Boys’ Tennis: Newport winning streak hits eight
Newport Harbor High junior Nick Nataupsky let out a huge yell of “Come on!” late Thursday afternoon, and for good reason.
Nataupsky and partner Arden Ozdere had just earned a 7-5 doubles win for the Newport Harbor boys’ tennis team. The Sunset League opener against Marina had already long been decided, but Nataupsky was obviously fired up.
“He’s like our unsung hero,” Newport Harbor Coach Kristen Case said. “He just brings so much passion and heart to the team. He’s such a role model for all of our guys, so it’s really cool when he gets to have that moment.”
There were plenty of good moments for the Sailors in the league opener. They dominated, winning the first 11 sets completed and posting a 15-3 victory over the Vikings and Newport Harbor High.
It was the eighth straight win for Newport Harbor (9-2, 1-0 in league). The Sailors swept all nine doubles sets, with senior David Sharp and junior Andy Myers earning the “triple bagel” (a trio of 6-0 victories) at No. 1 doubles.
Sam Leaman and Mark Schaefer earned two 6-0 wins before they were subbed out. At No. 3 doubles, senior Cory Smith and sophomore Julian Hernandez had their first sweep of the season, punctuating it in the last round with a 7-6 (8-6) victory over Marina’s No. 1 team of Nathan Nguyen and Garrett Crippen. Smith and Hernandez saved a set point in the tiebreaker.
Newport Harbor senior David Lee won twice at No. 1 singles before he was subbed out, and freshman Max McKennon swept, 6-0, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 2 singles. Ace Thayer won once at No. 3 singles.
Things are looking up for the Sailors, who finished fifth in the six-team league last season.
“It’s nice to have it as the league opener,” Sharp said. “Any time you play in league you’re not just playing that team, you’re playing every other team, because everybody talks and tries to figure out how each of the other teams play. Hopefully we can get some momentum going.”
Lee got some going late in the first round against Marina senior Paul Ambrose. Ambrose rallied from a 5-2 deficit to force a tiebreaker, then won the first three points of that tiebreaker. But Lee rallied, winning seven straight points to claim the set and give the Sailors a 6-0 sets lead after the first round.
“That’s when I started playing like myself,” Lee said. “I got tight, obviously, and I wasn’t very confident in my shots for a while.”
Newport Harbor took an 11-0 lead before Marina (7-4, 0-1) could get on the scoreboard. Vikings sophomore Julian Falagan earned a 7-5 victory over Thayer at the end of the second round.
Falagan and Ambrose also won in the third round for the Vikings, who lost a lot from the team that finished second in league last year. The biggest loss was top singles player Max Cancilla, who graduated and now plays at Penn. Cancilla was the Sunset League singles runner-up as a senior, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Individuals singles tournament.
Even with the match already decided, the Sailors were happy to root on the passionate Nataupsky and Ozdere at the end.
“We could be over there eating sandwiches, goofing around,” Leaman said. “But especially as captains, you have to let everyone know they’re a valuable part of the team, treat everyone the same, cheer for them like we would cheer on Max in the Ojai finals ... They like that feedback, they like that feeling, so they’re going to obviously come to practice [Friday] and work hard.”
The Sailors could be without McKennon for one or both of their matches next week, as he is playing in the prestigious Easter Bowl tournament in Indian Wells beginning Saturday.
Newport Harbor plays at defending league champion Los Alamitos on Tuesday, while Marina plays host to Fountain Valley.
The Sailors hope to keep their good mojo going, even against Los Alamitos, which is ranked No. 5 in CIF Southern Section Division 1 and No. 2 in Orange County.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who worked their butts off in the summer and in the preseason, and it shows,” Leaman said.
Twitter: @mjszabo
