Corkery Wins Tennis Title

Manhattan Beach Mira Costa High junior K.C. Corkery won the Southern Section singles tennis championship when Thousand Oaks junior Philip Sheng retired at 4-6, 6-4, 3-0 because of debilitating cramps in his right hamstring Saturday at the SeaCliff Tennis Club in Huntington Beach.

“My hamstring was just buckling up,” Sheng said. “There was no way I was going to make it.”

Sheng’s condition and decision to retire put a damper on a fine, full day of tennis for both players.

Sheng, who defeated Calabasas’ Nick Weiss for the 1999 championship, was bidding to become the first player to win consecutive boys’ singles titles since Arcadia’s Tom Leonard did it in 1965 and 1966. Corkery became the first champion for Mira Costa since current pro Jeff Tarango won in 1986.

“It was unfortunate it happened today,” said Corkery, who lost in the first round of the Southern Section tournament as a freshman while playing for Chadwick and was ineligible to play last year after transferring to Mira Costa.

Peninsula’s Goh Fukugaki and Tiege Sullivan won the doubles title with a 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-2 victory over Beverly Hills’ Brian Swatt and Raymond Hekamat.

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After 2 hours 15 minutes and five games, Corona del Mar won the Southern Section Division I boys’ volleyball title, its first major division championship since 1989, with a 15-3, 6-15, 15-12, 9-15, 15-6 victory over Newport Harbor at Cypress College in front of 1,500.

Corona del Mar senior Greg Stampley, who will play at USC as a walk-on next season, had 32 kills and eight blocks, including one on match point against Stanford-bound Billy Clayton, who had 31 kills.

It was the 19th consecutive victory for Corona del Mar (22-1). Newport Harbor finished 17-5.

In the Division II final, Mater Dei committed 12 hitting errors in the opening game against unseeded Cerritos Gahr. Then after the Monarchs clawed their way back to take a two-games-to-one lead and apparent control, Gahr came roaring back for a 15-10, 13-15, 6-15, 15-7, 15-7 victory.

In the Division III final, Santa Ynez defeated Chaminade, 15-4, 15-7, 15-5. Santa Ynez (24-1) won it’s fifth Division III championship in six years. Chaminade finished 19-4.