Estancia girls’ tennis easily wins first Battle for the Bell match

The Estancia High girls’ tennis team had already clinched a win over rival Costa Mesa by the time the second round ended Tuesday afternoon.

Eagles coach Mike Moorewood had just one question for his players.

“Are you guys making a TikTok today?” Moorewood said.

Estancia made a video for a pep rally a couple of weeks ago, senior Sophia Pearson later explained.

“Coach very enthusiastically participated in that,” Pearson said with a laugh.

Estancia’s Victoria Vega runs to hit a forehand volley for a point against Costa Mesa on Tuesday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

The Eagles have plenty of reasons to feel good this season.

They won their first Battle for the Bell match against Costa Mesa with ease, claiming a 17-1 victory in the Orange Coast League match at Estancia High.

Estancia, ranked No. 3 in CIF Southern Section Division 6, improved to 7-3 overall and 4-1 in league.

In Moorewood’s fourth season in charge at Estancia, the former Los Alamitos and Mater Dei coach has his first four-year class. Players like Pearson and senior doubles players Tara Spas and Kristen Kaucher have helped build the program, even going to TeWinkle Middle School the last two years to try to recruit players.

It’s made a difference this year, as Estancia now has a junior varsity team.

Costa Mesa’s doubles team of Brianna Tran and Leila Wescott plays against Estancia on Tuesday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

“All in all, this year’s team is one of the best for our school so far,” Spas said. “All of us have been in the program for so long, and we’ve also gotten such good players to come in. I think we’ve done pretty good so far.”

Pearson won two 6-0 sets before getting subbed out against Costa Mesa (0-10, 0-5). She said her second set was three points away from being a “golden set,” where a player wins every single point of the set.

Junior Veronica Kehoe won twice before she was subbed out, and freshman Alison Smet swept in singles for Estancia.

The doubles teams of Spas and Kaucher, sophomores Victoria Vega and Kylie Ines, as well as senior Kay Tran and junior Mariella Sanchez, also swept for the winners. Spas and Kaucher are undefeated in league play, Moorewood said.

Estancia, which has not lost to Costa Mesa in the seniors’ four-year careers, is solidly in second place halfway through league behind defending champion St. Margaret’s. Estancia beat Calvary Chapel 12-6 on Sept. 21, its first win over Calvary in the four-year span.

Estancia’s Tara Spas runs to hit a forehand for a point against Costa Mesa on Tuesday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Estancia also got good news on the injury front. Junior Claudette Colindres made a return from a knee injury on Tuesday. Still wearing a big brace on the knee, she subbed in to win a singles set.

Costa Mesa, still searching for its first win, got a singles victory from senior Leiny Lemus in the last round. First year co-coach Rachel Daley said she is trying to grow the program, which only had eight players at the start of the season. The Mustangs now have 11 players and are able to field a full team.

Daley, who teaches physical education at Costa Mesa, is an alumna of the girls’ tennis program herself. She graduated in 2010.

Now she wants to see growth similar to what the Mustangs’ crosstown rivals have shown.

“Hopefully next year, we’ll have a JV team,” Daley said.

Estancia hosts Santa Ana on Thursday, while Costa Mesa plays on the road against Calvary Chapel.