Boys’ Tennis: CdM’s (negative) streak continues

The two top tournament players for Corona del Mar High boys’ tennis, senior co-captains Bjorn Hoffmann and Pedro Fernandez del Valle, were both perfect Friday in the first two rounds of the 17th annual Corona del Mar All-American Invitational Tournament.

The Cal-bound Hoffmann and Fernandez del Valle, headed for the University of Denver, both won twice in singles. They also combined for a pair of doubles wins, including an impressive 8-7 (7-5) victory over Ben Goldberg and Jake Sands of Palisades High.

In a format like this, though, two top players just aren’t enough to advance at the prestigious tournament.

“It just comes down to depth,” CdM Coach Jamie Gresh said after CdM lost to No. 2-seeded Palisades, 5-3, in the tournament quarterfinals Friday afternoon at CdM. “The teams we’re losing to are just deeper than us. In this tournament you need strength at the top as well as depth all throughout. Essentially, you need five tournament players ... we’re just a few tournament players short of that. I thought the guys really competed hard today, but to go deep in this tournament you need a ton of depth.”

Corona del Mar had defeated Phillips Academy of Andover, Mass., 6-2, in the first round of the tournament on Friday morning. But in losing to Palisades, the Sea Kings lost in the tournament quarterfinals for the 10th straight year, and fourth time in four years under Gresh.

“Looking over their lineup, I knew they were really strong one through five,” Gresh said. “I was proud of Bjorn and Pedro for playing great doubles and competing with their two top guys. They were just a little deeper than us at second and third doubles, as well as No. 3 through 5 singles.”

CdM will play in a tournament fifth-place semifinal Saturday at 8 a.m. at University High.

The Sea Kings played doubles first against the CIF Los Angeles Section powerhouse Dolphins, and quickly fell behind 2-0. At No. 2 doubles, Palisades’ RJ Sands and Diego Huttepain topped CdM’s Kyle Pham and Jacob Cooper, 8-3. The margin was worse at No. 3 doubles, where Palisades’ Jared Fong and Henry Lovett registered an 8-1 win over CdM’s Grant Brown and Oliver Kim.

However, Hoffmann and Fernandez del Valle edged Goldberg and Sands at No. 1 doubles in the eight-game pro-set. There were no breaks of serve leading up to the tiebreaker, where Hoffmann and Fernandez del Valle fell behind 5-3 but rallied to win.

“It just kind of came down to a couple of points,” Hoffmann said. “I think we were more focused, and I think that helped us win the match.”

Hoffmann topped Goldberg, 8-4, in singles, while Fernandez del Valle earned a hotly contested 8-6 win over Sands, a sophomore who’s ranked No. 2 in Southern California in the 16s. Both players questioned several line calls and generally got under each other’s skin, but Fernandez del Valle was able to pull out the victory.

“It happens a lot in tennis, you just have to learn how to deal with it,” Fernandez del Valle said. “Usually I go a bit off, but today I held my composure and that’s why I could win the match.”

But Palisades’ Lucas Bellamy, RJ Sands and Huttepain all recorded singles wins to help Palisades capture the match.

“I think we competed hard as a team,” Hoffmann said. “Everyone was definitely into this match. We came into it knowing that we were going to have to work together and play at our best, and I think that we did that today. That team was just a little too deep for us.”

Hoffmann and Fernandez del Valle both won in singles against Phillips Academy, and also combined for a doubles win. The Sea Kings swept the three doubles sets, as Pham and Cooper picked up a victory at No. 2 doubles, as did Brown and Kim at No. 3 doubles.

Cooper also won at No. 5 singles for CdM against Phillips Academy.

The Sea Kings will look to finish strong in the tournament’s second and final day. Gresh is proud of his team, which is ranked No. 6 in CIF Southern Section Division 1 and has an 8-2 record. The Sea Kings also beat Woodbridge and Northwood this week to open up Pacific Coast League play.

“We’ve reached our total of wins from last year,” Gresh said. “We were 8-10 last year, so we’re doing all right.”