Corona del Mar Back in Tennis Final

A year ago, the Corona del Mar High School girls’ tennis team reached the Southern Section 4-A championship match for the first time.

The Sea Kings faced the difficult task of defeating one of the sports’ dominant teams, Miraleste. In the 1980s, Miraleste has won four 4-A titles and was the runner-up twice.

But Corona del Mar defeated the Marauders and won its first 4-A title.

Today, the teams are matched again with the 4-A championship at stake. Corona del Mar plays Miraleste at 9 a.m. at the Claremont Club. But this time around, Corona del Mar is the team to beat.

The Sea Kings are 21-1, the division’s top-seeded team and have the Southern Section’s defending singles champion in sophomore Keri Phebus. All of which figures to help Corona del Mar to its second consecutive championship.

Miraleste, the third-seeded team, is 15-2.

Corona del Mar is one of three Orange County teams in today’s finals at the Claremont Club.

Dana Hills (18-1) meets Calabasas (16-0) for the 3-A championship at 9:30 a.m. The Dolphins, led by sophomore singles player Anne Mall, defeated San Marino, the four-time defending champion, in the semifinals, 14-4.

In 2-A, Katella (15-5) plays top-seeded Diamond Bar (24-0) at 10 a.m. Katella, unseeded and only the No. 2 team from the Empire League, used a strong doubles lineup to defeat St. Lucy’s in the semifinals, 10-8.