The Preps : SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS : Sunny Hills Shuffles Deck to Win : Lineup Change Helps the Lancers Defeat Laguna Beach

Steve White, Sunny Hills High School tennis coach, looked at Laguna Beach’s strength and decided the best thing was to avoid going head-to-head against its fine singles players.

So he shuffled his lineup Thursday, making his good doubles teams even better. The result was a 10-8 victory for Sunny Hills in the semifinal round of the Southern Section 3-A playoffs at Laguna Beach.

Sunny Hills (22-1) plays Woodbridge (19-4) for the 3-A championship Wednesday at a site to be determined today. It’s the first title appearance for the Lancers since 1977, when they finished second to Corona del Mar in the 4-A. Laguna Beach ends its season 20-4.

The Lancers won seven of nine doubles sets to compensate for losing six of nine singles sets. The match easily could have gone the other way if not for the two tiebreakers won by the Lancers.

For much of the match, a tie was a distinct possibility. Laguna Beach would have won on games, 88-76, thanks to its dominating singles play.

But in the final round, Glenn Henderson delivered an upset victory over Graham Gilles, Laguna Beach’s No. 2 player, 6-4, to clinch the match.

The first tiebreaker helped Sunny Hills take a 4-2 lead after the first round of play. Andrew Duncan and Jason Klingsberg, the Lancers’ No. 1 doubles team, took a 7-6 victory over Lee Kirner and Aaron Brauer, Laguna Beach’s No. 1 team. Kirner and Brauer had four set points, but Duncan and Klingsberg battled back.

The second tiebreaker victory in the second round put Sunny Hills ahead, 7-5. Hans Erkelens and Nathan Winn, the Lancers’ No. 3 team, defeated Kirner and Brauer, 7-6.

Erkelens, a senior foreign exchange student from Holland, was the key figure in White’s shuffling. He often has played at No. 2 singles but was moved to strengthen the doubles teams further. Other shuffling included moving Sameer Gavankar, who is often paired with Winn at No. 3 doubles, to No. 1 singles.

Glenn Henderson, the Lancers’ best singles player, played at No. 3. Ryan Henderson, who normally plays No. 3, moved to No. 2.

Jon Leach, Laguna Beach’s No. 1 singles player, won 6-0, 6-0, 6-0, to improve his record to 57-0. Gilles won his two other sets, 6-0, 6-1.

“They played really well,” Laguna Beach Coach Bob Walton said. “We knew they’d be tough in doubles, but (Glenn) Henderson played tough, too.”