TENNIS ROUNDUP : Laguna Beach Upsets Trabuco Hills

Bob Walton, Laguna Beach High tennis coach, couldn’t get the match against favored Trabuco Hills over with soon enough.

“It’s looking good,” said Walton, as his team was clinging to a two-set lead. “But that’s the trouble with this sport, there’s no clock. It’s not over until it’s over.”

But it ended soon afterward, when two of Laguna Beach’s surprisingly strong doubles teams clinched the match. The Artists upset Trabuco Hills, 11-7, in a Pacific Coast League match Thursday.

The victory for Laguna Beach (8-4, 2-0) avenges a loss last year to Trabuco Hills (9-2, 1-1). That loss was Laguna Beach’s first in league in two years.

The doubles teams--Lars Hansen and Jordan Levinson; Ben Cohen and Chris Faubert; and Joe Redford and Steve Seybold--took seven of nine sets, at least two more than Walton had expected.

But it was the play of Julian Zajfen, Laguna Beach’s No. 1 singles player, that turned the match’s momentum. Zajfen was down a set point to Bryan Johnson, Trabuco Hills’ No. 3 singles player, but he recovered to win the game and two more to take the set, 7-5.

“He came up with some big shots and I wasn’t playing that well,” Zajfen said. “But I turned it around and I think that helped pick our team up.”

Zajfen also defeated Juro Letko, 6-3, and Nolan Cooper, 6-0. The senior, who has narrowed his college choices to Cal or Yale, was coming off his first two league losses in three years.

In another Pacific Coast League match:

Laguna Hills 11, Estancia 7--Chris Marshall swept in singles, 6-1, 7-5, 6-4, for Laguna Hills (5-6, 1-1).

In Sunset League tennis:

Ocean View 9, Servite 9 (Ocean View wins on games, 79-72)--Jakub Pietrowski swept in singles, 6-0, 6-0, 6-0, for visiting Ocean View (9-4, 7-1).

In the South Coast League:

Capistrano Valley 13, San Clemente 5--Bill Rose swept at No. 1 singles, 6-1, 6-0, 6-2, and the No. 1 doubles team of Milan Nikolich and Dwight Baker swept, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2, for Capistrano Valley (5-5, 2-0).

Mission Viejo 12, Mater Dei 6--Jason Pascua and Khalid Husseini swept at No. 1 singles, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, and Ryan Aday and Josh Fair won at No. 2 doubles, 6-2, 6-2, 7-5, for visiting Mission Viejo (6-4, 1-1).

In Century League tennis:

Villa Park 10, Foothill 8--Jason DeVera ran his singles record to 32-1 and Ryan Hollis improved to 31-2 for Villa Park (9-2, 2-0). Foothill is 1-1 in league.

In Empire League tennis:

Esperanza 15, Katella 3--No. 1 singles player Mike Burgess dropped eight games as he improved his season record to 34-4 by winning his three matches against Katella. At No. 1 doubles, Jeff Lawson and Devin Lopez were three-set winners for Esperanza (10-3, 2-1). Katella fell to 1-2 in league.

In Freeway League tennis:

Fullerton 13, Troy 5--Ryan Hartshorn swept, 6-0, 6-0, 6-0, at singles for host Fullerton (5-8, 3-0).

Sunny Hills 17, Sonora 1--Senior David Robbins swept at No. 1 singles, 6-0, 6-1, 6-0, for Sunny Hills (10-0, 3-0).