 1 doubles set in a Sunset Conference crossover home match on Tuesday.

(Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer)

Barton and Baia certainly did not breeze through their matches. They earned a 7-6 (7-4) win over the Breakers’ No. 1 team of Ella Pachl and Natty Cenan in the first round, before topping Chloe Gagne and Cosette Basto 6-4 in the second round. Their 6-4 win over Vanessa Gee and Camille Deckey in the third round ended up clinching the match for the hosts.

It was the win over Pachl and Cenan that perhaps gave Newport Harbor (5-5) the most momentum against Laguna Beach (4-3), the No. 4-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division 2. Pachl was the Breakers’ top singles player a year ago but has been playing doubles in the early season due to a right shoulder injury, Laguna Beach coach Rick Conkey said.

Barton and Baia pulled out the 75-minute set, helping Newport Harbor earn a 4-2 sets advantage after the first round.

“After watching the singles play for a bit, you realize we’re probably only going to win three [sets],” said Case, whose Sailors travel to Marina for a Sunset Conference crossover match on Thursday. “So you do the math, and you realize how many you need to win on the doubles end. We needed to win seven, and beating their No. 1 team was going to be the toughest task. Ella is a phenomenal player, and for Amra and Talia to get that win and pull that upset was huge for the overall team score, and for our momentum.”

Pachl and Cenan won their other two sets, but Newport Harbor’s other doubles teams also won twice. Senior Avery Wooden and junior Trish Harano, as well as senior Riley DeCinces and freshman Bree Clarke, each beat the Breakers’ other two teams to aid Newport Harbor.

Laguna Beach’s Ella Pachl, center, and partner Natty Cenan, right, compete during a No. 1 doubles set in a Sunset Conference crossover match at Newport Harbor on Tuesday.

(Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer)

The Sailors also swept the Breakers’ No. 3 singles player Hana Berri, helping offset singles sweeps by Laguna Beach sophomore Sarah MacCallum and freshman Kaitlyn Smith.

“It’s really gratifying because it was a whole team effort, especially on the sidelines with girls cheering and stuff,” said DeCinces, one of two team captains along with Barton. “The energy was so cool. It was so exciting to see all of that pay off, all of the practices and the preseason matches. It feels good to win after working so hard.”

Conkey gave credit to the Sailors. He also hopes his team, which was a Division 3 finalist last year, will make a similar run in Division 2. He said he expects to get sophomore Ainsley Beresford, currently out with a knee injury, back within two weeks.

Conkey said that junior Faith Ackley, a transfer from Crean Lutheran, will become eligible next week as well.

“She’s our best doubles player,” said Conkey, whose team has a Sunset Conference crossover home match against Los Alamitos on Thursday. “We want to finish top four in our division. That would keep us seeded. We’re feeling really confident in Division 2, and it’s all about the end of the season. We’re feeling really confident that if we have our full-strength [lineup], anybody there, that we can play with anybody.”

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