Fast Court Favors Collins in Corona del Mar Victory

The venue Palos Verdes Peninsula selected for its Southern Section Division I boys’ tennis semifinal match against Corona del Mar on Thursday suited Parker Collins just fine.

Collins worked his serve-and-volley game to perfection on the speedy playing surface at The Jack Kramer Club in Rolling Hills Estates, sweeping his sets and helping the third-seeded Sea Kings to an 11-7 victory over No. 2 Peninsula.

Corona del Mar (21-1) will play Sea View League rival Woodbridge in the championship match Wednesday. The Sea Kings won both meetings against the Warriors this season.

“Parker came through again; he’s 6-0 against Peninsula this season,” Corona del Mar Coach Tim Mang said. “I really have to depend on him.”

Collins looked sharp from the start. He won the first five games in a 6-1 victory over Peninsula sophomore Jeff Kazarian, then defeated Rylan Rizza, 6-3, and Goh Fukugaki, 6-2.

“I was going to make these guys pass me 24 times when I came out here, and that’s tough to do,” Collins said. “The courts are faster here, so that also benefited me I’d say. Having to hit a winner four times in a row to win the game, that’s tough to do.”

Collins said he used the same strategy earlier this season in a match at Peninsula, but the courts are a lot slower at the school. Peninsula won that meeting on games, which was the third consecutive time it defeated Corona del Mar on games, including at the Division I final last season.

“The faster the courts the more the ball skids,” Collins said. “When you do hit a volley, it’s going to skid more, so it’s going to be tougher to pass you because the balls are not going to sit up as much.”

The score was tied after the first round, but the Sea Kings took a 7-5 lead after the second. Sameer Chopra, who didn’t play against Peninsula earlier this season, earned an important point when he defeated Fukugaki, 6-3.

Christian Jensen, who lost to Fukugaki and Kazarian in the opening rounds, defeated Rizza, 6-4, to give Corona del Mar its match-clinching point.