CdM boys’ tennis survives opener, into All-American tournament semifinals
Jonathan Hinkel’s dramatic triumph in his singles debut for Corona del Mar High School‘s boys’ tennis team was pivotal in pulling out a tight opener in the Sea Kings’ 21st National High School All-American tournament, paving the path into the final four for the fourth-seeded hosts.
Hinkel’s comeback from a 6-3, 3-0 deficit at No. 5 singles, Jack Cross’ dominance at No. 2 singles, and two wins in the three doubles battles fueled a tight victory on games in a 4-4 battle with Phoenix (Ariz.) Brophy Prep to start things off Friday morning for Corona del Mar, which then romped past Palos Verdes 8-0 in the afternoon clash to reach Saturday morning’s semifinals.
The Sea Kings (11-1), ranked second in CIF Southern Section Division 1, take on top-seeded Menlo School (11-0) — from Atherton, south of San Francisco — in a 10 a.m. bout, with the victor advancing to face second seed University (14-0), the defending Southern Section Open Division champion and No. 1 team in Division 1, or third-seeded Calabasas (13-0) in the 3:30 p.m. final at Palisades Tennis Club in Newport Beach.
Corona del Mar, which has won 11 straight since a 13-5 loss to University in last month’s season-opener, is seeking its first title-game appearance in the prestigious tournament — returning after a two-year break during the pandemic — since claiming a third straight championship in 2003. Menlo, which last won the event in 2018, is seeking its ninth trip to the final and fourth crown.
“We’ll give them our best,” Sea Kings coach Jamie Gresh said. “We have to play great at the beginning of all the [matches]. We’ve got to get off to a good start or stay with them. They’re a great team with tons of talent, so if they get up on us, they could pull away with it.”
CdM was on the verge of getting knocked out at the start after Brophy Prep’s Jack Brown, twice facing match point, rallied to beat Niels Hoffmann in a tiebreaker at No. 1 singles. Hinkel’s finish for an 8-7 triumph over Kentaro Akiyoshi gave the Sea Kings life, and he and sophomore John Knox clinched the triumph with an 8-3 win over Akiyoshi and Andre Johnson at No. 3 doubles.
Cross’ 8-1 romp over Ryan Zerbib provided the difference in the 51-47 advantage in the games-won tiebreaker.
Hinkel has played only doubles at CdM — only three singles players compete in regular-season matches; this tournament has five singles and three doubles matches per round — and he needed time to adjust to the court and the game.
“[Akiyoshi] pushed me hard in the beginning, but luckily I started playing better and ended up coming back,” said Hinkel, who played only doubles against Palos Verdes. “It was nice to be hyped up by my whole team on the sidelines [during the tiebreaker]. It lifted the weight off my shoulders.”
He pulled out the tiebreaker, 8-6, his deep forehand forcing Akiyoshi to hit into the net on a long rally for the decisive point.
“That was super-dramatic,” Gresh said. “Jonathan had to expand the court, get his feet wet with singles, and get a little steadier. He was able to find his rhythm and play better tennis.”
Brophy Prep coach Eric Chalmers called the match a “street fight” and praised the Sea Kings.
“We came to play, and we were fired up,” he said. “But they fought really hard, and we brought our best shot. We were up 3-2 in singles, and for them to rally in doubles was impressive.”
The Sea Kings fell behind in all five singles matches against Palos Verdes, then took command to win all of them. That took the pressure off in doubles, enabling them, Gresh said, “to have some fun as the day winds down.”
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