Sunset League girls’ tennis race was compelling
The Fountain Valley High girls’ tennis team ended up one match short of its first league title since 1991.
Newport Harbor, meanwhile, couldn’t quite defend its Sunset League crown from a year ago but took momentum from a strong third-place finish.
The race for the title this year was compelling, and it came down to the last match. In the end, Los Alamitos won its fourth league title in five years by beating Fountain Valley, 11-7, on Monday.
The Griffins finished 9-1 in league, with the Barons at 8-2 and the Sailors at 7-3. Fountain Valley Coach Harshul Patel said that nerves may have struck his players, who won their first eight league matches before losing at Newport Harbor, 11-7, on Oct. 20 and Monday’s result.
“They all knew what they were fighting for, how big this was,” Patel said. “We are playing a match on Monday, and I’m getting a text from [No. 1 singles player] Hanh [Pham] on Sunday night saying that they were all nervous, they were all scared, having tough times. I knew the girls were very tight and nervous. I felt bad because this situation hasn’t happened in the past. We haven’t won anything for 25 years, and we put them on the spot. Hanh has been there [in tournaments], but Hanh is the only one. The same thing happened against Newport. They wanted it so badly, and they played very tight.”
Still, Patel said his team had a very successful season. Pham went 30-0 in league.
“We beat Los Al and Newport 12-6, and we lost to both of them 7-11, so for me personally, I think we did great against both teams,” Patel said. “All three teams are very, very close. It’s great. We love it. This is a season that we will really remember. We really finished a strong second, and we actually have a better record against the No. 1 team. We’re still leading head to head by one [set].”
Newport Harbor may have finished third, but as it ended up, the Sailors could have caused a three-way tie for first place if they would have beaten Los Alamitos on Oct. 13. Los Al won the match on games, 9-9 (75-73). Had Newport Harbor won the match and the rest of the league played out the same way, all three teams would have finished 8-2 in league.
“That would have been interesting,” Newport Harbor Coach Kristen Case said. “You obviously think about that for a minute and look back, but only for a minute. You can’t go backwards and replay it. We got close, and it wasn’t meant to be for us this year. I think that match and that situation will be huge for us moving into next year. Even though we didn’t make that three-way tie, I’m proud of how far we did come and how we did improve together. With the league being as competitive as it is, it’s always a proud moment making it into playoffs, and we want to show up there and give it our all.”
The Sailors’ win over Fountain Valley last week was an obvious highlight, after losing to the Barons, 12-6, in the first league meeting. The Newport Harbor freshman doubles team of Lauren Lipkowski and Amra Barton shined in the rematch, sweeping their three sets. Singles players Hannah Blower and Elise Rimland also won twice to help the team, as did the No. 1 doubles team of seniors Taryn Anderson and Eva Newsom. Anderson and Newsom finished 25-2 in league play.
“Collectively as a team, we improved our performances,” Case said. “They used [the first half of league] as motivation to work harder and invest a little bit more. We learned a lot this season. Not only did it benefit us going into the second round of league play, I also think it’s going to be huge for us moving into next year.”
Pham won her third straight Sunset League singles title Thursday, defeating Erika Cheng of Los Alamitos, 6-0, 6-1, in the final. Fountain Valley also won the league doubles title, as Katie Ho and Clarissa Htay topped Anderson and Newsom, 6-4, 6-2, in the final. Pham and the two doubles teams all qualify for the CIF Individuals tournament, which begins Nov. 21.
Both the Barons and Sailors now prepare for the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. The brackets will be released Monday and first-round matches are scheduled for Wednesday.
BIG SATURDAY IN WATER POLO
With just more than one week left in the regular season, there still could be significant movement in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 boys’ water polo rankings.
Two nonleague games on Saturday are key, but local fans will likely have to pick which one to attend. No. 6-ranked Newport Harbor plays host to No. 4 Mater Dei at 11 a.m., and No. 2 Huntington Beach plays No. 3 Orange Lutheran at noon at Ocean View High.
The ranking of No. 6 is their highest of the season for the Sailors (17-7). They are coming off a fifth-place finish at the Finis Memorial Cup last weekend in Northern California, including an 8-7 win over Back Bay rival Corona del Mar in the fifth-place game. Senior Connor Turnbow-Lindenstadt scored the game-winner against his former team.
Newport Harbor has played Mater Dei once before this season, losing to the Monarchs, 15-8, in the fifth-place game of the South Coast Tournament.
Huntington Beach (19-3), which clinched its third straight Sunset League title on Wednesday night with a win over Los Alamitos, can also solidify its hold on the No. 2 seed for CIF with a win against Orange Lutheran. This is the first meeting of the season for the Oilers and Lancers.
MARINA’S YUNO SETS RECORD
Marina High senior boys’ water polo player Leo Yuno set the Vikings’ career goals record last weekend.
Yuno came into this week with 407 career goals, breaking the mark of Jeff Larson, who had 387. Yuno set the new record as part of an 11-goal effort against Garden Grove in the Central Orange County tournament, on his way to helping the Vikings to the tournament title.
Yuno has 129 goals this season, though he was held scoreless in Marina’s 15-5 loss to Newport Harbor on Wednesday night that dropped the Vikings to 0-4 in the Sunset League.
