Corona del Mar Enjoys Familiar Role in Tennis

The Corona del Mar High School girls’ tennis team, the defending 4-A champion, is the No. 1 seeded team in the Southern Section 4-A playoff pairings announced Monday.

First-round play begins Thursday at 3 p.m. in all divisions. The championship matches will be played Nov. 21 at the Claremont Club.

Corona del Mar finished the regular season with an 18-1 record, winning the Sea View League championship. Last season, the Sea Kings defeated Miraleste for the 4-A title.

This season, Corona del Mar will face stiff competition from Palos Verdes, second-seeded with a 12-2 record, Miraleste (No. 3, 12-2) and Edison (No. 4). Edison (15-3 and the Sunset League champion) plays host to Estancia (14-5).

Corona del Mar, which lost to only Capistrano Valley this season, is led by Keri Phebus, who plays No. 1 singles.

The Sea Kings play host to Beverly Hills (9-9) Thursday.

Capistrano Valley, the 3-A runner-up last season, earned the No. 1 seeding in the 3-A and will have a bye. The Cougars, led by singles player Page Bartelt, are 16-1 and the South Coast League champions.

Capistrano Valley has a bye in the first round and plays the winner of the Canyon-Riverside Poly match in the second round Saturday.

San Marino, which beat Capistrano Valley in the title match last season, is seeded second. Dana Hills (14-1 and the South Coast League runner-up) is No. 3 and plays host to Laguna Beach (12-5). Westlake (19-0) is seeded fourth.

In the 2-A, fourth-seeded Mater Dei (12-2) is the only seeded team from Orange County. The Monarchs play host to Long Beach Poly (7-7). Diamond Bar (20-0) is the top-seeded team.