CdM girls’ tennis enjoys view at top
The Corona del Mar High girls’ tennis team is the top-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division 1, but tests have not been in short supply for the Sea Kings.
Two of them came earlier this week, back to back. The Sea Kings beat No. 9-ranked Northwood, 11-7, on the road in Tuesday’s Pacific Coast League match. The next day, they topped No. 8 Dana Hills, 13-5, also on the road in a nonleague match.
CdM (13-0) has beaten all comers since an early-season win over three-time defending Division 1 champion Palos Verdes Peninsula vaulted the Sea Kings to the top of the rankings. And the Sea Kings have their sights on the Division 1 title match at the Claremont Club, a match to which they haven’t advanced since 2008.
Coach Jamie Gresh’s Sea Kings are 5-0 through the first half of Pacific Coast League play. A repeat league championship is one goal, but there are other goals ahead as well.
They have made it to the Division 1 semifinals for three straight years, which in and of itself is an impressive streak. This year, though, they’ve made it clear that they want to take the next step and advance to the championship match.
“I think that would be so great,” senior co-captain Jasie Dunk said. “We’d all be super-pumped. That’s definitely the goal. Last year we lost to Harvard-Westlake [in the semifinals], and that was tough. That was close. I just feel like our draw lines up a little bit better this year if we can remain first.”
Dunk, who is bound for Cal, is correct. The No. 4-ranked team is Peninsula, which CdM already beat 12-6 on the road on Sept. 20. If the rankings hold, the Sea Kings could play the Panthers in the semifinals, and avoid No. 2-ranked Campbell Hall and No. 3 Harvard-Westlake until the Division 1 championship match.
A difference for CdM this season has been better depth. Dunk and junior Danielle Willson are tough to handle in singles, but then again so are sophomores Roxy MacKenzie and Shaya Northrup when they appear in the singles lineup.
Senior co-captain Camellia Edalat and junior Brooke Kenerson have been impressive at No. 1 doubles, sweeping against both Northwood and Dana Hills. But senior Izzy Dajee has also been stable in doubles, partnering with either Northrup or MacKenzie, as has the No. 3 team of junior Emily Freyman and sophomore Bella McKinney.
“Bella and Emily always have the long match against the No. 1 [team], and they pull off a lot of good wins too,” Dunk said. “At our away matches, they play the No. 1 team last, and they always are the last ones out there in a super-close match. It’s just cool to see that our No. 3 team can compete neck-and-neck with any of the teams out there.”
Edalat, a three-year starter in doubles, used the word “surreal” when describing the talent on the CdM roster.
“It’s just amazing to think that each and every single one of us is at such a high level of talent,” Edalat said. “There’s no weak link ... it just feels so surreal and I’m very proud. It also makes me feel really confident when we play. Just the fact that I know that our team is so solid, going into a match I’m never really super-nervous. It’s like, I would feel totally comfortable being subbed out and someone else playing for me, because I know that they’re at the same level as I am and they would be able to do as good of a job as I would do.”
CdM will have more tests in the coming weeks, including the second round of league matches at home against Beckman on Thursday, University (on the road, Oct. 18) and Northwood (at CdM, Oct. 20). Mira Costa, a nonleague road opponent on Oct. 19, will be another challenging match.
Then, the Sea Kings can focus on the playoffs. They have made at least the Division 1 semifinals for 10 of the last 12 seasons, but have usually fallen short of the very top spot. They last won the Division 1 title in 2006, when they capped an undefeated season by beating Troy, 12-6, in the championship match.
“I remember all three years [before this] Peninsula was ranked No. 1,” Dunk said. “All we could do was hope to get to the finals. We always felt like the underdogs, but this year is a little different. I think we’re all just a year better this year.”
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BACK BAY TEAMS COMPETE IN S&R TOURNAMENT
The Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor high school boys’ water polo teams competed in an epic Battle of the Bay rivalry match last weekend, with the Sea Kings rallying for an 8-6 overtime win at their pool.
The teams will again be at the same pool this weekend, and may or may not face each other again. They are both at the 23rd annual S&R Sport Water Polo tournament, which begins Friday at Irvine’s Woollett Aquatics Center.
CdM (8-3) is the No. 2-seeded team in the tournament, behind three-time defending tournament champion Harvard-Westlake. The Sea Kings open against Jesuit on Friday at 10 a.m. With a win, they’d face either Bellarmine Prep or Los Alamitos in a quarterfinal game Friday at 2:20 p.m.
Newport Harbor (8-4) starts the tournament against Davis at 1 p.m. Friday, and could play Sacred Heart Prep in a tournament quarterfinal Friday night at 5:35.
The tournament championship game is scheduled for 5:35 p.m. Saturday.
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OILERS WIN LEAGUE OPENER
The Huntington Beach High boys’ water polo team began defense of its Sunset League title Wednesday night with a 17-3 win over Fountain Valley at Newport Harbor High, and one of the Oilers’ leading scorers was a new face.
Garrett Zaan, a junior transfer from Orange Lutheran who recently became eligible, scored four goals in his debut for the Oilers. That tied him for game-high honors with Quinten Osborne.
Ryan Hurst, a transfer from Newport Harbor who also recently became eligible, added three goals for the Oilers (11-3). Hurst is a Cal commit.
