Corona del Mar boys’ tennis starts strong in win over Sage Hill

Corona del Mar High senior Diego Fernandez del Valle certainly had chances to break down during his last set in Thursday’s nonleague boys’ tennis showdown against Sage Hill.

Fernandez del Valle has worked on improving his mental focus on court. The outburst after he was broken serving for the set against Sage Hill junior Emin Torlic was brief. Fernandez del Valle slammed a single ball into the back fence in frustration after his serve was broken at 5-4.

“[CdM coach] Jamie [Gresh] teaches us to be more mature on court, keeping yourself together at all times,” Fernandez del Valle said.

He held it together, coming back for a tiebreaker win over Torlic in the final set completed of the day. It was icing on the cake for the host Sea Kings, who earned a 12-6 victory over the rival Lightning.

The Sea Kings got a bit of revenge. Last year, Sage Hill beat CdM for the only time in program history, a 10-8 triumph at home.

The improved play of Fernandez del Valle, who lost to both Torlic and Sage Hill’s Rohun Krishnan in last year’s match, was key. He swept on Thursday, beating Krishnan 6-1 in the first round and Sage Hill senior Ian Huang 6-0 in the second round.

“The team played well,” Fernandez del Valle said. “We all did our part and came together well as a team. I guess home matches really help us, because you’re comfortable in your own atmosphere.”

Seniors Jacob Cooper and Ryan Wessler swept 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1 doubles for CdM (11-1), ranked No. 6 in CIF Southern Section Division 1.

“It feels good to come back and win, after losing last year in a tight one,” Wessler said. “They’re one of our rivals, so it always feels good to hold the crown.”

The Sea Kings’ usual No. 1 singles player, junior Kyle Pham, played in doubles as well. Gresh said Pham was battling sickness.

Pham, who didn’t play in last year’s match against Sage Hill (4-4) due to a right ankle injury, wasn’t going to miss a chance at the Lightning again. He and sophomore John Dick also swept, 6-2, 6-3, 6-0, as CdM won eight of nine doubles sets.

The No. 3 doubles team of juniors Luke Muradliyan and Tyler Hollander won twice, including a key 6-4 win over Sage Hill’s Steven Ferry and Adam Hung in the first round. That helped the hosts take an early 5-1 advantage.

“It was definitely a great collective team effort to beat a very good Sage Hill team 12-6,” Gresh said. “You know, every year is a little different with lineups and players, but they have a very good program. I think our boys were ready for this match. We had a very good match against Los Alamitos [Wednesday in a 16-2 win], and that helped prepare us for today. I thought we executed really well and won some of the closer sets. We played a little bit steadier at the key moments.”

Freshman Will Pellegrini added a singles win for CdM, defeating Huang 6-2 in the first round.

Krishnan and Torlic both won twice for the Lightning, while Huang won once. The only doubles set Sage Hill was able to win came in the second round, when Robert Gerschultz and Ryan Ha beat Muradliyan and Hollander, 6-3.

“I knew going in that they had some decent singles freshmen [in Pellegrini and Bradley Amor], but I still liked our chances with Rohun, Emin and Ian against those guys,” Sage Hill coach Zoran Korac said. “Unfortunately, we were only able to get five singles sets. With Diego sweeping, that was a little bit of a surprise.

“I compliment him for not really breaking down mentally. I think last year, once he lost to Rohun at the beginning, that set the tone and he threw in the towel already.”

CdM resumes Pacific Coast League play with a match at Woodbridge on Tuesday, the same day Sage Hill plays at Whitney in an Academy League match.

matthew.szabo@latimes.com

Twitter: @mjszabo