Ari acclimates himself for CdM

IRVINE — A relatively thin singles lineup for the Corona del Mar High boys’ tennis team got even thinner on Monday.

Sophomore Kyle Pham, the Sea Kings’ top player, twisted his right ankle in the Sea Kings’ match against Northwood. He’ll be out a while, as Thursday was the first day Pham was able to watch without crutches. He sat there watching the action in CdM’s Pacific Coast League match against Irvine, with a big black boot on his right foot.

Of course, others will have to step up in Pham’s absence. Freshman Ari Abrams made his first varsity start of the season at No. 3 singles on Thursday.

Abrams is usually pretty stoic, not exactly showing a lot of emotion on the court. All of his teammates watched him in the third round, as his match against Irvine’s Praneeth Depur was the last one still on court.

“Any sort of expression will do,” CdM senior Matt Paulsen yelled jokingly to Abrams.

Abrams broke Depur’s serve to provide the win, 6-4. Then he provided a fist pump that really got his teammates fired up.

It was the final set of a 14-4 CdM victory at Heritage Park.

Abrams didn’t even play varsity in Tuesday’s match against University, winning two of three sets on the JV level. But CdM Coach Jamie Gresh called on him for varsity on Thursday for CdM (8-3, 3-1 in league), and he responded against the Vaqueros (7-5, 0-4).

“We had to have some people step up,” said Abrams, who won two of three sets. “I’m pretty quiet, I guess that’s my personality. I keep it all inside.”

His win in the first round was big. Abrams rallied from an early break of serve down to beat Irvine’s Brad Le, 6-3. That helped the Sea Kings earn a 4-2 sets lead early on.

CdM, ranked No. 7 in CIF Southern Section Division 1, then won five sets in each of the next two rounds to win going away against an improved Irvine squad.

“I told my guys they had to be ready for this match, and to be totally ready to play,” Gresh said. “No team in this league is a guaranteed win, and all of these teams in this league are really strong ... I’m very happy with the day.

“[The 14-4 score] is a little deceiving, but I think we did pick up our level of play and we won some close sets. I’m proud of the guys, for sure.”

CdM swept in doubles. The teams of Jacob Cooper and Ryan Wessler, Paulsen and John Hart, as well as Grant Brown and Luke Muradliyan, all swept. Junior Diego Fernandez del Valle won twice at No. 1 singles, and freshman John Dick won once.

It wasn’t that easy, though. Three of the doubles sets were won by 6-4 scores. In the second round, Brown and Muradliyan rallied from a 2-4, love-40 deficit to beat Irvine’s No. 1 team of Paritosh Kaushik and Rishabh Saigal.

“It’s just been a lot of guys stepping up,” Brown said. “We’re really close as a team. Kyle’s over there and he’s still cheering, he’s still contributing to the team. It’s not like that kind of team where he gets injured and he’s just sitting at home ... We’re trying to do our best to fill that gap.”

It was the second time CdM has swept in doubles in its four league matches. The Sea Kings also did so against Northwood on Monday.

“I can’t remember when we’ve done that in my three years on varsity,” Brown said. “That’s definitely a big deal, and I feel like our doubles is performing at a really high level right now.”

Senior Koki Takabatake swept at No. 1 singles for Irvine, which has its best team in years but remains winless in the Pacific Coast League a year after going 0-10 in league. This season, the Vaqueros were 7-1 in nonleague play.

“We’re good against everyone but our league,” longtime Irvine Coach Gary Russell said.

CdM continues league play at home against Beckman, ranked No. 9 in Division 1, on Tuesday. The Sea Kings then travel for nonleague road matches at Marina on Wednesday and Sage Hill on Thursday.