D’Janogly Home Sweeter With Title : San Dieguito Sisters Team Up to Win Section Doubles

Motivation to win comes packaged as pride, revenge and even material gain, but harmony in the home might be the most sure-fire incentive.

Friday afternoon at the San Diego Tennis & Racquet Club, it was enough for sisters Heidi and Kim D’Janogly of San Dieguito to win the San Diego Section girls’ tennis doubles championship.

“If we lose, we have to go home, to the same house,” Kim said after the 3-set match.

The top-seeded sisters, freshman Kim and junior Heidi, indeed went home, to the same house even, with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 victory over the No. 2 team, Lynn Coakley and Pam Brown of the Bishop’s School.

In the singles final, No. 1 Angelica Gavaldon was successful in her bid to win back-to-back titles. Gavaldon, a sophomore at Our Lady of Peace, defeated senior Beth Choate of Bishop’s, 6-2, 6-2.

It took the D’Janoglys a little less than 2 hours to win their first title, as the sisters were pressed beyond 2 sets for the first time in the tournament. In the 4 matches leading to the finals, Kim and Heidi outscored opponents, 48-7, in games.

“They just played really good in the first set,” Kim said. Up, 5-3, Coakley and Brown broke Heidi’s serve to win the set on a cross-court forehand by Coakley.

“Our coach told us to calm down,” Heidi said. “We just thought, ‘OK, they got one,’ and we knew we had to get on the ball.”

The D’Janoglys settled down and won 5 in a row for a 5-0 lead in the second set, but lost a little momentum as Coakley and Brown won the next 3. Kim and Heidi broke Brown’s serve in the ninth game and sent the match into the third set.

At 5-all, Kim held serve, and then the sisters broke Brown’s serve for the match.

“Our goal is to be a great doubles team,” Heidi said. “We have a real good chemistry together, and we expect more from each other than other people.”

Gavaldon had little trouble against Choate, who said nothing was working for her in her first loss of the year.

“I beat myself, I wasn’t there at all,” Choate said. “I played stupid.”

Said Gavaldon: “I simply played my game. I felt in control all the time.”

San Diego Section qualifiers for next Saturday’s cross-country state qualifying meet in Fresno were determined for boys and girls in divisions I, II and III in a meet at Morley Field.

Two teams from each of 3 boys’ and girls’ divisions, plus 5 individuals not on qualifying teams, earned berths.

Rancho Buena Vista senior Kira Jorgensen (14 minutes 6 seconds for 2.45 miles) won the Division I girls’ race. San Pasqual’s Francis O’Neill (15:23.8 for 3.02 miles) won Division I boys.

The Poway girls’ team, one of the state’s top-ranked teams, failed to qualify in Division I, beaten by San Pasqual and Mt. Carmel.