SAN DIEGO HIGH SCHOOL PLAYOFFS : Poway and Bishop’s Put End to Runner-Up Status, Win Team Tennis Titles

Evi Yarnell, Poway High School’s tennis coach, strolled around the courts at Carlsbad High Saturday and took in a little of each match during the San Diego Section team tennis championship.

The more Yarnell saw, the happier she became.

“I kind of relaxed a little bit,” Yarnell said. “We seemed to be doing well on every court. But I couldn’t relax too much because I saw the potential for our players to get tight.”

Poway never faltered, defeating Palomar League rival Torrey Pines, 6-1, to win the 3-A section team tennis title after finishing as runner-up the last three years.

In the No. 1 singles, Poway’s Charlotte Skive defeated Lisa Weisman, 6-2, 7-5. In the No. 1 doubles, the Poway team of Carla Quaresma and Laura Newmark beat Kim Sherrod and Krista Kuechler, 6-3, 6-4.

Poway has been in the section final for six consecutive years, winning the title in 1983. The Titans also have been the champions or co-champions of the Palomar League for the last seven years.

Against Torrey Pines in the regular season, Poway was 2-0.

Saturday, the only loss for Poway was in the No. 3 doubles. The Torrey Pines team of Brooke Porter and Kristi Rible defeated Poway’s Jen Lukenbill and Roxy Kazemzadeh, 6-0, 6-4.

2-A

For the first time in eight meetings in the championship, the Bishop’s School defeated La Jolla, 4-3, to claim the 2-A section team tennis title.

These two schools have one of the most intense tennis rivalries in the county. The two teams split their two matches in regular-season play.

Saturday, at Poway High School, the championship was decided by the final match, the No. 3 singles. Bishop’s sophomore Anna Vortmann defeated La Jolla senior Lynn Bethard, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.

Since the section began a tennis championship in 1974, La Jolla has been in the title match 10 times, winning 9 titles, including 8 against Bishop’s.

“We’ve gotten to them (La Jolla) before, but never in the championship game,” Bishop’s Coach Bill Scott said.

Bishop’s won the title with a team comprising four juniors, three sophomores and three freshmen.