Peninsula Hopes to Pay Back the Sailors

Third-seeded Palos Verdes Peninsula will have revenge in mind when it faces Newport Harbor this morning at 9 for the Southern Section Division I girls’ tennis championship.

All finals are at the Claremont Club.

Newport Harbor stopped Peninsula’s 120-match unbeaten streak this season with a 13-5 victory at Peninsula. In the match, Newport Harbor’s No. 1 singles player Vanessa Godbey swept as did the Sailors’ top doubles team of Emily Barker and Brooke Taylor. But the match wasn’t as lopsided as it appeared, four of Newport Harbor set victories came on tiebreakers, including two of Godbey’s wins.

The Panthers already avenged one of their three defeats by beating second-seeded Corona del Mar, 10-8, in the semifinals. Peninsula Coach Tom Cox said his team has come a long way since losing the three early season matches.

“There was so much pressure on these kids with the win streak,” Cox said. “They had no identity. But since the pressure’s been off, they’ve played much better. We [beat] Corona del Mar partly because of our spirit. We haven’t seen that kind of spirit from any of our previous five [section] championship teams.”

In the Division II final at 9:30 a.m., top-seeded Dana Hills (21-2) will try to win its first section title since 1989 when it defeated Calabasas for the 3-A title. Dana Hills plays unseeded Palm Desert, which knocked off second-seeded Villa Park and third-seeded Mater Dei in the quarterfinals and semifinals.

Top-seeded Woodbridge (22-2) will be without two of its top players as it tries to capture its first section girls tennis title against second-seeded Westlake Village Westlake (20-4) in the Division III final at 10:30 a.m. The Warriors lost one of their top doubles players, Courtney Tenerelli, after the regular season when she transferred to Corona del Mar. They also will be without their No. 1 singles player, Natalie Exon, who will be in Detroit for the USTA National Indoor Championships.

Rosary (22-1) can win its first tennis section title with a victory over second-seeded West Hills Chaminade (19-0) in the Division IV final at noon. Top-seeded Rosary lost five sets in its first two victories before beating Calabasas 10-8, in the semifinals.