TENNIS : Corona del Mar Edges Mater Dei

Mater Dei has one of the county’s best singles players in Laura Ruben and possibly the top doubles team in Cheri Ota and Sarah Jarrett. But none of that mattered in Thursday’s Southern Section Division I first-round match against Corona del Mar.

Ruben won her sets, 6-2, 6-0, 6-1, while Ota and Jarrett won, 7-5, 6-1, 6-0. But the match came down to a set between Corona del Mar’s No. 3 doubles team and Mater Dei’s No. 2 team.

Corona del Mar’s Heather Nelson and Alissa Scott won, 7-6, (7-3), over Karen Vigen and Tina Barger and the Sea Kings went on to squeak by Mater Dei, 10-8. Had Nelson and Scott lost, the Sea Kings would have trailed, 7-5, heading into the final round of three.

Corona del Mar (17-3), seeded fourth, will meet Santa Barbara in Tuesday’s quarterfinals at a site to be determined.

“I saw my teammates come down to the court,” Nelson said. “I knew we had to stick it out.”

Said Mater Dei Coach Sue Harrison: “I didn’t know too much about Corona, but I knew they had good depth,” she said. “I’m happy with the way we played.”

Harrison was even happy with Vigen and Barger, who lost all three of their sets at No. 2 doubles and probably cost the Monarchs (14-4) the match.

“They are my two freshmen,” she said. “All the time I was watching the match, I kept thinking I have them for three more years. They played their hearts out.”