Ohland coming up golden for Eagles

The girls’ tennis scores just keep getting more and more impressive for Estancia High senior Kinley Ohland.

Ohland earned a “triple bagel” last week against rival Costa Mesa in the first Battle for the Bell match, winning each of her sets by a 6-0 score to help Estancia post a 12-6 win.

On Tuesday against Saddleback, she got her first “golden set,” not only winning 6-0 but winning all 24 points in the set.

“It was the last set I played,” Ohland said. “The second set, I only lost two points. I was like, ‘I really want to get a golden set. This is going to be the one.’ And then I just did it.”

Ohland, the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week, has exhibited plenty of can-do attitude for the Eagles. She’s in her fourth year at the No. 1 singles spot for Estancia, which is 13-4 and 7-1 in the Orange Coast League.

The Eagles have their best team in years. With two league matches remaining, they have locked down the second spot after two wins over third-place Calvary Chapel. Prior to this season, Estancia had never beaten Calvary Chapel in Ohland’s high school career.

“It was kind of surprising,” Ohland said of beating Calvary Chapel, the score 11-7 the first time and 9-9 (79-68 on games) the second time. “We had never beaten them before, and I didn’t know how they were going to be. But we did really well ... We’ve never been second [in league] before. It’s always been Laguna, Calvary and then us, or another team in front of us. It’s been motivating and exciting.”

Ohland has certainly been doing her part. She is 43-5 overall this season, including a 19-2 mark in league. Of the two losses, one came to Laguna Beach and one came to Calvary Chapel.

But Ohland, who was third in the league last year in singles, did beat the Breakers in two out of three sets during the teams’ first meeting. They were the only two sets that Estancia could manage in a 16-2 loss against Laguna, which is ranked No. 5 in CIF Southern Section Division 2. The teams play again on Tuesday at Estancia, before the Eagles close out league play at Costa Mesa on Thursday.

“I definitely love watching her and I love cheering her on, but she is someone that I don’t have to worry about,” first-year Estancia Coach Kendra Fisher said of Ohland. “She just has so much natural talent. I’ve been watching her playing at Mesa Verde [Country Club] since she was a little kid, and she just makes it look so effortless, without coming off snobby. I think that’s hard to do.”

Estancia has its best team since 2010, when Fisher was a senior there. Ohland credits her coach’s high-energy approach as making a difference.

“Everything is really different this year, in a good way,” Ohland said. “Kendra has made a huge difference in everything. I think just her energy and how she works things has positively affected us.”

Ohland and Fisher have indeed known each other for a while. When Ohland grew up playing tennis, sometimes she played with Kendra’s little brother, Sean, or older brother Bradley. And Kendra’s dad, Rick Fisher, played often with Kinley Ohland’s grandpa, Bart Bowen. Kinley’s uncle is Devin Bowen, himself a former Estancia High and Texas Christian University standout who is now an assistant coach at TCU.

Kinley used to be far more involved in the sport as well, as a tournament player from ages 8 to 12. She stopped playing tournaments to focus on other things, she said. At the time, she was involved in club volleyball as well, and she also was a cheerleader for her first three years at Estancia.

As a senior, she has still managed to stay plenty busy, as she is involved with Estancia’s ASB and has held a job as a hostess for Newport Rib Co. for more than a year.

In terms of tennis, Ohland no longer plays outside of the high school season. She said with a laugh that her 12-year-old self could probably beat her current self.

“I probably could have been way better than I am,” she said. “But at the same time, I didn’t want to dedicate my entire life to tennis. I wanted to have a social life and do other things. I’m happy with my decision.”

Estancia is certainly happy to have Ohland on the team. She likes the spirit the Eagles are showing. For college, she’s applied to places like TCU, Oklahoma, Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and Clemson.

“That’s my main thing, good football schools and really spirited places,” she said. “I love the South.”

First, she wants to wrap up a successful senior year with Estancia. There are more parallels between Fisher and Ohland. Fisher said she got her own “golden set” as a senior, against Godinez. And she is the last Estancia girls’ player to advance to CIF Individuals by finishing top-two at league finals, a feat Ohland appears to have a chance at this season.

“She has stepped it up for us this year, big time,” Fisher said. “We expect three sets out of her, and she gives it to us almost every time.”

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Kinley Ohland

Born: Feb. 20, 1998

Hometown: Costa Mesa

Height: 5-foot-4

Sport: Tennis

Year: Senior

Coach: Kendra Fisher

Favorite food: Macaroni and cheese

Favorite movie: “Footloose”

Favorite athletic moment: Beating Calvary Chapel twice this season.

Week in review: Ohland swept at No. 1 singles, 6-0, 6-0, 6-0, as the Eagles beat rival Costa Mesa 12-6 on Oct. 6.