CdM girls’ tennis clinches share of ‘three-peat’ with win over University

Two years ago, the Corona del Mar High girls’ tennis team beat University to end the Trojans’ 54-match winning streak in the Pacific Coast League.

Times have changed, and so has the pecking order in the league. CdM is leaving next year for the Sunset League, but the undefeated Sea Kings look like they’re going to do so with their own impressive winning streak.

Senior captain Danielle Willson swept in singles as CdM won its 28th straight Pacific Coast League match with Wednesday’s 14-4 victory over the rival Trojans at the Racquet Club of Irvine. More importantly, the Sea Kings claimed at least a share of their third consecutive league title with two matches remaining.

CdM (17-0, 8-0 in league) can clinch the outright title with a win at Irvine on Thursday. The Sea Kings beat the Vaqueros 18-0 in the teams’ first league meeting.

No team in league has been able to offer too much resistance to CdM, the top-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division 1, this season. The second-place Trojans (9-4, 5-2) actually came closest with Wednesday’s 14-4 result. The Sea Kings won the first league meeting with their rivals 15-3.

“In 17 years [coaching] here in California, I put them toward the top,” University coach John Kessler said. “They’re just a better team, what can you do? When someone’s better, they’re better. I see nobody that’s going to beat this team. [North Hollywood Campbell Hall coach] Steve [Kuechel] will love that quote.”

Campbell Hall won the Division 1 title last year and is currently ranked third in the division. The top-seeded Sea Kings were denied their chance to meet Kuechel’s Vikings for the title last year, falling in games to Studio City Harvard-Westlake in the Division 1 semifinals.

This year, coach Jamie Gresh’s Sea Kings are the team to beat, and their depth is a big reason. They won seven singles sets and seven doubles sets against University.

Willson earned a 7-5 win over Cami Brown, a 6-0 victory against Dana Feng, and then she topped Kamar Alajeely 6-3.

Willson’s set against Brown had a couple of momentum shifts. She lost a 4-0 advantage, as Brown jumped ahead 5-4. But Willson calmly took the last three games of the set. It was the last set finished in the first round, and it gave CdM a 6-0 advantage.

As CdM’s only four-year varsity player, Willson has seen the growth of the program first-hand.

“I think it’s really cool how since I’ve started, we’ve always improved,” she said. “We’ve never gotten worse. That’s the best thing in tennis, just keep improving. For me to be a part of that all four years is really special.”

Brown went on to defeat CdM’s Annika Bassey and Kristina Evloeva, accounting for half of her team’s four set wins. But Bassey and Evloeva still contributed two wins each in singles.

Shaya Northrup and Paulina Loredo won twice at No. 1 doubles for the Sea Kings, and Roxy MacKenzie swept at No. 2 doubles with partners Bella McKinney and Reece Kenerson. Reece’s older sister, CdM senior Brooke Kenerson, won twice at No. 3 doubles with freshman Lauren Friedman before they were subbed out.

“I think we’re going in the right direction as a team,” Gresh said. “I think we’ve continued to get better and better. That’s not always indicated by the scores, but just in terms of our level of play and our situational awareness on the court. We’re making less mental mistakes, and we’ve gotten to the point where our shot selection is better and we’re only making maybe some mistakes in execution. That’s OK, that’s going to happen in tennis, but we’re doing all of the right things.”

After Thursday’s match at Irvine, the Sea Kings conclude league play with a home match against Woodbridge on Monday. The Pacific Coast League individuals tournament then starts Wednesday, at Beckman.