Gaytan fitting in at Sage
Cierra Gaytan is a decade removed from helping the Corona del Mar High girls’ tennis team capture the 2006 CIF Southern Section Division 1 title.
But it was guiding a current CdM player that gave Gaytan the idea that coaching high school tennis might be a worthwhile pursuit.
Gaytan has been a private coach for CdM sophomore Roxy Mackenzie for about a year. Now Gaytan is coaching at a private school.
She is the new girls’ tennis coach at Sage Hill School, and she’s fired up. Her Lightning started the season 3-0 last week with victories against Santa Margarita, Mater Dei and Laguna Beach. Sage Hill is in its first year in Division 1, and the Lightning earned three wins over fellow Division 1 programs in three days.
Sure, Sage Hill suffered its first loss on Wednesday. The Lightning were predictably topped by Gaytan’s alma mater of CdM, 11-7. But the team is still turning heads with its new coach.
“After coaching Roxy and seeing that age and how much I enjoy that age, I felt like I could make a difference,” said Gaytan, 24. “That’s kind of when I was like, ‘OK, I want to do this.’”
She was herself a sophomore on the 2006 CdM team, which went undefeated and captured the program’s most recent CIF crown. It was Gaytan’s only year of playing high school tennis. She went on to play college tennis at Texas and Missouri.
Gaytan was hired at Sage Hill last month. Before taking the job, she was working for tennis apparel company Babolat, doing field marketing and sales. Now Gaytan is at the helm of the successful Sage Hill program, which until this point was always coached by A.G. Longoria, who remains on staff as a tournament director and program adviser.
“She’s a great fit for the program,” Longoria, now 70 years old, wrote in an email. “She knows the game and she is well connected in the Newport Beach, Orange County, Southern California areas ... Just as there are different kinds of doctor specialties (GP, cancer, heart, etc.), there are different kinds of tennis specialties (beginner, tournament player, club professional, tournament director, traveling high performance and team tennis coach). She will have some ‘learning experiences,’ as team tennis is one of the smaller specialties in the game, but she is a quick learner and has been asking for a lot of help and getting it.”
Gaytan has her good friend Brynn Boren as an assistant coach. Boren starred at Dana Hills High before playing college tennis at Tennessee and USC. The youth they have infused into the program has been notable.
“I think it’s great to have a girl mentor,” said Sage tennis junior Isabella Deckey, who won the Academy League doubles title last year with teammate Michelle Hung. “I mean, we love A.G., but we have a really young team and it’s good to have a mentor who just came out of her playing experience and can really connect with us well. We’ve had a great connection with her so far. She’s a great motivator.”
Kayla “Cat” Kiani, another junior who plays at No. 1 singles for Sage Hill, agreed.
“We do hardcore practices that are actually better than most of the practices I do outside of tennis at Sage,” Kiani said. “She encourages us. She makes us feel like we’re all really good; she makes us feel important ... and it’s great to have someone who has the experience of what I want to do [play college tennis] as my instructor. We’re really lucky to have Coach Cierra.”
The Lightning are the first Sage Hill athletic team to compete in CIF Southern Section Division 1. They advanced to the Division 2 semifinals last year before losing to eventual champion Arcadia.
The playoff road may be tough in Division 1, but the Lightning have already shown they belong. And they’re also aiming to defend their Academy League title with another perfect 10-0 record, Kiani said. Plus, they are enjoying their first season with their new on-campus tennis complex, where Sage Hill will play host to the Lightning Invitational this weekend.
Gaytan is happy to be at the helm.
“I love tennis, I wanted to stay in tennis so I’m really happy to be doing this,” she said. “When the opportunity arose, I wanted to jump on it. I know it’s a lot, but I know I can handle it. I want to make a positive impact in these girls’ lives.”
CdM vs. HB
An early-season boys’ water polo showdown occurs Saturday night, when Corona del Mar High plays at Huntington Beach at 7 p.m.
It’s the season opener for both squads. They split their two matchups last year, with the Oilers winning the season opener, 9-7, before the Sea Kings earned revenge at the South Coast Tournament with an 8-7 victory.
Each team was among the 11 teams named in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 preseason watch list, and each has big plans for this season. CdM lost in the Division 1 quarterfinals last year but has a deep group in 2016, led by seniors Matt Moran (goalie), Tamir Avital (center) and Will Rodosky (utility player).
Huntington Beach, meanwhile, is looking to go a step further after losing in the Division 1 semifinals each of the last two seasons. The Oilers, defending Sunset League champions, are led by four seniors who have already committed to top colleges: Ethan Wojciechowski (Cal), goalie Patrick Saunders (UCLA), Quinten Osborne (UCLA) and Ryan Hurst (Cal).
Hurst, a defender, transferred from Newport Harbor to Huntington Beach during the middle of his junior season.
Breakers in Santa Barbara
The Laguna Beach High boys’ water polo team has a challenge this weekend as it competes at the 24-team Santa Barbara Invitational tournament.
The tournament, in its sixth year, began Thursday and continues through Saturday. The championship match is scheduled for 2:25 p.m. Saturday at Santa Barbara High.
Laguna Beach is in a six-team pool with Drake, Agoura, Damien, Servite and Claremont. Like the Breakers, Agoura and Servite were on the CIF Southern Section Division 2 preseason watch list.
Laguna reached the Division 3 semifinals last season. The Breakers, coached by Trevor Lyle, opened the season with a 9-6 setback against El Toro on Sept. 2. Sophomore attacker Will Clark led the team with two goals, and freshman goalie Caden Capobianco made 11 saves.
--
Matt Szabo covers boys’ water polo and girls’ tennis in the fall.
Twitter: @mjszabo
