Fom Here On In, Best Players From Region Are on Their Own

While helping Harvard-Westlake High win the Southern Section Division III girls’ tennis championship, Jessica Leck delighted in the team effort.

“I love team sports and this makes tennis seem like more of a team sport,” said Leck, who won sets against three opponents as Harvard-Westlake swept singles play and beat Laguna Hills, 10-8, in the final Monday at the Claremont Club.

Even though there is no “I” in “team,” there are three in “individual,” and the emphasis of the high school tennis season has turned to that.

Several players from the area won in the opening rounds of regional play in the Southern Section individual tournament Saturday and advanced to the round of 16 Thursday at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach.

Quarterfinals of the individual tournament, which pools league singles and doubles champions and runners-up with no separation by division, also will be played Thursday. Semifinals and the final match are Friday at Balboa Bay.

Brooke Borisoff of Agoura, Yasmin Fisher of Buena and Stephanie Berg of Harvard-Westlake advanced through the first three rounds last week at Agoura and Oak Park highs.

After a first-round bye, top-seeded Borisoff beat Stephanie Matthews of La Reina, 6-0, 6-1, in the second round and eliminated Leck, 6-1, 6-3, in the third round.

Fisher had a bye, then defeated Kathleen Lee of Arcadia, 6-1, 6-3, and Lola Aguilera of Pasadena Poly, 6-0, 6-2.

Berg topped Alyssa Halcomb of St. Bonaventure, 6-0, 6-4, and Lauren Fitzgerald of Righetti, 6-4, 6-1, after a first-round bye.

“There was some really good tennis being played,” said Coach Connie Flanderka of Westlake, coordinator of the local regional sites, two of five in Southern California.

“There were no weak players. Even in the early rounds, the competition was good. There are a lot of good players out there.”

Calabasas, which won the Southern Section Division IV title on the strength of its doubles play Monday, again proved its depth when two Coyote teams were the only ones from the region to advance to the round of 16.

Seniors Brittany Bierman and Vanessa Everly of Calabasas had a bye in the first round before defeating Jennifer Lee and Kara MacDonald of Crescenta Valley, 6-1, 6-2, and Krista Guggia and Andrea Hernandez of Santa Maria St. Joseph, 6-0, 6-2.

Bierman and Everly, who played No. 2 doubles most of the season, are 47-1, their only loss coming against a Santa Barbara team.

Senior Kathy Habuki and junior Andrea Leewong, who played No. 1 doubles for the Coyotes and are 50-1, lost only to Bierman and Everly in the Frontier League tournament.

Habuki and Leewong defeated sisters Erin and Kathryn Meister of La Reina, 6-3, 6-4, Jessica Blau and Amy Corwin of Westlake, 6-3, 6-1, and Kinsley Carnahan and Jessica Testwuide of Chaminade, 6-1, 6-0.

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Senior Chelsea Heller of Harvard-Westlake, who plays No. 1 doubles with Chelsea Dillon, celebrated her 18th birthday Monday when the Wolverines won the Division III championship.

On the bus on the way to the final, Heller’s teammates presented her with a birthday card signed by each member of the team.

After Harvard-Westlake’s victory, she was presented a birthday cake as the Wolverines sang “Happy Birthday.”

“It was fun, it was really nice,” Heller said. “Everyone was all saying, ‘We’re going to give you the best birthday present.’ It was just so classic that we won it.”

The title is Harvard-Westlake’s first in girls’ tennis since 1993.

Coach Bill Bellatty of Calabasas was presented with a cake during his team’s post-match celebration.

After the Coyotes defeated San Marino for the Division IV championship, they went to the Cheesecake Factory in Woodland Hills and surprised Bellatty with a cheesecake inscribed with the words “No. 1 Coach” on top.