Boys’ Tennis: Sailors earn bagels
The Newport Harbor High boys’ tennis team had quite a spirited chant prior to Wednesday’s nonleague match against St. Margaret’s.
Junior captain Sam Leaman led the Sailors in a call-and-response with words like, “win” and “dominate.” The chant ended with a “Newport on three! One-two-three, Newport!”
“I think it just fires up the boys,” Leaman said. “I know [it did] definitely when I was a freshman, when [then-senior] Garrett Hall would get in that circle and turn around and just start screaming at everyone. Because [last year’s team captain and leader] David Schaefer is gone, I’m trying to pick up that voice and fire the kids up. These guys respond. They respond to energy, they respond to passion. The more you give, the more they give back. We didn’t really do it last year. It was different dynamics, but this year definitely because we’re a scrappy team and we fight hard, I think the cheer’s appropriate.”
Certainly, “win” and “dominate” were appropriate words for the Sailors in this particular match. They eased past St. Margaret’s, 13-5, for their first dual-match victory of the year.
Junior captain David Lee earned a “triple bagel” at No. 1 singles by winning each of his sets by a 6-0 score. Sophomore Andy Myers did the same for Newport Harbor (1-2) at No. 3 singles.
The No. 2 doubles team of Leaman and fellow junior Mark Schaefer also swept for the Sailors, including two more 6-0 victories. They helped Newport Harbor pick up a much-needed victory after losing to Sunny Hills on Monday and Mater Dei on Tuesday. Both of those matches ended up tied 9-9, but the Sailors lost on games.
“We’ve just been focusing on getting 1% better every day,” Newport Harbor Coach Kristen Case said. “Our first match, it was 9-all and we lost by 14 games [72-58]. On Tuesday, we lost by seven games [67-60], so that’s improvement right there. Then we just felt good going into today. It was clear that we’ve been improving, so that’s been a positive. We’re competing hard and not giving up and learning a lot, and it’s paying off. We’re going in the right direction.”
Newport Harbor also competed at the Sage Hill Lightning tournament last weekend at The Tennis Club, coming in third place behind champion St. Ignatius of San Francisco and host Sage Hill. Lee, Myers and the Sailors’ third team captain, junior David Sharp, all earned all-tournament team honors.
Sharp and partner Ace Thayer won twice at No. 3 doubles in Wednesday’s match against St. Margaret’s (0-2). The No. 1 doubles team of senior Michael Royak and junior Cory Smith won one of two sets, before the substitute doubles team of Alex Ramirez and Jarrod Page earned a 7-6 (7-2) victory over the Tartans team of Scottie Choi and Coen Zediker in the final set completed in the match.
Peter Gottlieb and Jay Phansalker won twice at No. 1 doubles for St. Margaret’s. But Newport Harbor built a 4-2 lead after the first round, and stretched it to 9-3 after two rounds.
The Sailors are young, with Royak as the only senior starter. Lee has moved to No. 1 singles following the graduation of Reese Stalder, who is now playing for TCU. Stalder was the Sunset League singles champion and CIF Individuals singles finalist last year, on his way to a 68-1 record.
Last year Lee had success in doubles with Mark Schaefer, making the third round of the CIF Individuals tournament. The results have been there in singles too, as he has swept in all three of the Sailors’ matches this week.
“I think it’s pretty fun,” Lee said. “It’s a little bit harder, because in doubles you have a partner to rely on. Since Reese is gone, I guess I have to try to step up and fill his role.”
That kind of sacrifice typifies this year’s team, Case said. The Sailors are working to stay successful, after finishing second in the Sunset League last year and making the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs for the first time since 2010.
“They really take a lot of pride in representing the school and being a unified team,” she said. “I really couldn’t ask for a greater group of guys to work with.”
Newport Harbor plays at Tesoro in another nonleague match Tuesday, followed by the Battle of the Bay match at CdM on Wednesday. The Sailors know beating the Sea Kings will be a tall task, but ultimately what they are looking for is continued improvement.
“This year’s going to be all about momentum,” Leaman said. “We aren’t coming out expecting to just blow teams away. Coach told us that every match is going to be a battle, and I think those first two 9-all [results] proves that. I think as long as we keep the momentum moving forward, I’m really excited for the season.
“The sheer improvement, just from Monday to now, is already so noticeable. I’m really curious to see how we do as we progress. It’ll be really exciting and fun to watch, fun to play in as well.”
